Chalita Chomkatekaew

I am a current PhD student focusing on Burkholderia pseudomallei, an environmental bacterium and the causative agent of a deadly infectious disease called ‘Melioidosis’, which is endemic in many LMIC countries.  This bacterium is an intrinsically drug resistant pathogen and potential bioweapon. The antibiotic treatment options for melioidosis are limited and the mortality rate from clinical melioidosis remains high. I previously completed my MSc at Imperial College London under a Wellcome Master International Fellowship, during which I used a global collection of B. pseudomallei to characterise the antibiotic resistance genes, their variants, and the mechanisms that promote their acquisition. For my PhD, I am co-supervised by Claire Chewapreecha at MORU (Thailand), and Prof. Julian Parkhill at Department of Veterinary Medicine.  I will focus on the evolution of antibiotic resistance mechanisms in B. pseudomallei, including their prevalence, dissemination, adaptive strategies across laboratory, environmental and clinical settings.