Distinguished ProfessorSteven Djordjevic

The first of two major research interests of the Djordjevic group is aimed at understanding fundamental mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis. We have a strong focus on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the primary respiratory pathogen of pigs, but also investigate other important human and animal bacterial pathogens. Bacteria interact with their hosts and the environment via proteins that assemble on the bacterial cell surface or are secreted into the extracellular milieu. We use proteomics to investigate location of proteins, posttranslational modifications to proteins, function of proteins (including that of moonlighting proteins), and the expression of novel open reading frames. Understanding how surface proteins function to enable the bacterial cell to adhere to host cells, form biofilms, multiply on the surface of host cells and invade host cells is important for the development of vaccines to control specific infectious diseases. These studies underpin efforts to develop vaccines and other therapeutic interventions that underpin disease mitigation strategies and lower reliance on antibiotics.

The second major research focus of Djordjevic's group is genomic epidemiology. We aim to grow understanding of how antibiotic resistance and virulence genes move on mobile genetic elements between bacteria species within complex microbial communities and between reservoirs where antibiotics are used heavily or accumulate in high concentrations (food animals, waste ponds, hospital effluent, aquatic environments and hospitals). With this knowledge we can gain insight into the ecology of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance genes and we can design molecular methods for tracking such genes. At a time when the incidence of multiple antibiotic resistance is at a critical point, threatening modern medical practice, whole genome molecular surveillance is important for infection control and for analysing the response of microbial communities to various treatment strategies.