Webpage: https://unn.no/fag-og-forskning/k-res
Group leaders:
Senior research scientist/Professor II Kristin Hegstad
Senior research scientist/Professor II Ørjan Samuelsen
Webpage: https://unn.no/fag-og-forskning/k-res
Group leaders:
Senior research scientist/Professor II Kristin Hegstad
Senior research scientist/Professor II Ørjan Samuelsen
Email: Kristin.Hegstad@uit.no
Phone: +47 77646351
Research ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1314-0497
Email: orjan.samuelsen@unn.no
Phone: +47 77627043/+47 97653716
Research ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5525-2614
Main research activities:
K-res is the national reference laboratory for carbapenemase-producing and colistin resistant Gram-negative bacteria (Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter spp., and Pseudomonas spp.) as well as linezolid resistant and vankomycin resistant enterococci.
Our current research activities include:
(i) Evaluations of diagnostic methods for detection of antimicrobial resistance.
(ii) Multilevel molecular epidemiology studies of antimicrobial resistant human pathogens (resistance genes, mobile genetic elements and clones) including Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae in national and international networks.
(iii) Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in healthy carriers (Tromsø 7 population study).
(iv) Elucidation of novel resistance mechanisms, evolutionary aspects and transmission dynamics of antimicrobial resistant pathogenic clones.
(v) Search for novel anti-virulence targets for infection prevention/treatment and inhibitors for carbapenemases.
(vi) Investigations of membrane vesicles as vehicles for communication with bacteria and eukaryotic cells and possible vaccine against multidrug resistant E. faecium.
K-res is an ESCMID Collaborative Centre and a EUCAST Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Network Laboratory.