Dr Adrian Muwonge

BBSRC Future Leader Fellow

Biography

Background

Adrian is a BBSRC Future Leader Fellow with a molecular epidemiology background whose research work focuses on Africa. He is currently focusing on the molecular basis of antimicrobial resistance development and dissemination at the human-animal interface. He has previously worked on the molecular characterization, evolution and diagnostic challenges of tuberculous and non tuberculous mycobacteria recovered at the human-animal interface in various African countries.

Area of Expertise

Research expertise: Metagenomics of the gut microbiome , Molecular basis of antimicrobial resistance development and dissemination in the gut microbiome, Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex at the human-animal interface

Qualifications

2009 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Norwegian University of Life Science The Molecular Epidemiology of Tuberculous and Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria

2007 Master of Public Health, Norwegian University of Life Science The epidemiology of tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria in Uganda

2001 Bachelors in Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, Makerere University Assessment of Worm Burden in pets Using Hypoproteinemia and Eosinophilia

Current research interests

As a Future Leader Fellow, Adrian's research work focuses on antimicrobial resistance gene exchange at the human-animal interface. This work aims to gain fundamental insight into the generation, sharing and transfer of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes within and between humans and their livestock under natural settings that represent different levels of antimicrobial stewardship. Defining these dynamics offers the best chance of developing effective control measures and underwrites the efforts toward limiting irrational antibiotic use in both human and animal health care. He has also worked on projects that aimed at documenting the prevalence, distribution and transmission of Mycobacterium bovis at the human-animal interface in Cameroon, Southern Sudan, Uganda and Zambia. In the process mapping disease drivers in both human and animal populations as well as identifying barriers to detection. In collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture he has also explored the utility of the M.bovis genome in understanding host dynamics especially since these pathogens are hitch hickers on hosts. In this regard he also collaborates with researchers at the following institutions on the World M.bovis project; University of Pretoria, University of Zambia, Makerere University, University of Barh el Gazel, Bamenda Tuberculosis reference Laboratory, University of Ibadan, Tuberculosis research laboratory in Chad, Awassa University and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute. Policy Adrian has also served as the chair of Zoonotic TB Subsection at the Internatioanl Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung disease. Here he led a working group tasked with creating global awareness of zoonotic TB which also closely works with the World health Organization (WHO), The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), World Organisation for animal Health (OIE), The Center for disease control and Prevention (CDC), Stop TB partnership to develop a unified global policy on zoonotic tuberculosis. We have recently published a global policy roadmap for zoonotic TB see link https://www.who.int/tb/publications/2017/zoonotic_TB/en/ Highlighting of our global campaign on zoonotic TB 1. Tuberculosis is spreading from animals to humans - CNN.com 2. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/31/health/veterinarian-contracts-tuberculosis-from-wildebeest/ 3. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-11-07-health-e-the-vet-and-the-wildebeest/#.WHQsl1Ld7dk Knowledge exchange and commercialization Adrian has recently also been involved in knowledge exchange and commercialization (KEC) in Edinburgh and here he worked as a technology scout tasked with linking Edinburgh infectious disease consortium to Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies in Asia with an aim of translating academic research out put...see link www.eid.ed.ac.uk Research interests - Metagenomics and the role of the gut Microbiome in antibiotic development - Molecular characteristics of Bacterial antimicrobial resistance - Functional genomics of Mycobacterium bovis - Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex - M.bovis and Brucella spp evolution (Host-pathogen co evolution) - The history of epidemics
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