Dr Carola Venturini
Dr Carola Venturini is a research fellow at The Sydney School of Veterinary Science (SSVS). She is an expert microbiologist primarily investigating the role of mobile genetic elements in the evolution of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens with a multidisciplinary approach. Carola began her studies in Natural Sciences at the University of Trieste (Italy) and graduated with distinction (Hons) in Molecular Biology at the University of Wollongong (UOW). She completed a PhD (APA; UOW and The Elizabeth MacArthur Agricultural Institute) under the supervision of Prof M. Walker (UQ) and Prof S. Djordjevic (UTS), investigating the relationship between antibiotic resistance, virulence and mobile DNA in pathogenic enterobacteria. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Queensland from 2010 to 2013 studying horizontal gene transfer and virulence in Streptococcus pyogenes as well as progressing her work on AMR transmission. From 2013 to 2021, Carola was a postdoctoral researcher with the Iredell Critical Infection research group at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, where she led large-scope projects on the ecology of the gut microbiome related to antibiotic use and started exploring the use of bacteriophages to combat bacterial infection. Since joining the SSVS, Carola has expanded her research program on AMR control and bacteriophage use in animal settings, developing her independent research program with a truly One Health perspective.
Carolais a microbiologist whose research primarily focuses on:
· antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens, and
· the role of mobile genetic elements in the evolution of infectious bacteria.
Her work has a multidisciplinary One Health approach that combines traditional microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and in vivo small animal models.
Her research projects include:
· understanding the relationship between antibiotic resistance, virulence and mobile DNA (e.g. plasmids, phages, integrative DNA elements) in bacterial pathogens, mainly enterobacteria;
· the ecology of the gut microbiome, particularly in relation to the transfer of antimicrobial resistance and the effects of antibiotic treatment;
· the application of bacteriophages for the treatment or decontamination of multidrug resistant bacteria.
Carola has covered multiple teaching roles in her career as demonstrator in practical classes, Peer Assisted Study Sessions leader, skilled tutor for Disability Services, course coordinator and lecturer (Biology, Genetics, Genomics, and Biochemistry 2007-2010 etc.). She has successfully supervised 3rd year Advanced Science (23), Honours (6) and HDR (2) students, both national (UOW, UQ, WIMR, USyd) and international (CAPA). She is currently co-supervising two PhD students (USyd). Carola has received commendations for Outstanding Teaching and Learning (UOW, 2007), Outstanding supervision (CAPA, 2020) and awarded the ‘Excellence in Service Teaching Activity by an Academic Staff Member Award’ by the SSVS (2022).
- Bacteriophages against MDR pathogens in animal infections and aquaculture
- Phage therapy for nontyphoidal Salmonella infection
- Tracking phage-bacteria dynamics in vivo using fluorescence
- Bacteriophage-bacteria dynamics in the gut
- Affiliate of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research
- Member of the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute (SydneyID)
- Member of the Phage Australia collaborative network
- Professional Member (MASM) of the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM)
- Convenor of the ASM Public Health Microbiology SIG
- Executive committee member (NSW representative) for the ASM Bacteriophage Biology & Therapeutics SIG
- Executive committee member for the ASM Antimicrobials SIG
- Member of the American Society for Microbiology
(Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute) Collaboration on genomics of enteric pathogens and their infecting bacteriophages |
Publications
Book Chapters
- Tagg, K., Venturini, C., Kamruzzaman, M., Ginn, A., Partridge, S. (2020). Plasmid DNA Isolation and Visualization: Isolation and Characterization of Plasmids from Clinical Samples. In Fernando de la Cruz (Eds.), Horizontal Gene Transfer: Methods and Protocols, (pp. 3-20). New York: Springer. [More Information]
Journals
- Le, H., Fajardo Lubian, A., Bowring, B., Van Der Poorten, D., Iredell, J., George, J., Venturini, C., Ahlenstiel, G., Read, S. (2024). Using a human colonoid-derived monolayer to study bacteriophage translocation. Gut Microbes, 16(1), 2331520. [More Information]
- Samsing Pedrals, F., Zhang, W., Zadoks, R., Whittington, R., Venturini, C., Giles, C., Carson, J., Becker, J. (2023). Cold temperature stress and damaged skin induced high mortality in barramundi (Lates calcarifer) challenged with Vibrio harveyi. Journal of Fish Diseases, 46, 751-766. [More Information]
- Fajardo Lubian, A., Venturini, C. (2023). Use of Bacteriophages to Target Intracellular Pathogens. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 77, S423-S432. [More Information]
2024
- Le, H., Fajardo Lubian, A., Bowring, B., Van Der Poorten, D., Iredell, J., George, J., Venturini, C., Ahlenstiel, G., Read, S. (2024). Using a human colonoid-derived monolayer to study bacteriophage translocation. Gut Microbes, 16(1), 2331520. [More Information]
2023
- Samsing Pedrals, F., Zhang, W., Zadoks, R., Whittington, R., Venturini, C., Giles, C., Carson, J., Becker, J. (2023). Cold temperature stress and damaged skin induced high mortality in barramundi (Lates calcarifer) challenged with Vibrio harveyi. Journal of Fish Diseases, 46, 751-766. [More Information]
- Fajardo Lubian, A., Venturini, C. (2023). Use of Bacteriophages to Target Intracellular Pathogens. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 77, S423-S432. [More Information]
2022
- Venturini, C., Petrovic Fabijan, A., Fajardo Lubian, A., Barbirz, S., Iredell, J. (2022). Biological foundations of successful bacteriophage therapy. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 14(7), 1-20. [More Information]
- Venturini, C., Bowring, B., Partridge, S., Ben Zakour, N., Fajardo Lubian, A., Ayala Lopez, A., Qin, J., Totsika, M., Van Galen, G., Norris, J., Iredell, J. (2022). Co-Occurrence of Multidrug Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Pathogenic Clones of Human Relevance in an Equine Pneumonia Case. Microbiology Spectrum, 10(3). [More Information]
- Petrovic Fabijan, A., Martinez-Martin, D., Venturini, C., Mickiewicz, K., Flores-Rodriguez, N., Errington, J., Iredell, J. (2022). L-Form Switching in Escherichia coli as a Common β-Lactam Resistance Mechanism. Microbiology Spectrum, 10(5), e0241922-1-e0241922-8. [More Information]
2021
- Venturini, C., Bowring, B., Fajardo Lubian, A., Devine, C., Iredell, J. (2021). Effects of antibiotic treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam versus ceftriaxone on the composition of the murine gut microbiota. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 65(2), 1-10. [More Information]
- Gamage, H., Venturini, C., Tetu, S., Kabir, M., Nayyar, V., Ginn, A., Roychoudhry, B., Thomas, L., Brown, M., Holmes, A., Partridge, S., Seppelt, I., Iredell, J., et al (2021). Third generation cephalosporins and piperacillin/tazobactam have distinct impacts on the microbiota of critically ill patients. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 7252. [More Information]
2020
- Venturini, C., Ben Zakour, N., Bowring, B., Morales, S., Cole, R., Kovach, Z., Branston, S., Kettle, E., Thomson, N., Iredell, J. (2020). Fine capsule variation affects bacteriophage susceptibility in Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258. The FASEB Journal, 34(8), 10801-10817. [More Information]
- Petrovic Fabijan, A., Khalid, A., Maddocks, S., Ho, J., Gilbey, T., Sandaradura, I., Lin, R., Ben Zakour, N., Venturini, C., Bowring, B., et al (2020). Phage therapy for severe bacterial infections: a narrative review. Medical Journal of Australia, 212(6), 279-285. [More Information]
- Tagg, K., Venturini, C., Kamruzzaman, M., Ginn, A., Partridge, S. (2020). Plasmid DNA Isolation and Visualization: Isolation and Characterization of Plasmids from Clinical Samples. In Fernando de la Cruz (Eds.), Horizontal Gene Transfer: Methods and Protocols, (pp. 3-20). New York: Springer. [More Information]
2019
- Venturini, C., Fabjian, A., Lin, R. (2019). Bacteriophage therapy for severe infections. Microbiology Australia, 40(1), 20-23. [More Information]
- Venturini, C., Zingali, T., Wyrsch, E., Bowring, B., Iredell, J., Partridge, S., Djordjevic, S. (2019). Diversity of P1 phage-like elements in multidrug resistant Escherichia coli. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-10. [More Information]
2018
- Venturini, C., Ginn, A., Wilson, B., Tsafnat, G., Paulsen, I., Partridge, S., Iredell, J. (2018). Ecological effects of cefepime use during antibiotic cycling on the Gram-negative enteric flora of ICU patients. Intensive Care Medicine Experimental, 6(1), 1-7. [More Information]
2016
- Carey, A., Weinberg, J., Dawid, S., Venturini, C., Lam, A., Nizet, V., Caparon, M., Walker, M., Watson, M., Ulett, G. (2016). Interleukin-17A contributes to the control of streptococcus pyogenes colonization and inflammation of the female genital tract. Scientific Reports, 6. [More Information]
2015
- Davies, M., Holden, M., Coupland, P., Chen, J., Venturini, C., Barnett, T., Ben-Zakour, N., Tse, H., Dougan, G., Yuen, K., et al (2015). Emergence of scarlet fever streptococcus pyogenes emm12 clones in hong kong is associated with toxin acquisition and multidrug resistance. International Journal of Obesity, 47(1), 84-87. [More Information]
- Zakour, N., Davies, M., You, Y., Chen, J., Forde, B., Stanton-Cook, M., Yang, R., Cui, Y., Barnett, T., et al, Venturini, C. (2015). Transfer of scarlet fever-associated elements into the group A Streptococcus M1T1 clone. Scientific Reports, 5, 1-7. [More Information]
2013
- Venturini, C., Ong, C., Gillen, C., Ben-Zakour, N., Maamary, P., Nizet, V., Beatson, S., Walker, M. (2013). Acquisition of the Sda1-encoding bacteriophage does not enhance virulence of the serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes strain SF370. Infection and Immunity, 81(6), 2062-2069. [More Information]
- Venturini, C., Hassan, K., Chowdhury, P., Paulsen, I., Walker, M., Djordjevic, S. (2013). Sequences of two related multiple antibiotic resistance virulence plasmids sharing a unique IS26-related molecular signature isolated from different Escherichia coli pathotypes from different hosts. PloS One, 8(11). [More Information]
Selected Grants
2025
- Phage formulations targeting Rhodococcus equi a major respiratory pathogen, Venturini C, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases (Sydney ID)/Sydney ID Seed Grants
- Metagenomics for carcass site emerging infectious disease and rabies surveillance in India, Brookes V, Venturini C, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases (Sydney ID)/Sydney ID Seed Grants
2023
- Salmonella virulence modulation by outer membrane vesicles and bacteriophages, Venturini C, Universities Australia/Germany Joint Research Co-operation scheme
- Impact of OMV production on antimicrobial activity against non-typhoidal Salmonella, Venturini C, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases (Sydney ID)/Sydney ID Seed Grants
International links
Germany – Medical School Berlin; Potsdam University; Borstel Institut
UK – Edinburgh University
USA – Cornell University
Italy – Istituto Zooprofilattico delle Venezie