We are pleased to welcome Professor Cynthia Whitchurch FAA to the Quadram Institute. Cynthia is setting up a research group investigating the lifestyles of bacteria, and how these make them more infectious or resistant to antimicrobials.

Cynthia has joined us from the ithree institute at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, where she was the founding director of the Microbial Imaging Facility.

Cynthia’s research has focused on biofilms, which are complex communities that microorganisms form by coming together on a surface. This lifestyle adaptation aids their survival and persistence in the environment.

Cynthia’s previous research led to the discovery that extracellular DNA is required for biofilm development, and that this facilitates their self-organisation. This and other seminal discoveries have helped unpick the mechanisms bacterial communities employ to form biofilms. This knowledge is vital in the search for new ways to prevent and treat infections.

Cynthia has been recognised for the quality of her research, including receiving the 2016 David Syme Research Prize and earlier this year she was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

I am thrilled to have this opportunity to join the Quadram Institute to work with an amazing group of scientists. The expertise and technologies available at the institute and across the Norwich Research Park will enable my research to proceed in new and exciting directions.