Social Innovation on Drug Resistance
Drug resistance is an inevitable biological process driven by evolution, but made worse by human behavior, threatening to usher in a post-antibiotic era. While the new products created from CARB-X’s pre-clinical product development support are an important step in preventing that, an equally important challenge is to understand the impact of human behavior on the evolution of drug-resistant microbes. The tools for this effort will be interdisciplinary, rooted in the social sciences.
To advance these important goals The Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy and the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, or CARB-X, created SIDR, an interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship program focused on the interaction of human behavior and drug-resistant infections.
Solutions to these problems will require interdisciplinary teams rooted in the social sciences. To help create these solutions, the SIDR Postdoctoral Program provides two academic years of funding to cover a competitive salary and benefits for postdoctoral associates recruited to work on innovative projects proposed by Boston University faculty teams.
This program allows for a diversity of collaborative projects and makes data from CARB-X available for research.
Kevin Outterson, JD, (LAW) is the Director of SIDR.
Current SIDR Research
Following the latest application round, BU professors across seven BU Schools will work with five Postdoctoral Associates on interdisciplinary research projects applying social science to the problem of drug-resistant infections:
Uptake of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Infectious Diseases and Behavioral Factors Influencing Use: Development of a Behavioral Model
Led by principal investigator (PI) Tamar Barlam from the Section of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine (MED), in collaboration with Mari-Lynn Drainoni (Health, Law, Policy & Management; SPH), Pengsheng Ni (Health Law, Policy & Management, SPH), and Postdoctoral Associate Shana Burrowes.
Drs. Barlam, Drainoni, and Ni are studying physician behavior to understand why rapid diagnostic testing has not consistently improved prescribing in real-world settings, why there is not consistent uptake of these innovations, and how to overcome those behavioral barriers during the product development process. They are also exploring how to incorporate consideration of provider behavior into Phase two and three clinical trials.
Economics of Science, Innovation, & Project Performance
Led by PI Jeffrey Furman from the Department of Strategy & Innovation (Questrom), in collaboration with James Bessen (LAW), Iain Cockburn (Strategy & Innovation; Questrom), Megan MacGarvie (Markets, Public Policy, & Law; Questrom), Michael Meurer (LAW), and Postdoctoral Associate Sina Khoshsokhan.
Dr. Furman and his colleagues will be using CARB-X data to address questions associated with the economics of science and innovation, the performance of projects associated with CARB-X, and the design of the CARB-X program overall. These questions include:
1. To what extent does the CARB-X program impact project and firm performance?
2. Which types of evaluation best predict novelty & commercial success in ventures like those funded by CARB-X?
3. Which patenting strategies are most effective for biopharmaceutical ventures seeking to raise funds in the wake of recent decisions affecting the patentability of subject matter?
Identifying and Correcting Misinformation and Misuse of Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance through Social Media Health Interventions
Led by PI Dylan Walker from the Department of Information Systems (Questrom), in collaboration with Belinda Borrelli (Health Policy & Health Services Research; SDM) and Postdoctoral Associate Hyunuk Kim.
Drs. Walker and Borrelli are seeking to understand the state of AMR-related knowledge and perceptions on social media, how these are distributed across socially networked populations and how they spread. They will be using a series of randomized controlled trials of social media AMR interventions to estimate the causal impact of multiple intervention strategies on different types of individuals.
Antimicrobial Resistance Due to Poor Medicine Quality in Bangladesh: Situation Analysis of Awareness, Practices and Policies Using a One Health Approach
Led by PI Muhammad Zaman from the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering (ENG), in collaboration with Veronika Wirtz (Global Health; SPH) and Postdoctoral Associate Samuel Orubu.
Dr. Zaman and Dr. Wirtz’s research seeks to examine the role of poor quality medicines as a driving force for the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. This relationship has been largely ignored, to the potential detriment of an effective and comprehensive response to AMR. Conducted in Bangladesh, their work will assess: the awareness of stakeholders (farmers, pharmacists, veterinarians, public health professionals and government policy makers) to AMR and poor quality medicines, the integrity of the local antimicrobial medicine supply chain, the pharmaceutical policy in relation to One Health, and the use of antimicrobials in livestock.
Social and Behavioral Drivers of South Africa's Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Epidemic
Led by PIs Jacob Bor (Global Health, SPH) and Helen Jenkins (Biostatistics, SPH) in collaboration with Karen Jacobson (Section of Infectious Diseases, MED), William MacLeod (Global Health, SPH), and Postdoctoral Associate Abdou Fofona, this project seeks to illuminate the social and behavioral drivers of South Africa’s drug resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) epidemic. Behaviors are centrally implicated in the emergence and spread of DR-TB. Retention on TB treatment is essential to avoid development of newly resistant strains. Additionally, because resistance can be transmitted, patient migration patterns may lead to the emergence of DR-TB in new regions.
In collaboration with South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Dr. Bor’s team has developed a national TB cohort that enables – for the first time – longitudinal follow-up of all patients receiving TB and DR-TB care and treatment in the country. Leveraging this cohort, the team will assess the roles of retention and migration rates in the emergence of new DR-TB hotspots in South Africa.