Diarmaid Hughes

We work on bacterial genetics, evolution of resistance to antibiotics, discovery and development of novel antibiotics, and the evolution of gene order on chromosomes.

If you would like to do a project in my group (for example a masters exam project) please contact me directly by email. I am looking for people with good academic qualifications, interested in problem solving, basic science and bacterial genetics. Note: we are not a clinical microbiology lab. Contact: diarmaid.hughes@imbim.uu.se

Our main research interests are in bacterial genetics and evolution, including the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the development of novel Gram-negative antibiotics. In studying the evolution of antibiotic resistance, an in-depth understanding of the selection processes and evolutionary principles behind fitness/resistance trade-offs is required for developing methodologies capable of suppressing the growth or spread of resistant bacteria. In this context discovering new drugs or drug targets is very important.

We study the evolution of resistance to antimicrobial drugs, with a particular focus on the fluoroquinolones. Questions include how resistance development impacts on bacterial fitness and how bacteria respond by compensatory evolution.

We are also interested in the organisation of bacterial chromosomes, and how they change through evolution. We have the technology to address fundamental questions experimentally.

If you would like to make a project in my group you should have a good academic record and be interested in logical reasoning and problem solving. Being comfortable with numbers, modelling, computers and data analysis are all advantageous. You should also be prepared to work seriously and hard.

Contact me by email with your CV: diarmaid.hughes@imbim.uu.se

My publication list is on Google Scholar (this is often more up to date than DIVA):

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=rSid04wAAAAJ&pagesize=100&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate