Dr Claire Chewapreecha
Contact information
Research groups
Claire Chewapreecha
Wellcome International Intermediate Fellow
Genetic research on melioidosis
Our works centre on the use of genomics to understand the evolution and dissemination of bacterial pathogens that cause a global burden. We have been particularly interested in melioidosis, a rapidly fatal infectious disease that endemic in many tropical regions. My Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship (2015-2019) facilitated my transition from UK to Thailand, my home country and an endemic area where the mortality from melioidosis is among the highest in the world (40%), and brought me closer to where the problem is.
Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp). Human can acquire Bp through contact with contaminated soil or water, yet not all exposure results in disease. We are testing the hypothesise that genetic variations in Bp and host, may contribute to whether individuals would develop the disease and how severe the infection is. Building upon a previous dataset from Northeast Thailand, our team is collecting and sequencing Bp genomes and patient blood transcriptomes to identify markers that lead to poorer outcomes. Moreover, people with diabetes are more susceptible to develop melioidosis. For each Bp and host markers, we will investigate how patient diabetic status would modulate disease severity. We will construct a model predicting the likely disease outcomes. This will inform strategic vaccine design by targeting the most harmful bacteria and individuals at greatest risk.
Recent publications
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BurkHostGEN: a study protocol for evaluating variations in the Burkholderia pseudomallei and host genomes associated with melioidosis infection
Journal article
Angchagun K. et al, (2023), Wellcome Open Research, 8, 347 - 347
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Antibiotic susceptibility of clinical Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates in northeast Thailand during 2015-2018 and the genomic characterization of β-lactam-resistant isolates.
Journal article
Fen SHY. et al, (2023), Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 95, AAC.02230 - AAC.02220
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Phenotypic and genetic alterations of Burkholderia pseudomallei in patients during relapse and persistent infections.
Journal article
Seng R. et al, (2023), Frontiers in microbiology, 14
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A Multiplexed Cas13-Based Assay with Point-of-Care Attributes for Simultaneous COVID-19 Diagnosis and Variant Surveillance.
Journal article
Patchsung M. et al, (2022), The CRISPR journal
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Pneumococcal within-host diversity during colonization, transmission and treatment.
Journal article
Tonkin-Hill G. et al, (2022), Nature microbiology, 7, 1791 - 1804