AERIS: Antimicrobial Evaluation for Respiratory and Infection Systems
Accelerating antimicrobial innovation from discovery to clinical translation
Antimicrobial Evaluation for Respiratory and Infection Systems (AERIS) is a one-stop research platform supporting industrial partners from early discovery to clinical validation to accelerate development of novel antimicrobials, immunotherapies and diagnostics targeting respiratory infections. We enable pharma and biotech innovators to rapidly optimize and validate antimicrobial and diagnostic strategies and bring life-saving respiratory infection therapies closer to patients.
Why Choose AERIS?
- End-to-end antimicrobial research support – from molecular analysis to preclinical and clinical translation including high-content in vitro genotypic and phenotypic analysis, microbiome and host-pathogen interactions, and relevant in-house animal models,
- Access to a unique bacterial pathogen biobank for real-world relevance (accredited biobank of over 80,000 bacterial pathogens)
- Expert team with decades of experience in respiratory microbiology, immunology, and infection biology.
- Proven collaboration network across hospitals and general practitioners for translational studies in Belgium and beyond.
Technology/service
Whether you need rapid compound screening, custom animal models, or microbiome and resistance profiling, AERIS offers tailored project design and full analytical support to accelerate your R&D.
- High-Throughput Screening with relevant clinical pathogens: in vitro and microcosm models to rapidly assess candidate compounds and uncover mechanisms behind biofilm formation, persistence, virulence, and antibiotic resistance.
- Clinically Relevant Models: robust in vivo systems for respiratory tract infections — ideal for compound screening, PK/PD studies, and immune response profiling.
- Next-Generation Sequencing & Bioinformatics: 2G and 3G NGS platforms with ready-to-use pipelines for comprehensive microbiome, resistome, and transcriptome analysis.
- Resistance & Toxicity Expertise: in-depth studies on resistance development, biodistribution, and tissue toxicity using in vitro and in vivo models.
- Clinical Collaboration Network: direct access to hospital and GP partnerships — facilitating rapid transition from preclinical studies to Phase I clinical trials.
Partners we search for
- Pharma and biotech companies developing antimicrobial or diagnostic solutions
- Startups and SMEs seeking specialised models or validation studies for their candidate compounds
- Academic and clinical research partners for translational respiratory infection expertise
About the researchers/research groups
At the intersection of microbiology and pathology, Prof. Dr. Surbhi Malhotra (Laboratory of Medical Microbiology), Prof. Dr. Samir Kumar-Singh (Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology) and Prof. Dr. An Hotterbeekx (Laboratory of Medical Microbiology and Cell Biology and Histology) work together to better understand and combat pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Prof. Malhotra is a clinical and molecular microbiologist dedicated to developing faster, smarter diagnostic tools for infectious diseases, helping improve patient care in both hospital and community settings. Prof. Kumar-Singh, a medical doctor and pathologist with expertise in laboratory animal science, has created advanced rat and mouse models to study how these infections develop and to identify new biomarkers for early detection. Prof. Hotterbeekx is a biomedical scientist with expertise in biofilm-related infections and how pathogens interact with each other as well as the host component and how this affects disease outcome. Together, they combine innovative diagnostics with cutting-edge disease modeling to bring research discoveries closer to real-world impact.
More information
University of Antwerp
Middelheimlaan 1
2020 Antwerp - Belgium