Ani Penesyan

Anahit (Ani) Penesyan, BSc, MSc, PhD

ARC Super Science Fellow

anahit.penesyan@mq.edu.au

Current Work

My current project is aimed at studying interactions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with its environment as a model system for understanding bacterial communication and interactions networks.

P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic microbial pathogen responsible for nosocomial (hospital acquired) infections of immune compromised individuals. It is also commonly associated with chronic infection in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients causing reduced lung function.

Communications are essential for the success of pathogenic bacteria. For example, adhesion and colonisation are dependent on interactions with not only host cells, but also potentially with other cells of the pathogen, for instance in the formation of biofilms, as well as with other commensal microorganisms. Thus, successful colonisation by a bacterial pathogen is likely to involve a complex interaction network with other cell types. Such diverse interactions are better understood using an integrated systems biology approach that includes data from macromolecular “omics” of molecular biology: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and glycomics.