About me
About me
Australian Society for Microbiology, Australian Society for Antimicrobials, Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Adelaide Protein Group, American Society for Microbiology, Member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee.
My research focuses on antimicrobial resistance. ‘Superbugs’ are costing the medical and veterinary industry billions of dollars a year and antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most pressing health problems. According to the WHO we are fast approaching a post-antibiotic era where small injuries and minor infections will once again be fatal. Work in my laboratory is aimed at finding novel ways of treating infectious disease by characterising bacterial membrane proteins that are involved in drug resistance and/or virulence and on developing drugs that act on these targets. We are currently working on drug efflux pumps, iron transporters and cell division proteins in pathogenic bacteria. Most of our work... Read more
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Reversing antibiotic resistance with efflux pump inhibitors, NHMRC - Project Grant, 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2020
Improving safety of vegetable produce through on‐farm sanitation, using Electrolysed Oxidising (EO) Water - VG15068, HIA Horticulture Innovation Australia, 01/06/2017 - 31/05/2020
Research Infrastructure Fund (RIF) Grant 2016 Round 2 - Biofilm Testing Facility, Adelaide Integrated Bioscience Laboratories, 28/11/2016 - 31/12/2017
Investigation of new anti-bacterials from Australian medicinal plants, James N Kirby Foundation, 01/07/2014 - 30/09/2015
We run an antimicrobial screening facility where we screen natural and synthetic compounds for antimicrobial activity, antibiofilm activity and the reversal of resistance.
Research
Research since 2008 is shown below. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2015 |
Open access
42
39
2
|
| 2014 |
Open access
18
17
3
|
| 2009 |
107
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2013 |
|
| 2008 |
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2018 |
1
|
| 2018 |
|
| 2018 |
|
| 2018 |
|
| 2017 |
5
5
38
|
| 2017 |
3
4
|
| 2017 |
1
1
2
|
| 2017 |
1
|
| 2017 |
9
9
|
| 2017 |
1
|
| 2017 |
Open access
2
|
| 2017 |
Open access
5
6
1
|
| 2017 |
Open access
3
2
|
| 2016 |
Open access
3
3
|
| 2016 |
Open access
4
2
3
|
| 2016 |
13
13
|
| 2016 |
1
1
3
|
| 2015 |
Open access
42
39
2
|
| 2014 |
Open access
168
161
9
|
| 2014 |
Open access
18
17
3
|
| 2014 |
6
5
|
| 2012 |
14
15
|
| 2010 |
25
|
| 2009 |
107
|
| 2009 |
Open access
24
|
| 2008 |
33
31
|
Research
My research focuses on antimicrobial resistance. ‘Superbugs’ are costing the medical and veterinary industry billions of dollars a year and antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most pressing health problems. According to the WHO we are fast approaching a post-antibiotic era where small injuries and minor infections will once again be fatal. Work in my laboratory is aimed at finding novel ways of treating infectious disease by characterising bacterial membrane proteins that are involved in drug resistance and/or virulence and on developing drugs that act on these targets. We are currently working on drug efflux pumps, iron transporters and cell division proteins in pathogenic bacteria. Most of our work focusses on the Gram-negative pathogen P. aeruginosa. This pathogen is associated with a range of life-threatening nosocomial infections and is the main cause of mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis. P. aeruginosa infections are hard to treat since this organism displays resistance against multiple classes of antimicrobials. Central to this bacterium’s high intrinsic drug resistance is the expression of drug efflux pumps and its ability to form antibiotic-tolerant biofilms.
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| Ardabil University of Medical Sciences | IRAN |
| Baylor College of Medicine | UNITED STATES |
| Beijing University of Chemical Technology | CHINA |
| CRC CARE | AUSTRALIA |
| Ecas4 Pty Ltd | AUSTRALIA |
| Flinders University | AUSTRALIA |
| Ghent University | BELGIUM |
| Goethe University Frankfurt | GERMANY |
| Micromyx | UNITED STATES |
| Monash University | AUSTRALIA |
| Murdoch University | AUSTRALIA |
| Path West Laboratory Medicine | AUSTRALIA |
| Pontifical Catholic University of Chile | CHILE |
| Qingdao University | CHINA |
| Queen Elizabeth Hospital | AUSTRALIA |
| Royal Perth Hospital | AUSTRALIA |
| Sao Paulo State University | BRAZIL |
| Shandong University | CHINA |
| South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Adelaide | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Cambridge | UNITED KINGDOM |
| University of Canterbury | NEW ZEALAND |
| University of Copenhagen | DENMARK |
| University of Durham | UNITED KINGDOM |
| University of Manchester | UNITED KINGDOM |
| University of Newcastle | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Notre Dame United States | UNITED STATES |
| University of Oxford | UNITED KINGDOM |
| University of Queensland | AUSTRALIA |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
| Wuhan University | CHINA |
| Xiangya Hospital of Central-South University | CHINA |
| Zhejiang Gongshang University | CHINA |
External engagement & recognition
Australian Society for Microbiology, Australian Society for Antimicrobials, Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Adelaide Protein Group, American Society for Microbiology
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| A combined in silico and microbiological approach for the identification of efflux pump inhibitors from natural products. | Current |
| Anti-Microbial activity of natural and synthetic compounds against multi-drug resistant microorganisms | Current |
| Biological responses of clinically significant microbial cells to materials surfaces | Current |
| Characterization and inhibition of drug efflux pumps in E.coli | Current |
| Phenotypic screening and molecular characterization of Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamase and Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and identify mechanism of resistance | Current |
| The effect of hospital effluent on the antimicrobial resistance ecology of waste water. | Current |
| Inhibitors of efflux to reverse resistance in Escherichia coli | Completed |
