The Cystic Fibrosis Microbiology Consortium was a research project funded for three years, which aimed to improve the social and economic inclusion of children and young adults with Cystic Fibrosis by increasing understanding and improving treatment of 'superbugs' such as MRSA and Burkholderia and serious lung infections.

Bringing together scientists and clinicians with internationally-recognised experience of CF lung disease and complementary expertise, the Consortium, led by Professor Govan of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Infectious Diseases, made great strides in our understanding of CF microbiology. Funded by grants from the Big Lottery Fund and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Consortium's research focused on three major areas that are of imminent and important clinical relevance to people with CF:

· Early and rapid diagnosis of pulmonary infections to enable rapid implementation of appropriate antibiotic therapies and infection control procedures.

· Bacterial genomics uses new research approaches derived from knowledge of a bacterium's genome and its DNA. The consortium used these new technologies to identify and characterize genes and gene clusters responsible for virulence and transmission of the major CF pathogens.

· Characterization of the mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobial agents which are evident in the major CF pathogens, and the development of novel antimicrobials and / or antimicrobial combinations.

The overall aim of the Consortium was to improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of respiratory infections in people with Cystic Fibrosis, along with gaining a better understanding of how bacteria work, in order to identify alternative approaches to developing new therapies. The Consortium also hoped to improve quality of life and reduce the need for patient segregation and the resulting feeling of isolation and exclusion that are associated with current measures to reduce respiratory infections.

The Consortium recruited four PhD candidates to work with experienced CF researchers at the Universities of Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Queen's University, Belfast and a senior post-doctoral researcher at Edinburgh, who acted as co-ordinator. Although working on individual projects, Consortium members met regularly to report progress and draw on each other's expertise under the umbrella of the Consortium. Associate members were also encouraged to participate and provide specialist skills. Information was shared between Consortium members and the public through the Consortium website developed by Alan Brown.

Members of the UK CF Microbiology Consortium published their research in 21 scientific publications with a further eight papers under revision or in preparation - a major contribution to CF microbiological research, and improved patient care.

The Consortium offers a potential model for the CF Trust to support further groundbreaking and PhD-led microbiological research. A senior executive of the Medical Research Council who attended the final Consortium meeting at the CF Trust headquarters in Bromley in 2008 was highly impressed with the structure of the Consortium as model for training of young researchers in interdisciplinary research focused on patient care.

At a time when research funding is limited, the Consortium has been highly influential in attracting CF-related funding from alternative sources.

In addition to the successful presentations by the PhD students to the Consortium and elsewhere, two of the students won prestigious young researcher awards at international meetings:

Although funding has now ceased, we hope that the advances made by the Microbiology Consortium will continue to aid the understanding and treatment of CF respiratory infections, and allow people with CF, their carers and CF teams to tackle these infections with greater efficiency, and fewer constrictions.