Stephen Tristram

A senior lecture in Medical Microbiology in the University of Tasmania’s school of Health Sciences, Associate Professor Tristram combines teaching with an active research career focused on antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity of the respiratory pathogen Haemophilus influenzae (a respiratory pathogen involved in a range of infections, including pneumonia).

As a world-class researcher in this area, he regularly receives strains of this pathogen from colleagues all over the world who seek to understand the molecular mechanisms behind new types of antibiotic resistance.

The practice of administering people with “good bacteria” or probiotics is an emerging approach to controlling infectious diseases.

Funded by the Clifford Craig Foundation, Associate Professor Tristram’s research aims to develop a nasal spray to introduce good bacteria strains, to fight the bad bacteria responsible for lower respiratory tract and ear infections.