CANS – Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies

The Centre for new antibacterial strategies (CANS) is a large interdisciplinary centre at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway for research, education, innovation and dissemination related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Our vision is to create a future where the control of AMR is achievable.

We collaborate with Uppsala Antibiotic Center (UAC), Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe) in Gothenburg, the Finnish Multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Antimicrobial Resistance Research (FIMAR) in Helsinki, Umeå Center for Microbial Research (UMCR), the International Center for Antimicrobial Resistance (ICARS) in Copenhagen, Turning the Tide on Antimicrobial Resistance (TTA) in Oslo, and the Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in Western Norway (CAMRIA) in Bergen.

Together, we are the Nordic AMR Alliance.

CANS seminars

Nordic AMR Conference 2026, Helsinki
Marzo 04. 2026 – Marzo 06. 2026

Nordic AMR Conference 2026, Helsinki

Where: University of Helsinki, Finland – Annet
When: Marzo 04. 2026 at 18:00 – 15:45

FiMAR (Finnish Multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Antimicrobial Resistance Research) is pleased to invite researchers at all career stages from Nordic AMR alliance, as well as members of the broader AMR researcher community, to participate in the Nordic AMR Conference organised in Helsinki from 4th to 6th of March 2026.

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CANS day 2026
Noviembre 04. 2026 – Noviembre 05. 2026

CANS day 2026

Where: To be announced – Tromsø
When: Noviembre 04. 2026 at 12:00 – 12:00

Save the dates: 4-5 November, lunch-to-lunch! Programme and venue to be announced.

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Past events

enero 30. 2026 at 09:15: Are Giant Viruses the new source to antimicrobial peptides?

enero 29. 2026 at 13:15: Biology in action: Metabolomics in biomedical research

febrero 03. 2026 at 14:15: Phage-bacteria immunology: in silico-driven discovery of antiphage defences and anti-defences

octubre 15. 2025 at 12:00: CANS seminar: Investigation of antimicrobial action on bacteria and biofilms by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

noviembre 24. 2025 at 14:15: CANS seminar: From CANS I to CANS II

septiembre 09. 2025 at 14:15: Microbiome-pathogen-host interactions in Clostridioides difficile infection: Nutrients, signals, and future interventions

agosto 25. 2025 at 14:15: Oral antibiotic treatment of infective endocarditis - the POET study and beyond

agosto 21. 2025 at 09:00: Human Microbiome: Understanding Microbial Risks and Resilience

mayo 23. 2025 at 11:00: Developing chemistry that enables the development of photodecomposable pharmaceuticals

mayo 15. 2025 at 10:50: On-Chip Synthesis and Evaluation of Targeted Nanomedicines

mayo 15. 2025 at 10:15: Solid Form Diversity of Amorphous Drugs

marzo 27. 2025 at 08:30: CANS Day 2025

diciembre 12. 2024 at 14:15: Mechanisms of actions for short analogues of marine-derived antimicrobial peptides

noviembre 14. 2024 at 12:15: Breaking bacterial resistance via chemical strategies

enero 25. 2024 at 14:15: CANS-seminar: Carbon sources and marine natural products as anti-biofilm agents

diciembre 07. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Dose Design Solutions - How does computer science contribute to determining the optimal antibiotic regimens? by Vi Tran, UiT

septiembre 15. 2023 at 09:15: Master of Medical Science in Infection Biology Jónína Gudmundsdóttir

mayo 25. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar; “Would you like antimicrobials in your coffee?: The use of artificial sweeteners to fight multidrug resistant pathogens”

mayo 14. 2023 at 09:00: Arctic Biofilm symposium

abril 27. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Functional trade-offs of penicillinase and cephalosporinase activity in the carbapenemase enzyme OXA-48

marzo 24. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Bacterial mechanisms of resistance and bacteriophages – and how to overcome them.

marzo 15. 2023 at 13:15: CANS seminar by Professor Mark Broenstrup, Department Chemical Biology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

marzo 13. 2023 at 13:15: CANS seminar by PhD Zdenek Kamenik, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Acad Sci, Prague, Czech Republic

febrero 22. 2023 at 15:00: CANS seminar by Jörgen Johansson, University of Umeå, Sweden: Turning the tide: New antibacterials resensitizing antibiotic resistant bacteria

febrero 09. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Cayetano Pleguezuelos:"Organoid-bacteria co-cultures to study host-pathogen interactions in human disease"

enero 26. 2023 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Alexandra Sousa: DEVELOPMENT OF DNA NANOPARTICLES AGAINST BACTERIAL BIOFILMS

octubre 13. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Norwegian marine fungi as a source for new antibacterial compounds

febrero 23. 2023 at 09:00: CANS day

septiembre 22. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Associate professor, Pauline Cavanagh: Staphylococcus borealis - The new kid on the block

agosto 25. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar; Strategies for analyzing large data sets in bioinformatics. Is there a way out of the tyranny of the P-Value?

mayo 12. 2022 at 02:15: CANS seminar: Antimicrobial resistance in Africa, a view from Malawi.

mayo 12. 2022 at 12:15: CANS seminar: THE INDUCTION OF NATURAL COMPETENCE ADAPTS STAPHYLOCOCCAL METABOLISM TO INFECTION

mayo 05. 2022 at 02:15: CANS seminar: Addressing unexplored anti-infective targets.

abril 26. 2022 at 02:15: CANS seminar: Machine learning vs. microbes - epitopes, antibiotics and other potential applications

abril 22. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Introduction to the calScreener- How simple metabolic measurements reveal hidden behaviors in biological systems

marzo 31. 2022 at 15:15: CANS seminar: Global Epidemiology of TMP/SMZ-resistance in S. aureus

marzo 31. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar: Tales of the unexpected on antibiotic resistance

marzo 28. 2022 at 13:15: CANS seminar byProfessor Stephen Bentley, Department of Medicine, Cambridge Infectious diseases and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

enero 27. 2022 at 14:15: CANS seminar: “Resistances to last resort antibiotics in hospital pathogens - introducing aspects of the work of a National Reference Centre”

diciembre 16. 2021 at 14:00: CANS seminar: Phage therapy in the 21st century (CANCELLED)

noviembre 25. 2021 at 14:15: Welcome to a CANS seminar presented by: Professor Pål Rongved, School of Pharmacy, The University of Oslo

noviembre 18. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Marte Jenssen, Marbio

octubre 21. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Maxim Bril`kov, Department of Pharmacy, UiT

septiembre 23. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Lars Småbrekke - "Antibacterial use by birth year and birth season in children 0-2 years in Norway"

julio 01. 2021 at 13:00: Kombinert Sykehusapotek Nord/CANS seminar

mayo 27. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by professor Erik Solligård

abril 15. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Claus Klingenberg

marzo 26. 2021 at 11:15: CANS seminar

marzo 04. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Professor Tim Walsh.

febrero 18. 2021 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar by Professor Dan I. Andersson

febrero 04. 2021 at 14:15: CANS seminar by Hanne Winther-Larsen (UiO)

febrero 13. 2020 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

enero 22. 2020 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) / Norwegian Biochemical Society seminar

febrero 07. 2020 at 11:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

diciembre 12. 2019 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

diciembre 02. 2019 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

diciembre 05. 2019 at 14:15: Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

News

23.12.2025

The CANS Annual Report 2024

18.08.2025

How can we protect newborn babies from dangerous germs?

23.06.2025

Finland's first giant virus discovered

The CANS Annual Report 2024

Publications, outreach, and selected research projects. Here are our 2024 activities.

Click to read or download as pdf:

The CANS Annual Report 2024

Published: 23.12.2025

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How can we protect newborn babies from dangerous germs?

Research fra CANS shows that multiple factors play a role in helping a baby develop a healthy gut.

Microbiome illustration. Photo: Firefly/Jan Fredrik Frantzen

Did you know that the youngest babies carry a lot of potentially harmful bacteria in their guts?

They have plenty of unpleasant bacteria like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

These are all potentially dangerous bacteria with genes that make them resistant to antibiotic treatment.

With underdeveloped immune systems, infants are at a higher risk of infections. The situation can become very serious if the bacteria causing the infection turn out to be resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

"We found that infants delivered via Caesarean section and babies born prematurely have a higher load of antibiotic resistance genes compared to those born vaginally."

- PhD candidate Ahmed Bargheet.

Read the whole story in sciencenorway.no

PS - Ahmed Bargheet defends his PhD thesis on Thursday 20 August. The defence will be streamed.

Published: 18.08.2025

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Finland's first giant virus discovered

Giant viruses. What are they, what do they do, and do they have any antibacterial properties?

Dive into UiT and CANS-researcher Gabriel Almeida's story about how they found Finland's very first giant virus in a compost heap at a university.

Published: 23.06.2025

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All news

CANS Research Topics

CANS currently involves thirteen research groups located at three faculties and covers topics within marine bioprospecting – identification and characterization of new antibacterial activities, design and synthesis of new antibiotics and resistance inhibitors, the evolution and molecular epidemiology of AMR, host-microbe-drug interactions, and antibiotic stewardship.

CANS aims to strengthen current activities, but also support new basic research in novel concepts for sustainable antibacterial activities in AMR-prevention and treatment strategies.

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CANS Financing

CANS was financed through UiT and Tromsø Research Foundation (TFS) from 2019-2025.

From 2026-2028, CANS II is financed through the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, and the Faculty of Science and Technology at UiT.

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CANS Annual Reports