JAMSpod

In this JAMSpod episode we speak to Professor Deborah Williamson about AMR pathogens, leading technologies and simple solutions that are needed to help aid in tracking and stopping unnecessary spread of AMR. 

In this JAMSpod episode we speak to Professor Andrea Whittaker about tackling communication of AMR between scientists, farmers and the public as well as finding creative solutions for communicating about AMR across cultures and increasing the value of antibiotics. 

In this JAMSpod episode we speak to Dr. Mark Blaskovich about novel open-source approaches to antibiotic discovery and his work at CO-ADD, the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery. 

In this JAMSpod episode we speak to Professor Trevor Lithgow about sustainable solutions to antimicrobial resistance, where we learn it is not just about discovering new antibiotics but taking measures to ensure their success. 

In this JAMSpod episode we speak to Associate Professor Slade Jensen about how antibiotic resistance is mobilised between bacteria and novel ways in which we can stop the spread. 

Professor Liz Harry is Professor of Biology and previously the Director of the ithree institute (infection, immunology and innovation) at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).Liz obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Sydney. She then went to Harvard University as a National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) Postdoctoral Fellow. There she pioneered the development of fluorescence microscopy techniques for bacteria that enabled visualization of the subcellular proteins inside bacterial cells. These techniques have revolutionized our view of the internal organization of bacterial cells. They revealed that bacterial cells are highly organized, with proteins having specific cellular addresses that are exquisitely controlled in time and space.Liz then returned to Australia to be an Australian Research Council (ARC) Postdoctoral Fellow and then an ARC QEII Fellow in the School of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Sydney.  She was then head-hunted to take up a position as Associate Professor at the ithree institute (then known as the Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases) with the aim of building a team of bacterial biologists. She was promoted to Professor of Biology in 2010, and has played a leading role in the recruitment of several eminent Australian and international researchers to the institute.Professor Harry's research on bacterial cell division has had a significant impact on our understanding of how bacterial cells multiply, and how they control this process to ensure equal partitioning of chromosomes vital for survival. Her research has often changed the direction of thinking in the field, and has afforded excellent opportunities in antibacterial discovery. Her cutting-edge cell biology techniques including super resolution microscopy have provided unique insights in the mechanism and spatiotemporal control of the division process in bacteria. She made the surprising discovery that the cytokinetic ring, which is a polymer of the tubulin-like protein, FtsZ, forms at the division site at midcell as a result of the remodeling of a cytoskeletal helical assembly of polymers. Her research has shown that this Z ring is linked to the progress of the initiation phase of DNA replication, and gave rise to a new definition for the role of long-known sptatial regulators of bacterial division.With the move to the ithree institute, CI Harry shifted some of her fundamental research focus on bacterial cell division toward bacteria that cause infectious disease, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii, and antibacterial discovery. Professor Harry has worked with industry in antibacterial discovery research for the development of novel antibiotics that target this process in pathogens, and to examine how natural products function as effective therapeutics for infectious disease.Liz was awarded the 2002 Australian Eureka Prize for Scientific Research, and recently won the 2008 ASM Frank Fenner Award, awarded by the Australian Society for Microbiology in recognition of her distinguished contributions to Australian research in microbiology. She has had several Plenary invitations to international conferences and served on the Executive of the Australian Society for Microbiology for several years. She is currently a member of the Australian Academy of Science, National Committee for Biomedical Sciences.

Dee Carter graduated from the University of Otago, New Zealand, with a Bachelor of Science (Hons I) and undertook her PhD at Imperial College, London, where she worked on the plant pathogen Phytophtohora infestans, graduating in 1992. She then did an IMSERM postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculte de Medicine, Montpellier, France, and a NIHAID fellowship at Roche Molecular Systems, Alameda, California and the University of Berkeley, under the combined mentorship of Dr Thomas White and Professsor John Taylor. She has been at the University of Sydney since 1995.

Associate Professor Tim Newsome was appointed Lecturer in the School of Molecular Bioscience in 2007, with key leadership responsibilities in the areas of virology research and teaching. He was made Senior Lecturer in 2012 and Associate Professor in 2019.A/Prof. Newsome was awarded his PhD from the University of Zurich in 2000, and moved to Cancer Research UK, London shortly after to work as a Post-doc, successfully managing to publish his work in the highest international journals, and developing novel strategies in advanced light microscopy, genetic manilpulation of vial genomes, and tandem affinity approach for the purification of protein complezes to address new questions in host/pathogen interactions using vaccinia virus. In 2008 Tim was awarded the Selby Research Award, and later was the recipient of the Faculty of Science Citations for Excellence in Teaching award, recognising his contribution to enhancing the student learning environment by innovations to the online delivery of courses, integrating imaging into the undergraduate syllabus via a successful TIES application, and good practise in teaching.

Professor Brajesh Singh is an internationally recognised expert in the field of functional ecology and soil biology. Through his fundamental research, his work identifies the quantitative relationships between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions and how natural/anthropogenic pressures such as global change affect this. His applied research harnesses the knowledge gained in fundamental research to achieve increased farm productivity, sustainable development, environmental protection and food security.His research has advanced critical areas of ecosystem science, particularly linking soil biodiversity to key ecosystem functions and services and has developed tools to improve farm productivity and environmental sustainability. This includes climate adaptation tools for the agriculture industry, management solutions to increase soil organic matter, increased export market access for agriculture produces, and training for farmers, consultants and policy advisors in sustainable agriculture and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Distinguished Professor Michael Gillings is in the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University, where he is Professor of Molecular Evolution. In general, his interests focus on genetic diversity and its role in evolution. This allows an eclectic research program, with papers on viruses, bacteria, fungi, diatoms, green algae, invertebrates, plants, sharks, and mammals in the last five years. Two of his main research programs include the origins and environmental consequences of antibiotic resistance, and the new geological era of the Anthropocene, precipitated by human effects on planetary systems. He teaches a large first year class, with 1100 students, and contributes regularly to radio, television and on-line forums.

Associate Professor Willa Huston is a Molecular Microbiologist (PhD awarded 2004) with an interest in chlamydia and chlamydial diseases. Her work has mainly focussed on understadning the chlamydial mechanisms of disease, persistence, and how the disease causes infertility in women. She is also interested in the role proteases have in pathogenesis and biology.  She has strong expertise in intracellular infection models and human dsease models. Her team has research project on-going in chamydial biology, human disease pathology, diagnosis and treatment. 

Dr Burns has expertise in the study of stromatolite communities. Of particular significance, Dr Burns conducted the first polyphasic study of modern stromatolite communities identifying a range of metabolically diverse organisms. These included a range of cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, and archaea. This is the first time such a diversity of archaea associated with marine stromatolites has been shown. Several sequences identified are also unique phylotypes with no close relatives in the database, and these may possess novel physiologies vital to the persistent morphogenesis of these living fossils. Characterising the microbial diversity of these stromatolites provided an excellent framework for exploring functional characteristics of these systems to logically advance the research. This is the next rational step in the comprehensive investigation of these ancient ecosystems.Using this excellent base, Dr Burns has isolated several new archaeal species from this environment that possess unique characteristics, including novel osmolyte patterns suggestive of innovative salt tolerance mechanisms. This has the potential for providing results of national significance in relation to Australia's growing salinity and drought problems. Dr Burns' group has conducted lipid analyses of these communities, which will provide vital information for comparisons with fossilised stromatolites and more rational interpretations of the fossil record.Dr Burns has also demonstrated for the first time the genetic potential of these systems to produce novel bioactive compounds, including the identification of a putative anti-cancer agent. Most recently Dr Burns and collaborators identified quorum-sensing molecules in stromatolite archaea, potentially the first evidence of this in this domain of life. Dr Burns' findings have also provided information vital to the conservation of these unique resources, monitoring carefully changes in biological diversity that could indicate possible threats to stromatolite systems.Most significantly, Dr Burns has demonstrated the importance of an integrated approach to the study of a functionally diverse biological system. The long-term goal is to build on this research and extend these kinds of functional complexity studies to other evolutionally significant environments.

Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen has a diverse and impressive background in microbiology but also in all the fields that surround it such as genomics and synthetic biology. He always seem to be involved on the cutting edge of science! In the early days of his academic career he was discovering biological mechanisms of multiple drug resistance to antibiotics. In the 1990s during the genomics revolution, when the sequencing of the first human, bacterial, plant and fungal genomes were conducted, he was heavily entrenched in this and working at one of the world leading sequencing facilities, the institute for genomics research. In 2014 he was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship for studying marine bacteria and their importance in the marine food web. That year, he was also awarded the Distinguished Professor award at Macquarie University in recognition of his renowned work in genomics, systems biology and environmental microbiology. At the end of 2019 he was awarded to lead the Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology at Macquarie university. Just recently he has been elected as a fellow to the Australian Academy of Science for his pioneering work on drug transporters that confer antibiotic resistance in bacteria.