Research keywords:

Nosocomial infections, Staphylococcus, MRSA, MRSE, epidemiology, MLST, biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, IS256, gene regulation, microarrays, proteomics, sRNAs

Current Research:

Main research interests are the epidemiology, genetics and molecular biology of healthcare-associated Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. In our laboratory we have a strong interest in teaming basic research with public health aiming at an in-depth understanding of staphylococcal disease and laying the basis for future innovative prevention and treatment strategies. The Ziebuhr laboratory has a track record in genetics and molecular biology of staphylococci and key technologies of genome and proteome research have been established which are currently being used

1. to identify regulatory networks controlling gene expression, focussing specifically on biofilm regulation in S. epidermidis;
2. to identify and functionally characterise small regulatory RNAs and their role in biofilm control and metabolic adaptation;
3. to study the molecular function of insertion sequence element IS256 and its impact on genome flexibility and heterogenous gene expression in biofilm-forming S. epidermidis; and
4. to conduct molecular epidemiological studies on the dissemination of nosocomial S. epidermidis and their role as reservoirs for the evolution and spread of novel antibiotic resistance genes.