RIR: One Step Forward…Combatting AMR Through Collaborative Research
The Office of the Vice President for Research is partnering with the National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMRRE) to host a Research and Innovation Roundtable on May 18, 2026, in conjunction with the 2026 NIAMRRE annual conference.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most urgent and complex global challenges of our time. This event – One Step Forward: Combatting AMR Through Collaborative Research – provides a unique opportunity for cross-disciplinary brainstorming and collaboration between Iowa State faculty and experts from NIAMRRE partner institutions, industry collaborators, and cross-sector stakeholders attending the annual NIAMRRE conference.
NOTE: To help form diverse breakout discussion groups and more effectively facilitate topic ideation and team formation, participants will be asked to prioritize prompt questions at the time of registration. To streamline the registration process, you may preview and use this worksheet to prioritize your choices prior to completing the registration form.
If your work contributes to understanding, preventing, detecting, managing, or mitigating AMR, this roundtable is for you. Relevant areas of expertise include, but are not limited, to:
- Biomedical and clinical sciences
- Veterinary medicine and animal health
- Agriculture and food systems
- Engineering and technology innovation
- Data science and modeling
- Environmental sciences
- Public health
- Social sciences and behavioral research
As with previous RIRs, participants will be given the opportunity to collaborate and establish self-assembled teams to explore research ideas around a range of topics – limited only by their own imaginations – related to combatting antimicrobial resistance.
Teams will have the opportunity to compete for project seed money from Iowa State Presidential success funding. These funds are available only for Iowa State team members’ work. However, collaborators from other institutions and industry are encouraged to brainstorm and help shape seed-funded projects that could lay the groundwork to pursue far greater funding opportunities across federal agencies that include the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In advance of the event, Iowa State faculty are expected – and NAIMRRE partners are encouraged – to prepare and present a one-minute (maximum) recorded introduction to their expertise and interest in the overarching topic One Step Forward: Combatting AMR Through Collaborative Research. These brief introductions will be shared with event participants as preview material prior to the event date. Here are step-by-step instructions for completing your video. Please prepare your video using this PowerPoint template then upload the finalized file here.
RIR participants will engage in facilitated breakout discussions and pitch project ideas throughout the day. Additional time for self-assembly and adding to project ideation and collaboration will follow the breakout discussions. Instructions regarding Requests for Proposals for those interested in submitting a project idea for seed funding will be shared at the event. Resulting proposals will be evaluated by event facilitators and funded based on interest, relevance, and connection to the Iowa State University Strategic Plan.
Registration is open now through the extended deadline of Wednesday, May 13, 2026.