Microbial Diagnostics and Characterisation

Associate Professor David Whiley is based at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland and is also employed as a research scientist at Pathology Queensland.

His research is principally focused on the development of novel molecular diagnostic and typing tools for infectious diseases.

Much of this work is aimed at enhancing the capacity of clinical laboratories to diagnose, identify and characterise pathogens, with a particular emphasis on respiratory and sexually transmitted infections.

Assoc. Prof. Whiley’s current research interests include antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A key focus of his gonorrhoea work is to improve N. gonorrhoeae resistance surveillance in areas where current surveillance activities by bacterial culture are limited.