Ohio State University Spotlight

Increasing Global Food Security by Controlling the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance

Project Purpose

The project addresses antibiotic resistance, a global ecological challenge spanning food safety and security, public health and environmental sustainability through international collaboration.

International Country Partners

Queen’s University (UK), Fudan University (China), Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Focus Area

Agriculture, food security, water and health

The GII Global Collaboration Conference on Antibiotic Resistance Mitigation and Food Safety: Science, Innovation and Strategies was held in Shanghai, China from October 27 – 28, 2015. The GII project team leader, Hua Wang, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Food Science and Technology, organized the conference. Dr. Shea Fanning, co-PI of the GII project from Queen University-Belfast, as well as more than 20 other expert speakers from the United States, Europe, New Zealand and China, shared their innovative work to a broad professional audiences from food, agriculture, veterinary and human medicine.

Ohio State President Michael V. Drake, M.D. traveled to Shanghai to deliver opening remarks at the conference. He was accompanied by Ohio State leaders Bruce McPheron, interim executive vice president and provost, and William Brustein, vice provost of global strategies and international affairs. Youming Cai, president of the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Li Jin, vice president of research at Fudan University, also delivered strong institutional support for the GII team’s efforts. Prior to the conference, the OSU delegation visited Fudan University and met with President Ningsheng Xu. Witnessed by both Presidents, Drs. McPheron and Hong Ma (Fudan, Dean, School of Biological Sciences) signed the letter of Intent to facilitate collaboration in food safety, agriculture and health through joint effort.

On Oct 26, the Fudan Forum of Science and Technology gathered approximately 20 Chinese-speaking experts from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and U.S., including former presidents of Chinese Society for Microbiology and academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as Academy of Engineering, division chairs of American Society for Microbiology, lead scientists from China Center for Disease Control and China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment jointly discussed the strategies for AR mitigation in China. Dr. Hua Wang further shared the innovative vision and outcomes on effective antibiotic resistance mitigation at recent USDA workshops in Washington DC and Ames, Iowa. A team of 7 experts , chaired by Wang and Sadowshy (Minnesota), in collaboration with American Society for Microbiology, is further planning for a dedicated ASM Conference to address the ASM challenge. These events effectively disseminated recent advancements in science, initiated dialogues on further collaboration, and are anticipated to impact policy and practices on antibiotic resistance mitigation worldwide.