Prof Feil’s research career has encompassed the evolution, population genomics and molecular epidemiology of a broad range of bacterial pathogens of humans and animals. He was involved with the development and implementation of Multilocus Sequence Typing, a key contribution being the eBURST clustering algorithm. He was joint-first author of a publication in 2010 demonstrating proof of principal for the use of Whole Genome Squencing for molecular epidemiology. His current research focus on ‘One-Health’ questions of genome diversity, adaptation and AMR in the Enterobacteriaceae.
As an IMI fellow, I am looking for help to develop a statistical framework for describing the distribution of genes conferring antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the plasmids that carry them, as determined by three (semi-independent) axes: 1. The strain / species of the bacteria, 2. The ecological setting, and 3. The geographical region. This is a first step to understanding the factors driving, or limiting, the spread of AMR within and between different ‘One-Health’ compartments (eg hospitals, community, agricultural animals, the environment), and thus will form the basis of more robust risk assessments and targeted surveillance/ intervention measures.