Aimee Tan

I am a molecular microbiologist with interests in the evolution and regulation of pathogenesis. I have recently returned to the University of Melbourne, where I have joined A/Prof Chris McDevitt’s group as part of a programme investigating metal homeostasis and susceptibility to infectious bacterial disease. I was awarded my PhD in 2013 for studies in genetic regulation and evolutionary pathogenesis of enteric pathogens under the supervision of Dr Ji Yang and Prof. Roy Robins-Browne. Following this, I moved to the Gold Coast to take up a position with A/Prof Kate Seib at the Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University. At Griffith, I worked on the human-specific pathogens Neisseria meningitidis and Moraxella catarrhalis, primarily focusing on phase variable epigenetic regulator proteins and their associated regulons (known as phasevarions). I also investigated mechanisms of pathogenesis and select virulence determinants in M. catarrhalis and their potential for use as vaccine candidates. This work was partially funded by a research training fellowship from the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation. I am also an active member of the Australian Society of Microbiology.