Dr Leah Roberts
Research Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research
Researcher biography
Dr Leah Roberts is a bacterial bioinformatician currently working on clinically important bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. She uses whole genome sequencing to investigate mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, that can transfer horizontally between bacteria thereby spreading resistance within a bacterial population. Her research is focused on developing bioinformatic tools and studying the epidemiology of bacteria commonly associated with Hospital Acquired Infections.
After obtaining her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2019 she moved to the United Kingdom to undertake a Biomedical Fellowship with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute and the University of Cambridge. In 2023 she returned to Australia with a lecturer position at the Queensland University of Technology. In the same year she was awarded an NHMRC EL1 Investigator Fellowship and has since moved to the UQ Centre for Clinical Research on the Herston campus. She collaborates with a number of public health providers including Pathology Queensland and Forensic Scientific Services.
Publications
Journal Articles
Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Forde, Brian M., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Phan, Minh-Duy, Roberts, Leah W., Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2024). Evolution of the pheV-tRNA integrated genomic island in Escherichia coli. PLoS Genetics, 20 (10) e1011459, e1011459. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011459
Tsang, Kara K., Lam, Margaret M. C., Wick, Ryan R., Wyres, Kelly L., Bachman, Michael, Baker, Stephen, Barry, Katherine, Brisse, Sylvain, Campino, Susana, Chiaverini, Alexandra, Cirillo, Daniela Maria, Clark, Taane, Corander, Jukka, Corbella, Marta, Cornacchia, Alessandra, Cuénod, Aline, D'Alterio, Nicola, Di Marco, Federico, Donado-Godoy, Pilar, Egli, Adrian, Farzana, Refath, Feil, Edward J., Fostervold, Aasmund, Gorrie, Claire L., Hassan, Brekhna, Hetland, Marit Andrea Klokkhammer, Hoa, Le Nguyen Minh, Hoi, Le Thi, Howden, Benjamin ... KlebNET-GSP AMR Genotype-Phenotype Group (2024). Diversity, functional classification and genotyping of SHV β-lactamases in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Microbial Genomics, 10 (10). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001294
Frolova, Daria, Lima, Leandro, Roberts, Leah Wendy, Bohnenkämper, Leonard, Wittler, Roland, Stoye, Jens and Iqbal, Zamin (2024). Applying rearrangement distances to enable plasmid epidemiology with pling. Microbial Genomics, 10 (10) 001300. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001300
White, Rhys T., Ashcroft, Melinda M., Bauer, Michelle J., Bell, Jan, Butkiewicz, Dominika, Álvarez-Fraga, Laura, Gibson, Justine S., Kidsley, Amanda K., Mollinger, Joanne L., Peters, Kate M., Phan, Minh-Duy, Roberts, Leah W., Rogers, Benjamin A., Schembri, Mark A., Trott, Darren J., Turnidge, John, Forde, Brian M. and Beatson, Scott A. (2024). The complete genome sequence of five pre-2013 Escherichia coli sequence type (ST)1193 strains reveals insights into an emerging pathogen. Access Microbiology, 6 (10). doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.000894.v3
Baker, Stephen, Krishna, Aishwarya, Higham, Sophie, Naydenova, Plamena, O’Leary, Siobhan, Scott, Josefin Bartholdson, Harcourt, Katherine, Forrest, Sally, Goulding, David, Thi Nguyen, To Nguyen, Toan, Nguyen Duc, Alekseeva, Elizaveta, Zhou, Qingqing, Andreozzi, Ilaria, Sobotic, Barbara, Craig, Hannah, Wong, Vivian, Forrest-Owen, Nichola, Sanchez, Dana Moreno, Pearce, Claire, Roberts, Leah, Watson, Simon, Clare, Simon, Torok, Mili Estee, Dougan, Gordon, Kellam, Paul, Tregoning, John S. and Reece, Stephen T. (2024). Exploiting human immune repertoire transgenic mice for protective monoclonal antibodies against antimicrobial resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Nature Communications, 15 (1) 7979, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52357-8
Hellewell, Joel, Horsfield, Samuel T, von Wachsmann, Johanna, Gurbich, Tatiana A, Finn, Robert D, Iqbal, Zamin, Roberts, Leah W and Lees, John A (2024). CELEBRIMBOR: core and accessory genes from metagenomes. Bioinformatics, 40 (9), 9. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae542
Roberts, Leah W., Malone, Kerri M., Hunt, Martin, Joseph, Lavania, Wintringer, Penelope, Knaggs, Jeff, Crook, Derrick, Farhat, Maha R., Iqbal, Zamin and Omar, Shaheed (2024). MmpR5 protein truncation and bedaquiline resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from South Africa: a genomic analysis. The Lancet Microbe, 5 (8) 100847, 100847. doi: 10.1016/s2666-5247(24)00053-3
Permana, Budi, Harris, Patrick N. A., Roberts, Leah W., Cuddihy, Thom, Paterson, David L., Beatson, Scott A. and Forde, Brian M. (2024). HAIviz: an interactive dashboard for visualising and integrating healthcare-associated genomic epidemiological data. Microbial Genomics, 10 (2) 001200. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001200
Coll, Francesc, Gouliouris, Theodore, Blane, Beth, Yeats, Corin A., Raven, Kathy E., Ludden, Catherine, Khokhar, Fahad A., Wilson, Hayley J., Roberts, Leah W., Harrison, Ewan M., Horner, Carolyne S., Hoi, Le Thi, Hoa, Nguyen Thi, Trung, Nguyen Vu, Brown, Nicholas M., Holmes, Mark A., Parkhill, Julian, Toeroek, Mili Estee and Peacock, Sharon J. (2024). Antibiotic resistance determination using Enterococcus faecium whole-genome sequences: a diagnostic accuracy study using genotypic and phenotypic data. The Lancet Microbe, 5 (2), e151-e163. doi: 10.1016/s2666-5247(23)00297-5
Roberts, Leah W., Enoch, David A., Khokhar, Fahad, Blackwell, Grace A., Wilson, Hayley, Warne, Ben, Gouliouris, Theodore, Iqbal, Zamin and Toeroek, M. Estee (2023). Long- read sequencing reveals genomic diversity and associated plasmid movement of carbapenemase- producing bacteria in a UK hospital over 6 years. Microbial Genomics, 9 (7) 001048. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001048
Roberts, Leah W., Le Thi Hoi,, Khokhar, Fahad A., Nguyen Thi Hoa,, Tran Van Giang,, Cuong Bui,, Tran Hai Ninh,, Dao Xuan Co,, Nguyen Gia Binh,, Hoang Bao Long,, Dang Thi Huong,, Bryan, James E., Herrick, Archie, Feltwell, Theresa, Nadjm, Behzad, van Doorn, H. Rogier, Parkhill, Julian, Nguyen Vu Trung,, Nguyen Van Kinh,, Iqbal, Zamin and Torok, M. Estee (2022). Genomic characterisation of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii in two intensive care units in Hanoi, Viet Nam: a prospective observational cohort study. The Lancet Microbe, 3 (11), E857-E866. doi: 10.1016/s2666-5247(22)00181-1
Colquhoun, Rachel M., Hall, Michael B., Lima, Leandro, Roberts, Leah W., Malone, Kerri M., Hunt, Martin, Letcher, Brice, Hawkey, Jane, George, Sophie, Pankhurst, Louise and Iqbal, Zamin (2021). Pandora: nucleotide-resolution bacterial pan-genomics with reference graphs. Genome Biology, 22 (1) 267, 267. doi: 10.1186/s13059-021-02473-1
Henderson, A., Paterson, D. L., Chatfield, M. D., Tambyah, P. A., Lye, D. C., De, P. P., Lin, R. T. P., Chew, K. L., Yin, M., Lee, T. H., Yilmaz, M., Cakmak, R., Alenazi, T. H., Arabi, Y. M., Falcone, M., Bassetti, M., Righi, E., Rogers, B.A., Kanj, S. S., Bhally, H., Iredell, J., Mendelson, M., Boyles, T. H., Looke, D. F. M., Runnegar, N. J., Miyakis, S., Walls, G., AI Khamis, M., Zikri, A. ... For the MERINO Trial Investigators and the Australasian Society for Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (ASID-CRN) (2020). Association between minimum inhibitory concentration, beta-lactamase genes and mortality for patients treated with piperacillin/tazobactam or meropenem from the MERINO study. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 73 (11), e3842-e3850. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1479
Tan, Yi Jie Chelsea, Zhao, Chengzhi, Nasreen, Marufa, O'Rourke, Leo, Dhouib, Rabeb, Roberts, Leah, Wan, Ying, Beatson, Scott A. and Kappler, Ulrike (2019). Control of bacterial sulfite detoxification by conserved and species-specific regulatory circuits. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10 (MAY) 960, 960. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00960
Forde, Brian M., Zowawi, Hosam M., Harris, Patrick N. A., Roberts, Leah, Ibrahim, Emad, Shaikh, Nissar, Deshmukh, Anand, Sid Ahmed, Mazen A., Al Maslamani, Muna, Cottrell, Kyra, Trembizki, Ella, Sundac, Lana, Yu, Heidi H., Li, Jian, Schembri, Mark A., Whiley, David M., Paterson, David L. and Beatson, Scott A. (2018). Discovery of mcr-1-mediated colistin resistance in a highly virulent Escherichia coli lineage. mSphere, 3 (5) e00486-18. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00486-18
Harris, Patrick N. A., Tambyah, Paul A., Lye, David C., Mo, Yin, Lee, Tau H., Yilmaz, Mesut, Alenazi, Thamer H., Arabi, Yaseen, Falcone, Marco, Bassetti, Matteo, Righi, Elda, Rogers, Benjamin A., Kanj, Souha, Bhally, Hasan, Iredell, Jon, Mendelson, Marc, Boyles, Tom H., Looke, David, Miyakis, Spiros, Walls, Genevieve, Al Khamis, Mohammed, Zikri, Ahmed, Crowe, Amy, Ingram, Paul, Daneman, Nick, Griffin, Paul, Athan, Eugene, Lorenc, Penelope, Baker, Peter ... MERINO Trial Investigators and the Australasian Society for Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (ASID-CRN) (2018). Effect of piperacillin-tazobactam vs meropenem on 30-day mortality for patients with E coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection and ceftriaxone resistance: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 320 (10), 984-994. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.12163
Harris, Patrick N. A., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Roberts, Leah W., Wailan, Alexander M., Zowawi, Hosam M., Tambyah, Paul A., Lye, David C., Jureen, Roland, Lee, Tau H., Yin, Mo, Izharuddin, Ezlyn, Looke, David, Runnegar, Naomi, Rogers, Benjamin, Bhally, Hasan, Crowe, Amy, Schembri, Mark A., Beatson, Scott A. and Paterson, David L. (2017). Whole genome analysis of cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli from bloodstream infections in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore: high prevalence of CMY-2 producers and ST131 carrying blaCTX-M-15 and blaCTX-M-27. The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 73 (3), 634-642. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkx466
Roberts, Leah (2017). From isolate to answer: how whole genome sequencing is helping us rapidly characterise nosocomial bacterial outbreaks. Microbiology Australia, 38 (3), 127-130. doi: 10.1071/MA17047
Sarkar, Sohinee, Roberts, Leah W., Phan, Minh-Duy, Tan, Lendl, Lo, Alvin W., Peters, Kate M., Paterson, David L., Upton, Mathew, Ulett, Glen C., Beatson, Scott A., Totsika, Makrina and Schembri, Mark A. (2016). Comprehensive analysis of type 1 fimbriae regulation in fimB-null strains from the multidrug resistant Escherichia coli ST131 clone. Molecular Microbiology, 101 (6), 1069-1087. doi: 10.1111/mmi.13442
Ben Zakour, Nouri L, Alsheikh-Hussain, Areej S, Ashcroft, Melinda M, Khanh Nhu, Nguyen Thi, Roberts, Leah W, Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Schembri, Mark A and Beatson, Scott A (2016). Erratum for Ben Zakour et al., Sequential Acquisition of Virulence and Fluoroquinolone Resistance Has Shaped the Evolution of Escherichia coli ST131. mBio, 7 (3), 1-1. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00958-16
Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Alsheikh-Hussain, Areej S., Ashcroft, Melinda M., Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Roberts, Leah W., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Schembri, Mark A. and Beatson, Scott A. (2016). Sequential acquisition of virulence and fluoroquinolone resistance has shaped the evolution of Escherichia coli ST131. MBio, 7 (2) e00347-16, e00347-16.1-e00347-16.11. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00347-16
Phan, Minh-Duy, Peters, Kate M., Sarkar, Sohinee, Forde, Brian M., Lo, Alvin W., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Roberts, Leah W., Upton, Mathew, Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2015). Third-generation cephalosporin resistance conferred by a chromosomally encoded blaCMY-23 gene in the Escherichia coli ST131 reference strain EC958. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 70 (7) dkv066, 1969-1972. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkv066