Microbiology and Immunology Otago

Well done to all for showcasing the incredible research happening in our department 👏 Wishing you all a great success in your future endeavors!

E mihi ana🎉 We are excited to celebrate the remarkable achievement of our 400-level students from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for successfully presenting their research. Yesterday’s thesis presentations were a testament to exceptional research and dedication.

Dr Sam Wardell from the Pletzer laboratory presented his past and present research on AMR at this week's department seminar! Thank you for discussing your extensive work on AMR evolution in vitro and within patients, as well as combination and novel therapies! Fantastic mahi 🦠

Check out the Ward laboratory and current research here: micro.otago.ac.nz/our-people/tea…

Dr Alice McSweeney from the Ward laboratory presented her research at this week's department seminar! Dr McSweeney described the enzymatic activity of the human norovirus ProPol and how it differs from the mature proteins, aiding in the understanding of norovirus replication🦠

Congratulations to the BMS symposium award winners from our department! Mille Roy (Kemp lab) won the 3-minute research talk, Kartik Rawat (Husain lab) won 2nd place in the poster competition, and Riya Shajumon (Kirman lab) won 3rd place in the 10-minute talks🦠🧫🧪 Great mahi!

3/3 Professor Peter Fineran was also excited about the implications of this research, stating "This finding has the potential to change the way the field views the function and mechanism of this critical and widespread protein domain". otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/….

2/3 First author Nils Birkholz commented in a press release by Bioprotection Aotearoa "We approached other research groups to see how we could increase the impact of the story,” creating an interdisciplinary collaboration with this research. Read here: scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2407…

1/3 Congratulations are in order for the Fineran laboratory on their phage anti-CRISPR Nature publication this month! The group discovered a new mechanism of action for a highly investigated anti-CRISPR protein with huge implications for gene regulation. nature.com/articles/s4158…

This weeks department seminar was presented by Dr. Safina Gadeock! Dr Gadeock discussed her extensive research on patient derived stem cell organoids to understand IBD development and provide new avenues for personalised treatments. Thank you for sharing your research with us!

Thursdays special seminar was presented by Professor Octavio Luiz Franco who presented work from his research group focussed on the various applications of antimicrobial peptides from combatting AMR to artificial intelligence peptide design strategies. Thank you Professor Franco!

We felt very privileged to host Dr Mojgan Rabiey from the University of Warwick for a seminar this week! Dr Rabiey introduced her research titled "Understanding Pseudomonas syringae-phage interactions for the rational development of phage cocktails" warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesc…

Our department will be taking the day off tomorrow to celebrate Matariki! Join us at the Leith in front of Biochem at 9:00am for our morning Matariki celebration, or check out the great events being run around the city all weekend and into next week! dunedin.govt.nz/news-and-event…

The school of Biomedical Sciences is hosting a postgraduate symposium on Friday 2nd August! If you’re a postgraduate student from this school and are interested in taking part please register and submit your abstracts to bmsadmin@otago.ac.nz by 5pm this Friday.

This we were excited to host Dr John Hale, Chief Technology Officer for Blis Technologies to discuss the origin of Blis techonolgies as well as the health applications of Streptococcus salivarius K12, an oral probiotic to support the mouth and throat. blis.co.nz

Congratulations to the all researchers awarded the most recent HRC grants! A special mention to Dr Sam Wardell from the Pletzer laboratory whose current project focusses on the role of antidepressants in promoting antibiotic resistance in E.coli 🧫 otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/…

Dr Alice-Roza Eruera presented an excited seminar this week focussed around her research as a cryo-electron microscopist and virologist! Dr Eruera is also the first in the university to be awarded the Division of Health Sciences Māori Postdoctoral Fellow. otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/…

Thank you Dr Jerusha Bennett from the Department of Zoology for sharing your mahi with us at our weekly seminar! Dr Bennett's highly collaborative research investigates the role of parasites, both good and bad, within Aotearoa's marine ecosystems 🪱🦀🦈

Highlighting some off-campus successes of our staff members. Research Associate Professor Jaydee Cabral sharing her own love of ice hockey to support our young wāhine! Check out the Newsroom article to read more about Jaydees skills on and off the ice 🏒 otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/…

Congratulations to the 6 emerging disease researchers who were awarded Kia Niwha Leadership Fellowships! Special mention to Dr Alice-Roza Eruera and Dr Andy Highton from the UoO Microbiology and Immunology department who were among those awarded. teniwha.com/news/kia-niwha…