Cambridge has a strong track record in microbiology and infectious disease research and is internationally renowned for genomic medicine. This theme aims to combine these two areas of expertise to improve detection, prevention and treatment of existing infectious diseases and help to better prepare for future pandemics.
Translating our research discoveries to the clinic or public health is at the centre of our ethos and our investigators have contributed broadly in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has highlighted the need for new approaches to understand new and existing infection threats and provide a rapid pathway for new solutions.
For example, we have pioneered the use of genomics to trace outbreaks of COVID in hospitals and now are the centre of COG-UK and SARS-CoV-2 sequencing, allowing our investigators to discover how new variants emerge and their biological properties.
Our research will focus on three key areas, developing new vaccines and treatment strategies for pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, improving the response of older people to vaccines and bolstering our response to drug-resistant bacteria.
Our approach will involve using genomic surveillance to detect and identify the viruses and other pathogens representing the biggest threats. We will be developing a data and sample repository to help us better understand the epidemiological and clinical nature of infections, and creating a resource for researchers to develop the next generation of solutions.
Resistance mechanisms and population structure of highly drug resistant Klebsiella in Pakistan during the introduction of the carbapenemase NDM-1.
Emergence of dominant multidrug-resistant bacterial clades: Lessons from history and whole-genome sequencing.
The phylogeography and incidence of multi-drug resistant typhoid fever in sub-Saharan Africa
Genome-Wide Epigenetic and Transcriptomic Characterization of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Intestinal Epithelial Organoids
A systematic review of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the etiological agent of typhoid.