Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham hosts ALARM 24 as part of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Amritapuri campus organized ALARM 2024 (Amrita Legion for Antimicrobial Resistance Management) on November 22 and 23 as part of the global observance of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), held from November 18 to 24. The event aimed to raise awareness and foster collaborative efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The event was inaugurated by Swami Shubamritananda Puri, Director of the Europe Mata Amritanandamayi Center. Distinguished speakers included Dr. Sabu Thomas, Director of the Kerala Center of Excellence in Microbiome; Dr. Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director of C-CAMP, Bangalore; and Dr. Bipin Nair, Dean of the Amrita School of Biotechnology. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation and Chairperson of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.
Key activities of ALARM 2024 included an international symposium, a “Walk the Talk” campaign, and interactive pavilions to engage students, researchers, and the public. The symposium featured insights from global experts such as Dr. Jason Gill (Professor, A&M University, USA), Dr. Victor Nizet (Chief of Microbial Systems and Therapeutics, California, USA), and Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj (Senior Scientist, CSIR Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh), among others.
Additionally, ALARM 2024 launched the Society for Interdisciplinary Biologists Platform, an initiative to encourage collaboration across disciplines like biology, engineering, artificial intelligence, big data, and cybersecurity. The platform aims to drive interdisciplinary innovation and research to address global challenges, particularly AMR.