The Department conducts research into various aspects of clinical infectious diseases and microbiology with a focus on: 

• Multidrug-resistant bacteria and the healthcare-associated infections they cause
• Pathogen genomics
• Invasive bacterial infections, such as infections in the blood stream, deep tissues, and bones or joints
• Respiratory infections in hospitalised patients
• Infections in immunocompromised individuals.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria and the healthcare-associated infections they cause are one of the most significant future threats to human health, both in Australia and globally. Effective antibiotics are essential for the safe provision of life-saving interventions such as solid organ and bone marrow transplantation, cancer chemotherapy and surgery. These interventions are now under threat due to rapidly expanding antimicrobial resistance and a lack of novel antimicrobial drug classes.

Using pathogen genomics and state-of-the-art molecular epidemiological methods, research in our Department focuses on understanding how these multidrug-resistant bacteria spread across the community and the hospital and how they adapt to specific niches. This research is accomplished by patient screening, surveillance and use of whole genome sequencing for high-consequence and high-prevalence micro-organisms.

The Department participates in national surveillance programs for bacterial resistance, reporting to the Australian Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR), OrgTrx and CARalerts. 

The Department has led the state in developing highly specialised and locally optimised in-house bioinformatics pipelines and automated reporting systems. This has facilitated studies which have provided important insights into the transmission dynamics of healthcare-associated pathogens, particularly vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CPE), and more recently SARS-CoV-2. Research findings have been rapidly translated into the implementation of targeted measures to optimise control of these multi-drug resistant organisms as well as COVID-19.

Our research in immunocompromised individuals includes liver, renal and allogeneic transplant recipients, as well as people with HIV. The Department participates in mycology studies evaluating fungal resistance rates, which have enabled refinement of local antifungal prophylaxis strategies for the numerous immunocompromised individuals cared for at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. 

Ongoing studies in transplant recipients include evaluations of surgical site infections and colonisation and invasive infections with multidrug resistant infections. HIV drug resistance surveillance is another area of interest of the Department, through involvement in the implementation of a state-wide HIV drug resistance database and participation in national surveillance reports.