Rate My Professor Jodi Lindsay

Professor Jodi Lindsay served as Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis at Saint George's Hospital Medical School, University of London. She obtained her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Western Australia between 1991 and 1995, followed by postdoctoral positions at New York University Medical Center and the University of Sheffield. She joined Saint George's Hospital Medical School in November 1998 as a tenure-track lecturer, achieved tenure in 2005, and progressed through promotions to Senior Lecturer in 2006, Reader in 2009, and Professor in 2012. During her tenure at Saint George's, University of London, later known as City St George's, University of London, she held senior leadership roles including Director of Cross-Cutting Research Themes, Deputy to the Deputy Principal for Research and Enterprise, and Academic Lead for REF2021. She collaborated extensively with bioinformaticians, mathematical modellers, clinical microbiologists, infectious disease physicians, and public health experts.

Professor Lindsay's research focused on the evolution, genomics, and epidemiology of bacterial pathogens, with a particular emphasis on staphylococci, MRSA, antimicrobial resistance gene acquisition and spread, horizontal gene transfer, bacteriophage transduction, restriction-modification systems, and selective pressures in human and animal populations. Her key discoveries include Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) that facilitate high-frequency toxin gene transfer, the lineage-specific type I restriction-modification system Sau1 that blocks horizontal gene transfer, extremely high rates of antimicrobial resistance gene movement during host colonization, sub-inhibitory antimicrobial concentrations enhancing gene transfer, and genomic regions controlling resistance gene transfer into MRSA. Notable publications include 'Evolution of MRSA during hospital transmission and intercontinental spread' (2010), 'Complete genomes of two clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains: evidence for the rapid evolution of virulence and drug resistance' (2004), 'Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): global epidemiology and harmonisation of typing methods' (2012), and 'Staphylococcus aureus: superbug, super genome?' (2004). She edited the book 'Staphylococcus: Molecular Genetics' (2008, Caister Academic Press) and served as Reviews Editor and Editor of Microbiology for 10 years each, Editor of BMC Infectious Diseases for 10 years, and Editor of X-AMR. Professor Lindsay chaired the ESCMID Study Group on Staphylococci, the Microbiology Society Publishing Committee, and co-chaired the Gordon Research Conference on Staphylococci. She contributed to the UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations Steering Committee, BBSRC Biosciences for Health advisory committee, and grant panels for DFG, JPI-AMR, EU FP7/Horizon2020, and NIH. An invited speaker at over 100 conferences, her work has advanced understanding of MRSA epidemiology, fluoroquinolone stewardship's role in reducing UK hospital incidence, resistance in companion animals, and informed diagnostics, stewardship, infection control, and public health strategies.