Division of Bacteriology

Our research has been to understand how E. coli causes disease, and then based on that knowledge develop interventions including vaccines and more recently phage therapy - the killing of bacteria with viruses that predate on them.  We are striving for a 'predictive' understanding of E. coli genomes, so that based on the sequence of any E. coli we can infer where it has come from, its threat to animal or human health, and how to successfully treat it with antibiotics or phage. 

The overall interest of the Lynskey Lab is the study of virulence factor regulation and innate immune modulation by pathogenic streptococci. Our work is currently focused on two important pathogens, Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus), the causative agent of economically important infections in multiple animal hosts which has also emerged as a major human pathogen, and the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus). We seek to identify regulatory genes that enable the bacteria to switch from a benign to invasive disease state and characterise their mechanism of action and impact on host immune defences. We are also interested to use this information to better   understand and characterise the factors driving host-species adaptation of S. agalactiae, which causes significant disease in humans, cattle and fish.

Studies intracellular bacterial pathogens, with specific interest in the bacterial genes required for intracellular survival and evasion of innate immune responses.

Salmonella, Campylobacter and Escherichia coli infections in farm animals, with emphasis on the bacterial and host factors that influence persistence, pathogenesis and protection.