Dr Chinyere Okoro

Lecturer in Bacteriology

PhD (Cantab), MSc, BSc

+44 (0)1483 684487

co0013@surrey.ac.uk

9:00am - 5:00pm. By appointment

Academic and research departments

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Biosciences.

About

Biography

Chinyere graduated with a degree in industrial microbiology in Nigeria, followed by an MSc in industrial and commercial biotechnology from Newcastle University, UK in 2007, where her research project focussed on using a range of genotypic and phenotypic approaches to characterise novel actinomycetes whilst highlighting potential bioactivity in recovered isolates.

In 2012, she obtained a PhD in molecular biology from Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, enabled by a four-year Wellcome Trust PhD studentship and was based at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK. During her PhD research, she used a combination of genomic and phenotyping methods to investigate the genotype to phenotype links in human-invasive variants of Salmonella Typhimurium.

She was awarded a Society-in Science, Branco Weiss Fellowship in 2013. Chinyere extended her previous research and developed her current research firstly, as a postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (2012-2014) and then as a Research Associate at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge (2015-2017).

Chinyere joined the University of Surrey as an Academic Fellow in February 2017.

Areas of specialism

One Health; Bacteriology; Genomics; Bacterial phenotyping; Public Engagement

University roles and responsibilities

Module Lead BMS1035 PRACTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL BACTERIOLOGY

Academic Integrity Officer (FHMS)

Affiliations and memberships

Microbiology Society

Member

American Society for Microbiology

Member

Royal Society of Biology

Member - MRSB

Higher Education Academy

Fellow

Research

Research interests

Our lab research broadly aims to use best-fit methods to study the epidemiology of and identify variation in important enteric pathogen populations in order understand the contributory role of the identified variation in disease transmission. Specifically, My research broadly focuses on understanding how bacterial pathogens emerge and spread. So far, I have used methods that are based on whole genome sequencing and analyses and combined results from these analyses with corresponding epidemiological and clinical information to understand how enteric pathogens spread over time and space.

My previous research focused on using whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic methods to determine the population structure and transmission dynamics of human-invasive variants of Salmonella Typhimurium from several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We also used various in-vitro and ex-vivo assays to characterise identified phylogenetic lineages and ascertain distinguishing phenotypes.

My current research includes investigating the prevalence and transmission dynamics of clinically-important drug resistant enteric bacteria, including Klebsiella, E. coli and other enteric bacteria in community settings using a One Health approach. I explore the complex interplay between humans, animals and their environments and the transmission dynamics of important virulence determinants and antibiotics resistance between these.

I am also interested in investigating environmental reservoirs of AMR and evaluating soil as a conduit for the transmission of AMR

For the above, we use genome-based analyses and various phenotyping assays to study variation, such as antimicrobial resistance, within and between identified bacterial pathogen populations.

Research collaborations

Prof Iruka Okeke - University of Ibadan, Nigeria & Haverford College, US

Prof Oladipo Aboderin - Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Nigeria

Supervision

Postgraduate research supervision

Teaching

UNDEGRADUATE

BMS1035 - PRACTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL BACTERIOLOGY

POSTGRADUATE

MMIM021 - BACTERIAL, PROTOZOAL AND FUNGAL PATHOGENS

MMIM018 - MICROBIAL GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Publications

Chattaway MA, Aboderin AO, Fashae K, Okoro CK, Opintan JA, Okeke IN. (2016) Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Enteric Bacteria in Sub-Saharan Africa: Clones, Implications and Research Needs.

Kariuki S, Okoro C, Kiiru J, Njoroge S, Omuse G, Langridge G, Kingsley RA, Dougan G, Revathi G. (2015) Ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium sequence type 313 from Kenyan patients is associated with the blaCTX-M-15 gene on a novel IncHI2 plasmid

Onsare RS, Micoli F, Lanzilao L, Alfini R, Okoro CK, Muigai AW, Revathi G, Saul A, Kariuki S, MacLennan CA, Rondini S (2015) Relationship between antibody susceptibility and lipopolysaccharide O-antigen characteristics of invasive and gastrointestinal nontyphoidal Salmonellae isolates from Kenya.

Okoro CK, Kingsley RA, Quail MA, Kankwatira AM, Feasey NA, Parkhill J, Dougan G, Gordon MA. (2012) High-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism analysis distinguishes recrudescence and reinfection in recurrent invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella typhimurium disease

Okoro CK, Barquist L, Connor TR, Harris SR, Clare S, Stevens MP, Arends MJ, Hale C, Kane L, Pickard DJ, Hill J, Harcourt K, Parkhill J, Dougan G, Kingsley RA. (2015) Signatures of adaptation in human invasive Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 populations from sub-Saharan Africa.

Carden S, Okoro C, Dougan G, Monack D. (2015) Non-typhoidal Salmonella Typhimurium ST313 isolates that cause bacteremia in humans stimulate less inflammasome activation than ST19 isolates associated with gastroenteritis

Seth-Smith HM, Fookes MC, Okoro CK, Baker S, Harris SR, Scott P, Pickard D, Quail MA, Churcher C, Sanders M, Harmse J, Dougan G, Parkhill J, Thomson NR. (2012) Structure, diversity, and mobility of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 7 family of integrative and conjugative elements within Enterobacteriaceae.

Okoro CK, Kingsley RA, Connor TR, Harris SR, Parry CM, Al-Mashhadani MN, Kariuki S, Msefula CL, Gordon MA, de Pinna E, Wain J, Heyderman RS, Obaro S, Alonso PL, Mandomando I, MacLennan CA, Tapia MD, Levine MM, Tennant SM, Parkhill J, Dougan G. (2012) Intracontinental spread of human invasive Salmonella Typhimurium pathovariants in sub-Saharan Africa

Okoro CK, Brown R, Jones AL, Andrews BA, Asenjo JA, Goodfellow M, Bull AT. (2009) Diversity of culturable actinomycetes in hyper-arid soils of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

Santhanam R, Okoro CK, Rong X, Huang Y, Bull AT, Weon HY, Andrews BA, Asenjo JA, Goodfellow M. (2012) Streptomyces atacamensis sp. nov., isolated from an extreme hyper-arid soil of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Okoro CK, Bull AT, Mutreja A, Rong X, Huang Y, Goodfellow M. (2010) Lechevalieria atacamensis sp. nov., Lechevalieria deserti sp. nov. and Lechevalieria roselyniae sp. nov., isolated from hyperarid soils.

Santhanam R, Okoro CK, Rong X, Huang Y, Bull AT, Andrews BA, Asenjo JA, Weon HY, Goodfellow M. (2012) Streptomyces deserti sp. nov., isolated from hyper-arid Atacama Desert soil.

Rateb ME, Houssen WE, Arnold M, Abdelrahman MH, Deng H, Harrison WT, Okoro CK, Asenjo JA, Andrews BA, Ferguson G, Bull AT, Goodfellow M, Ebel R, Jaspars M. (2011) Chaxamycins A-D, bioactive ansamycins from a hyper-arid desert Streptomyces sp.

Rateb ME, Houssen WE, Harrison WT, Deng H, Okoro CK, Asenjo JA, Andrews BA, Bull AT, Goodfellow M, Ebel R, Jaspars M. (2011) Diverse metabolic profiles of a Streptomyces strain isolated from a hyper-arid environment.

International Glossina Genome Initiative (2014) Genome sequence of the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans): vector of African trypanosomiasis.

Fuzi M and Ip M (eds) (2017) The global challenge posed by the multiresistant international clones of bacterial pathogens

Harris SR & Okoro CK in Goodfellow M, Sutcliffe I, Chun J (eds) (2014) New Approaches to Prokaryotic Systematics

https://www.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/methods-in-microbiology/vol/41

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