McHenry, Brandon

Vibrio vulnificus is a marine pathogen of human health concern, capable of causing potentially fatal wound infections in a select group of the population. Previous studies have indicated this species’ strong negative correlation with salinity, not typically found above 30 ppt. This study assessed the ability of V. vulnificus to become Viable But Nonculturable in response to elevated salinity (35 ppt) as well as investigated novel methods for confirming their entrance into this state. Results showed a complete loss of culturability in both Environmental and Clinical strains of this bacterium by 9 days after inoculation. Using a High Content Imager, it was determined that these pathogens were not dying (< 10%) in response to the treatment and were partially becoming cocci (≈35%). This study indicates the importance of understanding the impact environmental parameters have on this human pathogen, and what it means for reliably detecting them.

The 3MT® competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by graduate students. Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), the exercise cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience. The first 3MT® competition was held at the University of Queensland in 2008 with 160 students competing. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT® competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities and enthusiasm for the concept grew. Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT® competitions are now held in over 170 universities across more than 18 countries worldwide.