Current Research.
Multi-species biofilms: Unveiling the dynamics of recurrent contamination in food processing environments
The most significant challenge food processors face is recurrent contamination with food-borne pathogens and biofilms, leading to public health crises and product recalls. Our laboratory is focused on understanding how pathogens adapt within mixed-species biofilms and co-evolution within the biofilm community. Biofilms are aggregates of multiple species of microorganisms that adhere to a surface and work together to survive. Biofilms foster microbial communities with the potential for beneficial and pathogenic interactions, including antibiotic resistance.
Multi-species biofilm-mediated antibiotic resistance
Antimicrobial agents have transformed various aspects of medicine, but their widespread use has led to resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms over many decades, posing a significant global health challenge. Our research is to understand how different microorganisms in biofilms develop and protect antibiotic-resistance networks, spread antibiotic-resistance cells, and affect the food chain, specifically in beef and dairy production and processing environments. Our work highlights the crucial role of non-pathogenic microorganisms within biofilms in transmitting antimicrobial resistance to pathogenic counterparts, thereby contributing to their persistence in both the environment and biotic hosts, including animals and humans.
Role of multi-species biofilms in RNA virus stability and dispersal in built environments and at the wildlife-livestock nexus
Virus persistence and transmission within built environments highlight the critical need for enhanced sanitation and ventilation strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus. To address this, our research investigates the complex interactions between RNA viruses and various environmental factors, focusing on how the virus survives and spreads within built environments and biofilms. By examining these dynamics, we aim to uncover novel mechanisms that enhance viral stability and dispersal, contributing to a deeper understanding of virus behavior in complex ecological settings. Currently, we are investigating the survival of SARS-CoV-2 within built environments and environmental biofilms. We demonstrated that biofilms enhance viral fitness and that the presence of a thin liquid film produced by bacterial-driven biofilms enhances the stability of viruses compared to dry surfaces. Furthermore, biofilms can facilitate the dispersal of viruses by serving as transport agents through bacterial motility. These breakthroughs not only elucidated survival strategies of the coronavirus but also established a new research niche focused on understanding interactions among multi-species biofilms and viruses.
Surveillance, spillover and spillback events of emerging and re-emerging pathogens at the wildlife-livestock nexus
Human impacts on ecosystems have grown progressively through the influence of human settlement and agriculture-based economies, urbanization, and climate change. The expansion of urban spaces and the proximity of agricultural lands to wildlife habitats, coupled with climate change extending the range of wildlife reservoirs, collectively amplify the occurrence of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases and spillovers at the wildlife-livestock-human interface. Currently, we are investigating the spillover of SARS-CoV-2 to wild and domestic animal reservoirs and the potential for pathogen recombination events in these reservoirs. Additionally, we are investigating the potential spillback of SARS-CoV-2 from animal reservoirs, which could establish a persistent transmission cycle and pose an ongoing risk to human health.