Judging panel announced for global innovation prize on antibiotic resistance

Today the Trinity Challenge has announced the full panel of judges who will be awarding prizes as part of the Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance. The new innovation competition with a grand prize of up to £1 million was launched in November 2023 has received 285 submissions from 57 countries. The Challenge is focused on data-driven solutions to mitigate antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries.

Chaired by Dr Mark Dybul (Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University Medical Center) and Dr Divleen Jeji (India Lead, Google Health), the judges panel will convene an international, diverse group of health and innovation leaders from the public and private sectors.

Professor Marc Mendelson, Director, the Trinity Challenge, said: “We are very grateful to this inspiring group for giving us their time to judge the Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance and determine the winners. We have a high number of submissions from experts and innovators the world over. The thorough and independent judging of this Challenge may be a difficult task, but I think all involved can now share in the excitement that among the submissions will be ideas that have the potential to make a real impact on the antibiotic emergency we face.”

Doctor Mark Dybul, (Co-Chair), Professor of Medicine, Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, Georgetown University Medical Center, said: “Underpinning this Challenge is the fact that we have a knowledge gap on antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries, and in community (rather than hospital) settings. I am excited to co-chair the judging of this Challenge and to explore ideas that will bring much-needed innovation to this field and ultimately drive progress in understanding and reducing the burden of antibiotic resistance.”

Doctor Divleen Jeji, (Co-Chair), India Lead, Google Health, said: “I am looking forward to being a part of this illustrious group to judge the Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance and determine the winners. I am very excited to connect with experts and innovators across the world and understand the amazing work they are doing in this space. My effort will be to identify and support ideas that will be able to create a massive global impact in antimicrobial resistance." 

The full judges panel for the Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance is as follows: 

Co-Chairs

Dr Mark Dybul, Professor of Medicine, Co-Director, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact Georgetown University Medical Center

Dr Divleen Jeji, India Lead, Google Health, Google

Dr Metuge Alain, Head of Health Department, Reach Out Cameroon

Dr Yewande Alimi, One Health Unit Lead, Africa CDC

James Anderson, Executive Director, Global Health, IFPMA

Professor Elizabeth Ashley, Director, Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit

Dr Akhil Bansal, Founder, AMR Funding Circle

Karen Bett, Senior Policy Manager, Data Equity & Inclusion, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

Professor Chris Butler, Clinical Director, Primary Care Clinical Trials Unit, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

Kat Esser, Principal, Health Equity Strategy & Innovation, Amazon

Professor Glenda Gray, President & CEO, South African Medical Research Council

Dr Aqil Jeenah, Management Consultant | Veterinarian, McKinsey & Company

Dr Toby Leslie, Global Technical Lead, The Fleming Fund

Dr Lesley-Anne Long, CEO, Wonderfuture

Professor Rachel McKendry, Director of i-sense, University College London

Prof Mirfin Mpundu, Executive Director, ReAct Africa

Dr Sumi Robson, Senior Research Manager, Wellcome

Dr Patipat Keng Susumpow, Managing Director, Opendream (TTC1 Winner, PODD)

Erick Venant, Founder, Roll Back Antimicrobial Resistance Initiative (RBA Initiative)

Professor Timothy Walsh, Microbiologist, Ineos Oxford Institute

Dr Peiling Yap, Chief Scientist, HealthAI - The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health

Judges’ biographies can be accessed here.

For more details or further comment contact Head of Communications and Engagement, Charlie Alderwick: charlie.alderwick@thetrinitychallenge.org +447580 094013

About Antimicrobial Resistance 

Antimicrobials are drugs is a collective term for medicines that treat microbial pathogens; bacteria (antibiotics), fungi (antifungals), viruses (antivirals) and parasites (antiparasitics). 

Antimicrobial resistance happens when the microbes that cause infections evolve, stopping the medicines designed to kill them from working. This leads to treatments becoming ineffective and allowing infections to become increasingly difficult, or in some cases, impossible to treat. In the case of bacteria, this process is called antibiotic resistance, the focus of the Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance.  

The speed at which antibiotic resistance is growing is a direct response to misuse and overuse of antibiotics across our healthcare systems and the food industry. The situation with respect to antibiotic resistance in bacteria has developed to the point that it now threatens our health, food, environment and global security. A 2019 global study on the impact of antimicrobial resistance concluded that 1.27 million deaths per year worldwide were  directly attributable to antibiotic resistance.

About The Trinity Challenge 

The Trinity Challenge is a charity supporting the creation of data-driven solutions to help protect against global health threats. It was launched by Dame Sally Davies (UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance) in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted a global need to be better prepared to tackle healthcare emergencies.

The inaugural 2021 Challenge on pandemic preparedness received applications from 340 teams across 60 countries and distributed a prize fund of £5.7 million across eight winning initiatives. 

We believe data and analytics hold the key to building effective, affordable, and scalable solutions to current and future pandemics and health emergencies, and we are committed to working with governments, individuals and organisations across the world, to help improve our resilience against current and future threats to global health.