Martedì 26 settembre dalle ore 10.00 alle ore 11.00 presso l’Aula Magna (Edificio 1 – p.za Leonardo da Vinci, 32 – Milano) si terrà un seminario dal titolo: “Genomics-Driven Solutions: Harnessing the Power of Genomic Science for Controlling Antimicrobial Resistance and Infectious Diseases in Applied Engineering and Architecture“, tenuto dalla Dott.ssa Elita Jauneikaite (Imperial College of London, UK).

Dopo la presentazione la discussione finale sarà moderata da tre ricercatori del Politecnico di Milano: la Dott.ssa Beatrice Cantoni (DICA), il Dott. Marco Gola (DABC) e la Dott.ssa Nina Bono (DCMC).

Questo seminario è il risultato di una collaborazione tra questi quattro ricercatori nata all’interno della European Talent Academy (ETA), un’iniziativa di sviluppo del talento per potenziare la rete e la carriera dei ricercatori nella loro fase iniziale, promossa dall’Ufficio Ricerca del Politecnico di Milano insieme alla Technical University of Munich e all’Imperial College London.

Sarà anche possibile seguire il seminario online tramite il seguente link.

Abstract

Nearly a century after the discovery of penicillin heralded the beginning of the antibiotic era, which has been associated with unparalleled improvements in human health and reductions in mortality associated with infection, the dwindling pipeline for new antibiotic classes coupled with the inevitable spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pose a major global challenge. Historically, surveillance of AMR bacteria typically relied on phenotypic analysis of isolates taken from infected individuals, which provides only a low-resolution view of the epidemiology behind an individual infection or wider outbreak. Recent years have seen increasing adoption of powerful new genomic technologies that have the potential to revolutionise AMR surveillance by provide a high-resolution picture of AMR profile of the bacteria causing infections and provide real-time actionable information for treating and preventing infections. With current DNA sequencing technologies and turnaround times, outbreak investigation and providing support for IPC is the best use of genomics for AMR surveillance in healthcare facilities.

I will share examples of my work on applying bacterial genomics to better understand disease-causing bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns by analysing large-scale datasets and how application of DNA sequencing technologies to investigate hospital clusters of bacterial isolates with unusual antimicrobial activity transforms our epidemiological understanding of such hospital clusters and provides novel insights into resistance vectors.

Speaker’s bio

Dr Elita Jauneikaite is an Advanced Research Fellow in Bacterial Genomics and Epidemiology at the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London. She completed her PhD at the University of Southampton and the Genome Institute of Singapore before moving to Imperial College as a postdoctoral researcher and then a Research Fellow. Currently, Dr Jauneikaite is the Research Lead for the Priority Pathogens theme at the National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance at Imperial College London.

Elita’s research focuses on evolution, transmission and antimicrobial resistance of vaccine preventable, and healthcare associated bacterial infections. As her major research programme, Elita is investigating the disease-causing Group B Streptococcus (GBS) using large-scale genomic epidemiology in both high- and low-income country settings, bioinformatic analyses and molecular biology techniques to inform on evolution, mother-to-baby transmission, and emergence of antimicrobial resistance patterns of this pathogen. As Research Lead for Priority Pathogens, Elita leads genomics work investigating healthcare associated infections, as well as outbreaks and pathogenicity of a range of bacterial pathogens including E. coli, K. pneumoniae, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, staphylococcal and streptococcal species.

Elita co-led the recent Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Infections (SEDRIC) genomic surveillance of AMR working group and is an active member of the JPIAMR B2B2B-AMRdx network. In 2022, Elita was recognised as an Emerging Leader in International Infectious Diseases by International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) and selected as a participant in the European Talent Academy 2023.