Wednesday, 5th July Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

• East Antarctic soil microbiomes: who will be the winners and losers in a changing environment? - Belinda C Ferrari
• Bioprospecting microbes for industrial and environmental applications - Anna H Kaksonen
• Atmospheric energy underlies microbial biodiversity and primary production in cave ecosystems. - Sean K Bay
• Evolutionary pathway of acidihalobacter from a halophile to an acidihalophile - Elizabeth Watkin
• Metabolically flexible microorganisms rapidly colonise glacial forelands - Gaofeng Ni
• Heavy metal and antibiotic resistance in benthic shark microbiomes  - Emma Kerr
• Analysis of plasmids found in environmental Acinetobacter strains reveals links with plasmids carried by major globally distributed clones - Mehrad Hamidian

• The crAssphage host specificity puzzle - Bhavya Nalagampalli Papudeshi
• Everything old is new again: revisiting bacteriophage to treat antimicrobial resistance; The Phage WA journey - Anthony Kicic
• Escherichia coli response to bacteriophage challenge - Carola Venturini
• Understanding Phage-Bacterial Dynamics to Guide Resistance Suppressing Cocktail Formulation for Antimicrobial Resistant P. aeruginosa - Andrew Vaitekenas
• Bacteriophage therapy for Stenotrophomonas maltophila, an emerging multiple-antimicrobial-resistant opportunistic pathogen - Clarice Harker
• Establishing preclinical safety profiles of phages targeting P. aeruginosa - Renee Ng
• Characterisation and application of coliphages and Salmonella phages as biocontrol agents for fresh-cut mixed vegetables   - Maryanne Kuek

• Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes M1_UK in Australia and characterisation of the mutation driving enhanced expression of superantigen SpeA - Stephan Brouwer
• Using Transposon insertion sequencing to understand Salmonella enterica biology. - Jessica L Rooke
• Staphylococcal pore forming toxins hijack host factors to kill. - Thomas Naderer
• Glycosaminoglycan interactions with Group A Streptococcal skin infection - Martina Sanderson-Smith
• Enterococcus faecalis utilise neutrophils as an intracellular niche for replication and persistence - Claudia J Stocks
• Toxins from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli reveal approaches to combat diarrheal infections - Akila Pilapitiya
• Unravelling the antiviral mechanisms by which Wolbachia pipientis restricts dengue virus replication  - Robson Kriiger Loterio

• Still Crazy After All These Years (with apologies to Paul Simon) – the laboratory diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection! - Thomas V Riley
• Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests: What, Who, Where, When & Why - Christine Carson
• Direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing for acute urinary tract infection – comparison of DxM 6100 Autoplak inoculation and AI-assisted zone interpretation with  conventional susceptibility testing methods  - Lisa A Brenton
• Helicobacter pylori susceptibility testing in WA - Smathi Chong

• Turn and Face the Strange: Changes in Group A Streptococcus - Shiranee Sriskandan

• Pursuing Wild Microbes: How Microbiome Interactions and Ecophysiological Traits Shape the Persistence of Soil Carbon - Jennifer Pettridge

https://www.theasmmeeting.org.au/pfizer-lunchtime-workshop

• Distribution of phenotypic antimicrobial resistance in the gastrointestinal microbiome. - Emily L Gulliver
• Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the Australian commercial rhizobial inoculants - MacLean G Kohlmeier
• Untangling bacteriophage communities associated with inflammatory bowel disease - Vijini Mallawaarachchi
• Harnessing wheat endophytes as novel methods of fungal disease control - Lachlan Dow
• Available Soon - Carrie Coggon

Proudly Sponsored by FEMS

• Virtual labs, Online Exams, and now AI? Professional learning strategies to navigate emergent challenges in Science Education - Jack T Wang
• Exploring LGBTQIA+ inclusive practice in Higher Education Learning and Teaching  - Bri McKenzie (she/her)
• A tale of two cohorts: teaching one microbiology unit into two different degrees - Katherine Hammer

The session is followed by a panel discussion (30 minutes)

• Perth Public Health: Built on strong foundations The role of Royal Perth Hospital and it’s earlier predecessors in the management of infectious disease outbreaks - James P Flexman
• Public Water Supply – more than just pipes - Michael (Mike) Taylor
• Woodman Point’s Hidden Community: Western Australia’s first Quarantine Station - Ainslie Poore and Neil Wilson

• New and emerging antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae  - Monica M. Lahra
• Expanding role for metagenomics in microbiology: from diagnostics to precision public health - Amy Jennison
• Bridging the chasm - mobilising micro lab data to improve patient care - Susan Benson

Followed by a 10 minute networking activity

• Marsupial hosts harbour characteristic gut microbiomes reflecting host phylogeny - Rochelle M. Soo
• Clostridium difficile in Australia: Why are rates increasing and how can we reduce our risks? - Deirdre Collins
• Escherichia coli, antimicrobial resistance, virulence and One Health - Steven P Djordjevic
• CRC SAAFE: Translating Australia’s One Health AMR Action Plan into practice - Erica Donner
• Unravelling the mechanisms of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance co-selection in environmental bacteria - Brodie F Gillieatt
• Early administration of Lactobacillus spp to layer hen chicks: exploring bacterial colonisation and inhibition of Salmonella invasion - Andrea McWhorter
• Whole-genome sequencing of Chlamydia psittaci from Australasian avian hosts: A genomics approach to a pathogen that still ruffles feathers - Vasilli Kasimov

• Metallobiotics: A New Class of Antimicrobial Agents? - Mark Blaskovich
• Breakthroughs in understanding and combating bacterial biofilms - Begoña Heras
• Can histone deacetylase inhibitors have a role in treatment of antimicrobial resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections? - Charlene Kahler
• Novel synthetic bioactive polymers to combat priority fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance - Megan D Lenardon
• The potential of shapeshifting vancomycin dimers as novel antibiotics - Jessica A Wyllie
• Bacterial Disulfide Bond Enzyme Inhibitors: Pathoblockers, resistance breakers & bona fide antibiotics - Makrina Totsika
• Development of an antibacterial thermosensitive gel against staphylococci biofilms to prevent surgical site infections - Laurine Kaul

• The rise of a superbug - can Vibrio natriegens solve the world’s plastic problem? - Georg Fritz
• Heterologous Expression and Biochemical Analysis Reveal a Schizokinen-Based Siderophore Pathway in Leptolyngbya (Cyanobacteria) - Leanne Pearson
• How does the cell envelope shape the flow of DNA by conjugation in bacterial populations? - Galain Williams
• The molecular basis of the post-infection developmental decision by temperate bacteriophage 186 - Keith E Shearwin
• Dissecting the role of RfaH in uropathogenic Escherichia coli virulence - Yvette Yu Ting Ong
• Finding a target: how a single protein regulates transcription, excision and transfer in a bacterial integrative and conjugative element. - Callum J Verdonk
• Secretion of a folded lipoprotein through a novel Type I secretion system - Freya J Hodges

•  Assessing performance of EUCAST rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (RAST) at Northern Pathology - Taylor Corocher
• Title TBA - Patricia Szczurek
• An unusual case of Elizabethkingia miricola bacteraemia: A journey from environment to bloodstream - Amy Millar
• The ability of covalently bound peptoids to reduce adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to contact lenses  - Manjulatha Sara
• Metamycoplasma hominis: Unmasking a Hidden Culprit in Respiratory Infections. - Angelina Jackson
• Candida auris: the yeast of our worries.... (93543)  - Christopher H. Heath

• The genetics, plasmids and toxins nexus in Clostridium perfringens - Julian I Rood