DrJoanna Drabinska

Bacterial infections of immunocompromised patients are one of the greatest challenges hospitals face. Many of them are caused by opportunistic or/and multidrug-resistant strains. I have a particular interest in exploring the adaptation strategies of these pathogens to the lung environment during chronic infection of people with cystic fibrosis. The project I am currently a part of focuses on the adaptations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepatia, and Mycobacterium abscessus to hypoxia, one of the important environmental pressures present in the lung. Long term hypoxia hasn't been examined as a driver of adaptation towards the persistence of these bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients. I am focused on finding common mechanisms of pathogen adaptation, that could potentially be targeted for the treatment of polymicrobial infections in the future.