Rate My Professor Joan Geoghegan

Professor Joan Geoghegan, BA, PhD, is a distinguished microbiologist serving as Professor in Microbiology and Infection and Head of the Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes in the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham since 2024. She earned her BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences, PhD in Microbiology, and Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies (Higher Education), all from Trinity College Dublin. Geoghegan established her independent research group focused on staphylococcal pathogenesis at Trinity College Dublin in 2012. In 2020, she was appointed to the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham. A Royal Society Wolfson Fellow since 2020, Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology since 2023, and recipient of the WH Pierce Prize in 2020, she has made significant contributions to applied microbiology.

Geoghegan's research program centers on the molecular basis of Staphylococcus aureus success as a human pathogen, defining factors for colonization of the nasal cavity and skin's stratum corneum—especially in atopic dermatitis—through interactions with host proteins and cells, resistance to immune clearance, and competition with other microbes. Specific interests include ligand binding by cell-wall anchored proteins, copper hypertolerance in MRSA affecting fitness and antimicrobial resistance, and protein-mediated biofilm formation. A major goal is developing new targets for vaccines and therapies against bacterial infections. Key recent publications encompass "Nanoscale Mechanics of FnBPB-Mediated Adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to Skin Ligands" (ACS Nano, 2026, with Zheng et al.), "A single amino acid substitution in Fibronectin Binding protein A (FnBPA) governs Staphylococcus aureus virulence" (PLoS Pathogens, 2025, Motta et al.), "Large-scale characterisation of the nasal microbiome redefines Staphylococcus aureus colonisation status" (Nature Communications, 2025, Aggarwal et al.), "Ultrastrong Staphylococcus aureus adhesion to human skin: Calcium as a key regulator" (Science Advances, 2025, Chantraine et al.), "The mutational landscape of Staphylococcus aureus during colonisation" (Nature Communications, 2025, Coll et al.), and "Interaction of the Staphylococcus aureus surface protein FnBPB with corneodesmosin involves two distinct, extremely strong bonds" (ACS NanoScience Au, 2023, Paiva et al.). She leads funded projects including MRC-supported studies on bacterial adhesion in atopic dermatitis skin colonisation and Royal Society-funded research on copper hypertolerance systems.