Prof. Kimberly Kline
Kimberly Kline is an Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Science, Professor of Microbiology in the School of Biological Sciences, and a Principal Investigator at the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), a research institute dedicated to the study of microbial communities and microbiomes. Prior to coming to Singapore in 2011, Kimberly received an MPH in Biostatistics and Epidemiology and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Northwestern University in Chicago. Kimberly completed postdoctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm Sweden. Kimberly has received multiple awards for her contributions to the field of microbiology, including a NIH K99 Career Development Award in 2011, the Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship in 2011, the ICAAC Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Microbiology in 2014, and the Nanyang Education Award in 2017. In addition, Kimberly is an active advocate for increasing diversity in STEM. In 2018, she co- founded Women@NTU, an initiative to bring together members of the NTU community interested in increasing diversity and excellence by providing a platform for exchanging ideas, to advance and promote the roles of women at the university and beyond.
Title: Pathogenesis of polymicrobial biofilm-associated infection
Summary:
Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal of the healthy human gut microbiome, as well as an opportunistic pathogen of the urinary tract, wounds, and GI tract of susceptible individuals. These infections are biofilm-associated and often polymicrobial in nature, together promoting antibiotic tolerance and rendering the infections difficult to treat. In this talk, I will describe mechanistic interactions between E. faecalis and common co-infecting organisms that promote virulence and adverse infection outcomes.