Academic interests
Yersinia ruckeri is a Gram-negative bacterium pathogen responsible for enteric redmouth disease. Yersinia ruckeri infections cause significant economic losses in salmonid aquaculture. Research into the pathogenicity of Yersinia ruckeri is limited.
The group of proteins, that mediate the fish-pathogen interaction comprise adhesins anchored in the bacterial outer membrane. They are essential for infection as they possess the ability to bind a variety of host molecules.
The aim of my research is to understand the molecular mechanisms of adhesion and to identify adhesins of interest and their cellular receptors in order to assess their function in pathogenesis.To examine whether adhesins of interest are involved in Yersinia ruckeri virulence, fish cell line and in vivo system (zebrafish embryos) will be used and optimised. Fluorescence microscopy will allow to visualize infections to assess the role of virulence genes. Infection of colour- fluorescent bacteria will be essential to follow the infection.
Courses taught
Background
I graduated from Poznań University of Life Sciences in 2011 with a Master of Science Engineer in Biotechnology. This degree has a large emphasis on Microbiology and Molecular Biology. From July to September 2011 I worked in the Molecular Diagnostic Research Group, Microbiology, NUIG, Galway. Here I had a great opportunity to develop a real time NASBA assay, which helped me understand the specifics of molecular biology. From January to December 2013 I worked with a dynamic and expanding Microbiology group based at University College Cork, Ireland. During this time I learned various bioengineering methods such as molecular cloning.