MRSA bacteria or superbug

Bacterial pathogen research group

Bacterial pathogen research group:


Professor Mat Upton (Group Lead) – medical microbiology and antibiotic discovery
Dr Katie Sealey (Research Fellow) – bioinformatic vaccine design to reduce antibiotic use in animals
Martha Nash (Research Associate) – ABX initiative administrator
Matthew Koch (PhD student) – mining deep sea sponges for novel antibiotics
Poppy Best (PhD student with Professor Kerry Howell, School of Biological and Marine Sciences) – ecology and antimicrobial activity of marine sponge microbiota
James Butler (PhD student with Dr Alex Besinis, School of Engineering) – antimicrobial surfaces for infection control in hospitals
Dr Grant January (Research Fellow) – Natural product discovery for novel antibiotics – South Africa-UK Antibiotic Accelerator Hub
Jazz Conway (PhD student with Professor Kerry Howell, School of Biological and Marine Sciences) - Discovery of marine natural product antibiotics
Sarah Gamble (Placement student) - Isolation and characterisation of novel antimicrobial compounds from marine environments
Dr Katie Muddiman (Senior Technician)

University of Plymouth collaborators:


Dr Michael Jarvis, School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Simon Jackson, School of Biomedical Sciences
Dr Gyuri Fejer, School of Biomedical Sciences
Dr Andy Foey, School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Kerry Howell, School of Biological and Marine Sciences

External collaborators:


Dr Lewis Jones, Consultant Microbiologist, University of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Jonathan Cox, Aston University
Dr Ian Fotheringham, Ingenza Ltd, Edinburgh
Dr Max Ryadnov, National Physical Laboratory
Professor Mark Schembri, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Dr Scott Beatson, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Professor Rosie Dorrington, Rhodes University, South Africa
Professor Melody Clarke, British Antarctic Survey 

Recent Alumni:


Dr Nizar Saeedi – host-pathogen interaction of uropathogenic E coli - Now Assistant Professor of Medical Microbiology at University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
Dr Rob O’Hara – epidemiology and genomics of uropathogenic E coli - Now Clinical Scientist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Abdu Aldarhami – discovery of novel bacteriocins with clinical potential - Now Assistant Professor of Medical Microbiology at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia

Interested in joining us?


We may have opportunities available for self-funded PhD students to join the team. If you would like to discuss the potential to work with the Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens Research group, please get in touch with Professor Mat Upton directly.