Projects per year
Personal profile
Key Research Interests
- The biology of the bacterial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii
- Evolution of bacterial drug resistance mechanisms
- Transmission of drug resistance in bacterial populations
- Population dynamics of bacterial pathogens
The evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance
Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics through a number of different mechanisms. These include intrinsic mechanism that all members of the bacterial species posses and that they switch on or ‘ramp up’ when exposed to antibiotics, and mechanisms that the bacteria acquire from external sources that can then be exchanged between bacteria.
My work centres on understanding which mechanisms bacteria are using to become resistant to antibiotics, and how these are evolving and being transferred in bacterial populations. An example of current work is investigating the effect of non-antibiotic drugs, such as cancer chemotherapies, on promoting antibiotic resistance. Many drugs used in healthcare coincidently have antibacterial properties, and therefore bacteria develop resistance against these. However, in doing so, some bacteria can become more resistant to antibiotics at the same time, even without having been exposed to any antibiotics. This ‘cross-resistance’, where exposure to one drug (e.g. a cancer chemotherapy) causes resistance to a different drug (e.g. an antibiotic) is not well understood despite its potential to have a major impact on the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance. By understanding how different drugs cause cross-resistance to antibiotics we will gain a more holistic view of antibiotic resistance that can be exploited in the design and development of new drugs, and in the management and use of existing drugs.
Postgraduate Research Opportunities
If you have obtained or have the option to obtain funding to complete a PhD, I would be interested to hear from you. Please email me to discuss further.
Career
Sept 2006 – Nov 2009: PhD in Medical Microbiology, University of Edinburgh, UK
Nov 2009 – Jul 2011: Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of Manchester, UK
Aug 2011 – Sep 2012: Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of Liverpool, UK
Oct 2012 – Sep 2013: Lecturer in Microbiology and Medical Biotechnology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Sep 2013 – Jul 2016: Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and Medical Biotechnology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Sep 2015 – Jul 2016: Deputy Head of Department (Acting), Biomedical and Forensic Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Jul 2016 – Present: Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, University of East Anglia, UK
Academic Background
- The biology of Acinetobacter baumannii
- Antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacterial pathogens
- Natural transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Population evolution in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Bacterial genomics
Teaching Interests
- Lecturing on the Gateway to Medicine course
- Tutor for 1st Year Student Selected Studies (SSS) Genetics
- Supervisor for SSS Research
- Gateway to Medicine Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and SSS tutor
- Advisor to medical students
Professional Activities
Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology
PhD Examiner
- 19/10/2016 University of Cambridge, UK (External examiner)
- 29/06/2018 UEA, UK (Internal examiner)
- 20/07/2018 Queen Mary University of London, UK (External examiner)
- 27/07/2108 University of Bristol, UK (External examiner)
- 29/10/2018 UEA, UK (Internal examiner)
- 08/02/2019 University of Barcelona, Spain (External examiner)
- 29/05/2019 Queen Mary University of London, UK (External examiner)
- 30/06/2020 UEA, UK (Internal examiner)
- 19/11/2020 UEA, UK (Internal examiner)
Administrative Posts
- Director of the MRC Doctoral Antimicrobial Research Training (DART) iCASE programme
- UEA Microbiological Safety Officer
- UEA Genetic Modification Safety Officer
- Chair, UEA Biological Hazards and Genetic Modification Review Committee
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh
2006 → 2009
Bachelor of Science, University of Edinburgh
2001 → 2005
Keywords
- Medicine (general)
- Bacteriology
- Antibiotic resistance
- Genomics
- Evolution
Network
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Cancer chemotherapy as a driver for antibiotic resistance evolution
1/01/19 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
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BBSRC Strategic Programme: Microbes in the Food Chain
Wain, J., Evans, B. & O'Grady, J.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
1/04/18 → 31/03/23
Project: Research
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Acinetobacter baumannii sampled from cattle and pigs represent novel clones
Mateo-Estrada, V., Vali, L., Hamouda, A., Evans, B. A. & Castillo-Ramirez, S., 31 Aug 2022, In: Microbiology Spectrum. 10, 4, e01289-22.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)3 Downloads (Pure) -
Diversity of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and bacteriophage-mediated spread of the Oxa23 carbapenemase
Abouelfetouh, A., Mattock, J., Turner, D., Li, E. & Evans, B., 1 Feb 2022, In: Microbial Genomics. 8, 2, 000752.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure) -
Genomic diversity of bacteriophages infecting the genus Acinetobacter
Oliveira, H., Domingues, R., Evans, B., Sutton, J. M., Adriaenssens, E. M. & Turner, D., Feb 2022, In: Viruses. 14, 2, 181.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)4 Downloads (Pure) -
Origin of the oxa235 carbapenem resistance gene found in transposon Tn6252
Ambrose, S. J., Evans, B. A. & Hall, R. M., Apr 2022, In: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 77, 4, p. 1197–1199 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
OXA-66 structure and oligomerisation of OXAAb enzymes
Takebayashi, Y., Henderson, S. R., Chirgadze, D. Y., Warburton, P. J. & Evans, B. A., Oct 2022, In: Access Microbiology. 4, 10, 000412.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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What it is like being a scientist
Ben Evans (Speaker)
10 Nov 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Schools engagement
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