New Google DeepMind-funded academic fellow to tackle antimicrobial resistance

The Fleming Initiative and the Department of Computing at Imperial College London are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Nicolas Moser as the new Google DeepMind Academic Fellow.

This prestigious three-year fellowship, part of Google DeepMind's Academic Fellowship funding stream, aims to support groundbreaking postdoctoral research in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its interface with the global threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Dr Moser’s appointment will further strengthen the Fleming Initiative’s work in the application of AI to AMR following on from its jointly authored report with Google DeepMind, ‘Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance’. The report, a result of a roundtable with global leaders, policymakers, industry executives and research leads in New York in 2024, highlighted the critical need to develop interdisciplinary capabilities and skills to unlock AI solutions for use in AMR. 

It further noted four main areas where AI could contribute: accelerating our understanding of pathogenesis and resistance and generating hypotheses; expanding the antimicrobial pipeline and optimising antimicrobial use; reducing the current burden of AMR through improved diagnostics and enhancing threat surveillance.

Earlier this year, Imperial researchers working with the Fleming Initiative announced the results of their collaboration with Google researchers to test and validate a novel AI co-scientist to assist with hypothesis generation, while other research has used an artificial intelligence approach to provide actionable clinical insights to optimise empirical antimicrobial regimens while minimising toxicity risks.  

Dr Nick Moser, Google DeepMind Academic Research Fellow

Dr Moser’s research will use AI to provide faster and more reliable diagnostics for infectious diseases, which will ultimately help to give patients quicker answers, helping doctors choose the right treatment sooner. As highlighted in the Lancet Infectious Diseases series on Artificial intelligence in infectious diseases, which also included authors from the Fleming Initiative, accurate, fast and affordable diagnostics help tackle antimicrobial resistance by reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and enabling faster identification of antimicrobial resistant infections. 

Dr Moser said of his appointment:

"With this Fellowship, I am delighted to have the opportunity to leverage AI to implement new diagnostic technologies for AMR, building on over a decade of research in data science and biosensors at Imperial. The Department of Computing, where I will be based, is a world-leading research environment and has a real focus on areas of societal importance. I am very much looking forward to working with colleagues there, as well as benefiting from other multidisciplinary AMR expertise available at the Fleming Initiative."

Professor Alessandra Russo, Professor in Applied Computational Logic at the Department of Computing and Convening Co-director of the School of Convergence Science, Human and Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Nick Moser as our second Google DeepMind Academic Fellow in the Department of Computing. Harnessing AI to accelerate discovery in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global challenge and essential to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our society. The Department of Computing is internationally renowned for its leadership in AI and digital healthcare, and we look forward to collaborating with Dr Moser and the Fleming Initiative to drive the breakthroughs needed for a transformative future.”

Professor Russo will be co-hosting the fellowship with Professor Alison Holmes of the Fleming Initiative. The fellowship is the second led by Imperial College London and funded by Google DeepMind. The first was awarded in 2024 to Dr Shamsuddeen Muhammad.

Agata Laydon, Science Pillar Lead in the Google DeepMind Impact Accelerator, said:

"Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent global health challenges we face, and AI has a critical role to play in accelerating solutions. We are proud to see Imperial College London and the Fleming Initiative launching this Google DeepMind Academic Fellowship to address this important issue."