Dr Margaret Lam

AMR IMPACT THEME
  • Transmission & Control of AMR in Healthcare
EXPERTISE
  • Bacterial genomics
  • Transmission of AMR
  • Plasmid epidemiology

Dr Margaret Lam is currently an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow based within the Department of Infectious Diseases under the Infectious Disease Genomics research theme. She co-leads the Fundamental Microbial Genomics program, which encompasses a body of basic and fundamental science research that directly feeds into translational research and refining pathogen control strategies. Margaret’s research largely focusses on using computational biology and comparative genomics to investigate the genetic diversity and distribution of mobile genetic elements such as plasmids. These mobile genetic elements often confer antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and/or virulence. and can easily be transmitted between bacterial strains. Margaret’s key organisms of interest include Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, both of which are World Health Organization-priority pathogens.

Margaret completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2015, focusing on the evolution of hospital pathogen Enterococcus faecium and key features contributing to hospital outbreaks. Her research led to the publication of the first complete E. faecium genome. She then joined Professor Kathryn Holt’s research group as a postdoctoral research fellow, where she transitioned from wet-lab work to computational biology/bioinformatics and developed a strong research interest in K. pneumoniae. Margaret’s research has culminated in several widely-used genome surveillance resources, including Kleborate - a genotyping tool that rapidly detects and types virulence and AMR loci in Klebsiella genomes

AMR FOCUS
  • Investigate the epidemiology and dissemination of mobile genetic elements that confer antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, with a focus on resistance to last-line antibiotics
  • Develop bioinformatic tools and databases to support AMR surveillance
IMPACT
  • Key insights into how AMR transmits between bacterial strains
  • Genomic tools and resources for AMR surveillance