Antibiotics are essential therapeutics in the treatment of bacterial infections. However, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria that pose a major threat to human health as options for treating infections by these bacteria have become limited. The evolution, emergence and spread ofantibiotic resistance genes are still only poorly understood and expanding our knowledge on these aspects will provide novel leads to combat the emergence of antibiotic resistance.The EvoTAR consortium gathers a multi-disciplinary group of leading European researchers in the fields of antibiotic resistance, microbial genomics and mathematical modelling. In addition, three research-intensive SMEs participate in EvoTAR, two of which are involved in the development of novel approaches to minimize the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.The purpose of EvoTAR is to increase the understanding of the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens. EvoTAR will characterise the human reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (“the resistome”) by investigating the dynamics and evolution of the interaction between resistant and non-resistant bacteria fromthe human microbiome and the interrelations of the human resistome with non-human reservoirs of resistance genes. Novel methods will be used to quantify resistance transfer under controlled conditions in gene exchange communities. Mathematical modelling will be applied to predict gene flow between different reservoirs and topredict future resistance trends. Novel in vitro and in vivo models will allow the study of the efficacy of novel therapeutics aimed at reducing selection and spread of antibiotic resistance.The EvoTAR project will generate novel insights into the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance genes and thereby create opportunities for the development of novel interventions to curb the rising tide of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens.