After a difficult selection process, where many interesting abstracts
have been evaluated, we are delighted to present you the
Rising Stars of 6th Edition of the Respiratory Tract Infections.
Rebecca Hull
Short Bio:
Rebecca Hull is a postdoctoral research assistant in the respiratory research group at the University of Dundee. She completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield, before moving to Dundee to carryout work aiming to identify factors which predict bronchiectasis patient response to Pseudomonas targeting antibiotics and response to novel therapies.
Abstract Summary:
100 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) clones were isolated from sputum from 100 bronchiectasis patients. These clones had heterogenous genotypes, with some variants linked to changes in bacterial growth and biofilm formation. 17% of patients cleared these infections within 12-months. Low PA culture densities were associated with infection clearance. Genetic variants did not predict PA eradiation, nor did bacterial growth or biofilm formation parameters.
Clark Russell
Short Bio:
Clark Russell is a clinical Lecturer in Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research. His main research interest is macrophage host defence against aerobic gram-positive cocci (streptococci, staphylococci, enterococci).
Abstract Summary:
Investigation of pathogen adaptive variants provides a novel approach to identify mechanisms of host defence. We applied this approach to macrophage intracellular killing of pneumococci, identifying several anti-bacterial host factors in vitro. Therapeutic modulation of one pathway in vivo increased bacterial clearance in a mouse model of invasive pneumococcal disease.
