• 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.

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.

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

• The biology of Acinetobacter baumannii
• Antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacterial pathogens
• Natural transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Population evolution in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Bacterial genomics

• 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

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)

• 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