Medicine, University of Southampton

There is expertise in infection proteomics, epidemiology, molecular diagnostics, public health, primary care, environmental microbiology, biofilms and studies of host-pathogen relationships. There are internationally-recognised groups in noroviruses, hepatitis C virus, chlamydia, gonococci, meningococcal and pneumococcal infections and MRSA  with expertise in epidemiology, molecular diagnostics, public health and primary care.  There are excellent opportunities for collaboration and translational research through sharing of clinical data and samples and staff expertise. 

There has been a long standing research programme in noroviruses (Paul Lambden and Ian Clarke), Southampton Virus' (SV) was the first norovirus to be characterized at the molecular level.  There are studies on model systems including both bovine ‘Jena virus' (JV) and murine noroviruses in order to determine the molecular basis of tissue tropism and elucidate the mechanisms controlling virus replication.

Translational research involves the rational development of viral inhibitors through understanding the atomic structure of virus proteins and the development improved diagnostic reagents for noroviruses. 

There is also interest in other replication of positive strand viruses (Christopher McCormick). These viruses have to encode a number of functions within a relatively small open reading frame and as a result many produce their proteins from polyprotein precursors. In some instances additional functionality is gained from transient and stable precursors generated during polyprotein processing, and there is interest in what these roles are and whether they represent a potential drug target. Further projects are aimed at establishing how these same viruses subvert host cell functions to their own benefit, and identifying the molecular events important for virus particle formation and entry. Understanding these processes is an important step in the development of new anti-viral therapies.

Research into bacterial diseases includes studies on understanding genetic regulation in Chlamydiae (Ian Clarke) with a long term view to develop a gene transfer system for these organisms.     Recently studies have begun into the molecular epidemiology of C.trachomatis and there is major interest in developing point of care tests for C.trachomatis.

There is also focus on the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae and other vaccine-preventable bacterial infections (Stuart Clarke). There are strong cross-discipline collaborations that serve as essential links between epidemiology, microbial communities and biofilms in addition to exploiting post-genomic technologies to explore the relationships at the genomic level with antibiotic resistance, virulence potential and disease potential in microorganisms that cause respiratory disease.

The Neisseria Research Group (Myron Christodoulides and John Heckels) focuses on bacterial pathogenesis, at the cellular and molecular levels, with an emphasis on meningitis and septicaemia caused by the pathogens Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The Group has an international reputation in studying the biology of the meningococcus and the human immune response to colonisation and infection, and in using this information to develop meningococcal vaccines. A multi-component vaccine containing several novel meningococcal proteins is currently being developed and one antigen showing particular promise has been licensed to a major pharmaceutical company. In addition, the Group is investigating novel treatments for inhibiting meningococcal-induced intravascular and intracranial inflammation. The Group also has research interests in sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and how infection leads to cell damage and repair fibrosis in the Fallopian tube, complications of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.