Fighting infection costs the health system billions of dollars every year, so treating infection is one of the most cost-effective interventions in modern medicine.

The Critical Infection and Bacteriology, Antibiotic Resistance and Rapid Response Diagnostic (BARRD) group study critical infections and antibiotic resistance in the critically ill – the most vulnerable people in the health system.

We are using new informatics technology and genetic profiling techniques to understand the impact of antibiotics, develop cheap and rapid tests to diagnose infection and recognise antibiotic resistance, individually tailor treatment for each patient, and improve surveillance.

We integrate innovative microbiological, clinical, informatics and ethico-legal approaches to the diagnosis, surveillance and management of critical infections. We are building capacity in this research and translate our findings into policy and practice through international networks.

Research Directions

  • Indicators of disease risk, severity and outcome
  • Rapid molecular and other diagnostic modalities
  • The epidemiology of genetically variable agents eg bacterial plasmids, influenza virus
  • The epidemiology, evolution and transmission of antibiotic resistance in bacteria
  • The social, cultural, ethical, professional and legal issues that shape understanding of infection risks and expectations of outcome