Dr. Abigail Clements

Biography

Abigail Clements is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London and a Group Leader in the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology (CBRB). She joined Imperial College in 2009 as a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Gad Frankel. Previously, she held a postdoctoral position in the lab of Professor Trevor Lithgow at Monash University. Abigail completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Professor Richard Strugnell. Her research interests revolve around bacterial pathogenesis, focusing on the underlying molecular mechanisms. Her work encompasses various aspects of cellular microbiology, molecular microbiology, clinical microbiology, and biochemistry. Currently, her lab studies several bacterial pathogens, including Shigella species and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Shigella species are responsible for bacillary dysentery, leading to an estimated 1 million deaths annually. The lab emphasizes comparing the molecular mechanisms utilized by various pathogens to enhance understanding of the epidemiology of observed infections. Additionally, her work on Klebsiella pneumoniae, known for its opportunistic pathogenicity and ability to acquire antimicrobial resistance, aims to understand the features of multi-resistant genetic lineages that contribute to increased virulence.

Research Interests

Experience