Genomic Epidemiology of Campylobacter in Poultry to Enable the Effective Control of Human Campylobacteriosis in a Middle Income Country

PROJECT SUMMARY The zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter is among the principal etiologies of diarrhea in children living in low resource settings. Emergence of multi drug resistance against clinically relevant antimicrobials including fluroquinolones and macrolides make it a high-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. However, the molecular epidemiology and ecology of this pathogen in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) remains unresolved. This knowledge gap is especially evident in the pathogen’s main host: the chicken. Preliminary evidence suggests that there are sufficient genomic features to differentiate Campylobacter populations between small-scale and industrially scaled poultry. This K43 Emerging Global Leader career development award aims to study and compare the molecular epidemiology and ecology of MDR Campylobacteriosis in industrially and domestically reared poultry within a highly endemic setting. This will be achieved through i) the detailed study of genomic features of Campylobacter populations from backyard reared and industrially produced poultry, ii) the assessment of Campylobacter genomic determinants of multi-drug resistance in backyard reared and industrially produced poultry, and iii) the linkage of epidemiologic data of locally reported antibiotic exposures and genomic signals of drug resistance. The results from this study will critically contribute to the human source attribution models of disease being built in the study under which this project is nested (an ongoing pediatric cohort and nested case control studying the transmission dynamics of Campylobacter in the Peruvian Amazon). To fulfill these goals, an accomplished group of mentors will collectively provide mentorship and train the candidate, Dr. Francesca Schiaffino. Dr. Schiaffino proposes a career development plan that includes advanced methodological training in genomic analysis (through coursework, personalized training sessions and on-site scholarly rotations), publications, grantsmanship and continued training in responsible conduct of research within the context of global health. The main mentoring committee is composed of world-class experts in the field, including Dr. Margaret N. Kosek (infectious diseases, epidemiology), Dr. Carlos Shiva (veterinary microbiology, poultry science), Dr. Craig T. Parker (microbial genomics), Dr. Kerry Cooper (bacterial genomics and targeted metagenomic analysis), Dr. Samuel Sheppard and Dr. Ben Pascoe (Campylobacter ecology and evolution, source attribution studies), and Mrs, Maribel Paredes (community based participatory research, project management). Dr. Schiaffino’s career development plan has been sequentially designed with the objective of positioning her as an independent veterinary scientist and epidemiologist with expertise in bacterial genomics with the overall objective of improving human and animal health through safe and robust food systems.