Alison Helen Holmes is a British infectious diseases specialist, who is a professor at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

and the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

. Holmes serves as Director of the

National Institute for Health Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

(NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance and Consultant at

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, London, White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the ...

. Holmes is on the Executive Committee of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, and she serves on a variety of

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) expert groups related to antimicrobial use, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), infection prevention and sepsis. Her research considers how to mitigate

antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resista ...

Early life and education

Holmes went to school in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. Her father was a doctor in Nigeria. Holmes completed her

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

degree in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and St George’s Hospital Medical School. She specialised in Infectious Diseases and General (Internal) Medicine.

Research and career

Antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resista ...

(AMR) represents a major threat to healthcare. There are increasing numbers of bacteria that can no longer be treated with antibiotics. At

Holmes leads Centre for Antimicrobial Optimisation, a research centre that looks to tackle drug-resistant infection. She is Director of the

(NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and AMR. In 2023, Holmes launched the Centres for Antimicrobial Optimisation Network (CAMO-Net), a

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

funded research collaboration of universities based in 11 different countries, designed to address antimicrobial resistance and support antimicrobial optimisation for use in humans.

Selected publications

* Birgand G, Castro-Sánchez E, Hansen S, et al., 2018, Comparison of governance approaches for the control of antimicrobial resistance: Analysis of three European countries, Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, Vol:7,
Comparison of governance approaches for the control of antimicrobial resistance: analysis of three European countries
* Holmes AH, Holmes M, Gottlieb T, et al., 2018, End non-essential use of antimicrobials in livestock, Bmj, Vol:360,
End non-essential use of antimicrobials in livestock
* Ardal C, Outterson K, Hoffman SJ, et al., 2016, International cooperation to improve access to and sustain effectiveness of antimicrobials, The Lancet, Vol:387, , Pages:296–30
International cooperation to improve access to and sustain effectiveness of antimicrobials
* Holmes AH, Moore LSP, Sundsfjord A, et al., 2015, Understanding the mechanisms and drivers of antimicrobial resistance, Lancet, Vol:387, , Pages:176–18
Understanding the mechanisms and drivers of antimicrobial resistance
* Charani E, Holmes AH, 2013, Antimicrobial stewardship programmes: the need for wider engagement, BMJ Quality & Safety, Vol:22, , Pages:885–88
Antimicrobial stewardship programmes: the need for wider engagement

Honours and awards

Holmes was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

(FMedSci) in 2017. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to medicine and infectious diseases, particularly during Covid-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Alison Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British microbiologists NIHR Senior Investigators Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) British women biologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of St George's, University of London Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Officers of the Order of the British Empire