• We are a microbial communities group utilising advances in genomic technologies (eg. third generation sequencing, functional genomics, etc), synthetic biology (eg. advanced DNA and pathway assembly, gene editing) and ecology to investigate how microbes affect each other, their hosts and/or the environment. We generate data to develop new knowledge on the functions of microbial communities (eg. their effect on host immune system in health and disease), discover and develop new biomarkers and bio-processes.
  • Our research involves …
  • (i) characterisation of antibiotic resistance, virulence and drug resistant mechanisms in gram negative bacteria (including E. coli, Samonella spp. Shigella spp. Pseudomonas spp. and Klebsiella spp.);
  • (ii) investigating the composition of the gut microbiome of Africans and the role it plays in sickle cell disease, malnutrition, obesity, among others;
  • (iii) development of novel biomarkers (eg. for diagnostic and therapeutic applications) and bio-processes in microbes for the production of enzymes, chemicals, among others.