Professor Tim Walsh, University of Oxford

Professor Tim Walsh has been studying antimicrobial resistance (AMR) for nearly 40 years and publishes regularly in Nature and Lancet journals. Notably, in his career he has discovered and named two of the most notorious antibiotic resistant genes – NDM-1 and MCR-1. His work also helped discover the mobile tigecycline gene (tetX variant). As director of BARNARDS, he leads efforts to understand the neonatal sepsis burden across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while also examining the impact of affordable antibiotic access. His investigations extend to diverse areas, from studying the role of insects in post-surgical infections across 20 countries to analysing colistin trade’s global implications in agriculture. Joining the University of Oxford in 2020, Walsh co-established the Ineos Oxford Institute (IOI) of Antimicrobial Research. His research interests encompass various facets of AMR, including its drivers across One Health sectors, neonatal sepsis management in LMICs, and the clinical and economic burden of AMR (BALANCE) including access to consumables and antibiotics in LMICs. Additionally, Walsh has numerous advisory roles, including the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) for AMR. Walsh received an OBE in 2020, DSc from the University of Bristol in 2022, and became a member of Academia Europaea in 2023. Walsh also holds an honorary position at the China Agricultural University, Beijing, and Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2025, Walsh joined ICARS as Chief Scientific Advisor.