This project develops advanced One Health environmental sensing platforms to detect, monitor and source-track antimicrobial resistance across interconnected human, animal and environmental systems more effectively.
  • Dates2026 to 31 October 2027
  • SponsorUK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – Medical Research Council (MRC)
  • Funded£1,573,807 (UKRI/ISPF UK award; approximately £3 million total UK–China programme funding)
  • PartnersHarvard University; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The One Health Environmental Sensing project develops novel environmental sensors to monitor pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes and improve understanding of multidrug resistance. The programme brings together biosensing, microfluidics, microbiology and environmental health within Cranfield University’s Advanced Sensors Laboratory for Water-Environment-Health. Research will use CRISPR/Cas diagnostics, paper-based microfluidics and high-throughput single-cell analysis using droplet-based microfluidics. It will also draw on wastewater surveillance and reverse-inference approaches for source tracking. Working with Harvard University and industrial partners, the project aims to generate practical sensing tools that strengthen environmental AMR surveillance and support a One Health response to an urgent global health challenge.

Impact and findings

The project has established optimised RPA–CRISPR assay conditions for the rapid detection of antimicrobial resistance genes across different risk categories. By incorporating paraffin as a thermally activated switch, we have developed a partially enclosed reaction format that reduces handling steps and enables results to be obtained within 20 minutes. Multiphysics flow modelling has also been applied to investigate heat transfer, reagent movement and reaction behaviour throughout the detection process. These findings provide a strong technical basis for improving assay robustness, supporting future device integration and facilitating the transfer of the sensing platform into scalable engineering and field-deployable applications.