Research Activities

Laura started with MCRI in 2010 as research assistant working on the Bill and Melinda Gates funded PneuCarriage project, which compared pneumococcal serotyping methods around the world for the detection of multiple serotype carriage. She then completed a PhD focussing on pneumococcal vaccination and carriage in Fiji, looking at effects of vaccination on microbiota, indirect effects of infant vaccination in an adult population and long-term effects of various vaccine schedules.
Laura's research focuses on microbial genomics and the microbiome with a focus on global child health and vaccination. Her key interests lie in exploring in the impact of pneumococcal vaccination on bacterial carriage. Laura currently is using whole genome sequencing of pneumococci isolated from children with pneumonia in Lao to look at the impact of pneumococci on antimicrobial resistance and the circulating pneumococcal population.
Laura also enjoys human microbiome research and is keen to tackle new and interesting questions that can be answered by considering the wider microbiota in an environment.

Research Keywords

Researching in the following areas: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Microbial genomics, Vaccine impact, Antimicrobial resistance, Microbiome