Rate My Professor Mark Davies

Associate Professor Mark Davies serves in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. He is also Laboratory Head at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Davies completed his PhD in 2007 at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Following postdoctoral studies, he was recruited to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute, where he established his research laboratory. His career trajectory includes progression to Associate Professor, with roles as Senior Lecturer in Bacteriology.

Davies' research centers on bacterial genomics, particularly the epidemiology, evolution, and prevention of streptococcal pathogens such as Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) and Group B Streptococcus. His laboratory investigates host-pathogen interactions, population structure, and genomic surveillance of emerging bacterial variants. Key contributions include genomic analyses identifying novel Strep A variants in Australia, prophage-encoded exotoxins enhancing pathogen fitness, and atlases of vaccine candidates derived from pathogenomics. Representative publications comprise 'Prophage exotoxins enhance colonization fitness in epidemic serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes' (Nature Communications, 2020), 'Atlas of group A streptococcal vaccine candidates compiled using pathogenomics' (mBio, 2019), 'Comparative M-protein analysis of Streptococcus pyogenes from invasive and non-invasive infections' (BMC Infectious Diseases, 2016), and 'Benchmarking reveals superiority of deep learning variant callers on bacterial genomes' (eLife, 2024). He has garnered over 13,677 citations on Google Scholar. In 2025, Davies received a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant exceeding $2.8 million for his project on the epidemiology, evolution, and prevention of streptococcal pandemics. His work informs global health strategies, vaccine development, and surveillance of invasive streptococcal infections, with projects addressing indigenous health and global health challenges.