Postgraduate research opportunities Elucidating host adaptation in atypical Salmonella

Food security is a key sustainable development goal for the United Nations (UN) and it is estimated that more than two billion people did not have access to safe, nutritious and/or sufficient food in 2019. Salmonella enterica is a significant zoonotic pathogen responsible for illness on a global scale, that poses a substantial burden on public health worldwide. There are over 2000 serovars of Salmonella, and although two of these, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium, are frequently reported as the serovars responsible for most laboratory confirmed cases of human salmonellosis, many more are caused by serovars for which very little is known but carry a high antimicrobial resistance profile. Few studies are available to describe the genetic and phenotypic diversity within individual serovars underpinning the pathogenicity and virulence and how these differ from other more common serovars. Studying the interactions between phylogenetically diverse organisms and their hosts is likely to significantly inform our understanding of the evolution of virulence in human and animal pathogens.

The laboratory of Dr Helina Marshall at the University of Strathclyde is seeking a highly motivated and scientifically curious student to work on a project aimed at elucidating the mechanisms used for host adaptation, immune evasion, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance for atypical, emerging salmonellae through comparative genomics, infection biology and phenotypic analysis of emerging and drug resistant Salmonella serovars. This project also has the potential for international training in collaborating laboratories.