Julian Parkhill has positioned himself at the leading edge of efforts to sequence the genomes of disease-causing bacteria in humans and animals. Beginning with the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, Julian’s research has provided insight into the evolution and spread of bacterial pathogens.
His approach to pathogen genome analysis is both broad and deep. He studies a wide variety of bacteria to gather information about the diverse mechanisms they use to infect a host. In addition, he compares closely related strains to better understand how they differ, spread and develop resistance to drugs.
Throughout his career, Julian has introduced new approaches to genome sequencing including very high-throughput techniques. His efforts now extend to encouraging the use of these methods in a clinical setting. He has also developed bioinformatics tools that enable researchers to better visualise and comprehend genomic data.
Professional position
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge
Subject groups
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Molecules of Life
Molecular microbiology
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Patterns in Populations
Evolution
