Professor Diane Newell

Principal co-ordinator. Diane has worked on campylobacters for some 20 years. Her main research interests in this field are pathogenicity and epidemiology. She works at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in New Haw in Surrey, near London in the UK, where she has been employed since 1992. Diane has over 60 published papers in peer-reviewed journals, many of which relate to campylobacter.

Dr. Stephen On

Co-ordinator of PFGE- and IT Subgroups, and responsible WWW page author/manager. I have worked on campylobacters and related bacteria for over 10 years. My main research interests include subtyping, identification and taxonomy of these fascinating organisms. I am currently Secretary of the International Committee of Systematic Bacteriology (ICSB) Subcommittee on Campylobacter and related bacteria. I work at the Danish Veterinary Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark, and have over 50 peer-reviewed journal and book articles, mostly concerning the Campylobacter group.

Dr. Robert Madden

Co-ordinator of Flagellin gene typing Subgroup. Bob is a Lecturer in the Food Science Department of Queen´s University of Belfast (QUB) in Northern Ireland. The laboratory performs many research, routine and consultancy functions regarding food pathogens in conjunction with the Depaertment of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (DANI), with which it shares laboratory facilities. Bob initiated research on molecular typing and identification of campylobacters at QUB some 10 years ago and his current interests include RAPD- and PCR-RFLP methods for these purposes.

Dr. Jaap Wagenaar

Co-ordinator of Strain collection Subgroup. Jaap leads the laboratory of bacterial intestinal diseases in the Bacteriology Department of the Institue for Animal Science and Health, a part of the Agricultural Research Department (ID-DLO) of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. Jaap´s research has focused principally on isolation and epidemiological aspects of Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry.

Dr. Birgitta Duim

Co-ordinator of AFLP Subgroup. Birgitte is relatively new to campylobacters but not to the field of molecular genetics, where her research on Haemophilus formed the basis of her Ph.D studies. Birgitta works closely with Jaap at ID-DLO, where she is concentrating her efforts on AFLP subtyping of Salmonella and Campylobacter.

Dr. Jan van der Plas

Co-ordinator of the subgroup dealing with New and Complimentary Methods. Jan is product manager and project leader of the Molecular Typing Center at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in Zeist, Holland. TNO is an independent contract research organisation and the typing Center supplies government, institutes and industries with specialist molecular typing services for epidemiological purposes, food safety and quality assurance. Jan has ten years experience in the field of Campylobacter detection and typing in the animal production chain and the automated RiboprinterÔ forms an integral part of front-line quality control investigations of campylobacters in foods at TNO.

THE SUBGROUP MEMBERS

 

Dr. Clare Harrington

Member of the Flagellin gene typing Subgroup. Clare´s experience in molecular biology was first gained by working on sulphate-reducing bacteria. After obtaining her Ph.D, she quickly moved into campylobacter research where she has performed key studies concerning recombination and diversity of the flagellin and rRNA genes of campylobacters. Clare works with Stephen On at the Danish Veterinary Laboratory, where she continues her research on molecular typing (including AFLP)- and identification methods for the campylobacter group.

 

Dr. Fiona Thomson-Carter

Member of the PFGE- and AFLP Subgroups. Fiona is head of the Scottish Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter spp (SRLC), which was established in 1992. SRLC provides identification and subtyping services for all campylobacter strains isolated throughout Scotland from human, veterinary, food and environmental sources. Fiona has more than 11 years research experience in the development and assessment of novel typing methods (mainly genotypic) for a range of bacterial genera and is a member of the UK Department of Health’s Collaborative Group on Campylobacter subtyping.

Dr. Marja-Liisa Hänninen

Member of the PFGE Subgroup. Marja-Liise has performed research on campylobacters and helicobacters, mainly in the fields of isolation and characterisation for over 15 years. She currently leads a research group at the Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Helsinki University in Finland, working mainly on the epidemiology, identification and typing of various zoonotic and veterinary pathogens, including.campylobacters and helicobacters.

Dr. Vivian Fussing

Member of the Novel Typing Methods Subgroup. Vivian´s interest in molecular typing of bacteria was initiated during her Ph.D studies on the veterinary pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. She now leads a special purpose molecular typing unit which has recently been established at the Statens Serum Institute (SSI) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The expertise of SSI in phenotypic and genotypic subtyping on a wide range of human pathogens is well recognised and Vivian continues this long tradition. In conjunction with the SSI´s Department of Gastrointestinal Infections, Vivian is developing a RAPD-typing method for enteric campylobacters and will also participate by evaluating the standard PFGE typing protocol that should be available at the end of this year.

THE PARTICIPANTS

The following is a list of the laboratories and companies who will either assist in the evaluation of the standard genotyping protocols, or participate as a potential reciever of technology transfer, as appropriate. Names of contact persons are given in brackets after the country.

 

Centre National d’Etudes Vétérinaires et Alimentaires (CNEVA), BP 53, 22440, Ploufragan, France (Dr. G. Ermel).

Avian Pathology Institute - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bari University, Italy (Dr. A. Camarda).

The National Veterinary Institute, P.O.Box 7073, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Dr. A. Aspan)

The National Diagnostics Centre, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland (Dr. T. Smith/Ms. M. Maher)

National Consulting Laboratory for Campylobacter and Aeromonas, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany (Prof. M. Kist)

Public Health Laboratory, Royal Preston Hospital, PO Box 202, Sharoe Green Lane Preston PR2 9HG, UK (Prof. F. Bolton)

WHO Collaborating Centre for Enteric Campylobacters, Department of Microbiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire St-Pierre, Brussels, Belgium (Prof. J.-P. Butzler)

H.K. Dickey, Poultry Processors, 9 Granagh Road, Culleybackey, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The National Reference Center for Campylobacters and Helicobacters Laboratoire de Bacteriologie - Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux 2146, rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France (Prof. F. MJ graud)

Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Torshov, N-0403 Olso, Norway (Prof. G. Kapperud)

Plukon Poultry BV, P.O. Box 210, 8090 AA WEZEP, The Netherlands

Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, in Fac. of Pharmacy of the Basque Country University (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain (Dr. A. Fernandez-Astorga/Dr. I. Perales)

Danish Veterinary Laboratory, Department of Poultry, Fish and Fur Animals, 2 Hangoevej, DK-8200 Århus, Denmark (Dr. M. Madsen)

Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Aberdeen Medical School, Foresterhill, Aberdeen (Dr. P. Carter)

Campylobacter Reference Laboratory, Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, London, UK (Ms. J. Frost)

 

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