Emma Sweeney

Postdoctoral Researcher
The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research

Brisbane, QLD

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Expertise

Biography

Dr Emma Sweeney is a microbiologist at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. Emma completed her PhD in 2015 at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), focusing on the role of the human Ureaplasma species in adverse pregnancy outcomes, and the virulence/pathogenicity factors which may enable these bacteria to evade the host immune response, establishing chronic in utero infections. Emma then completed postdoctoral studies at QUT, looking at the unique antimicrobial effects that breastmilk and saliva mixtures have on regulating the oral microbiome of babies. 

Emma then moved to the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, where her current research focuses on the development of molecular tools to enhance the clinical management of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). The molecular tools that she is developing have the ability to identify the pathogen and its associated antimicrobial resistance in real-time, allowing clinicians to make the right diagnosis and select the most appropriate antimicrobial treatments for each patient in real-time. 

Featured

Academic paper

2019

Levels of Mycoplasma genitalium Antimicrobial Resistance Differ by Both Region and Gender in the State of Queensland, Australia: Implications for Treatment Guidelines
Academic paper

2019

False-negative Chlamydia polymerase chain reaction result caused by a cryptic plasmid-deficient Chlamydia trachomatis strain in Australia
Academic paper

2018

The effect of breastmilk and saliva combinations on the in vitro growth of oral pathogenic and commensal microorganisms
Academic paper

2016

Placental Infection With Ureaplasma species Is Associated With Histologic Chorioamnionitis and Adverse Outcomes in Moderately Preterm and Late-Preterm Infants
Academic paper

2016

The Human Ureaplasma Species as Causative Agents of Chorioamnionitis