Developing bacteriophage-based assays for the rapid detection of Mycobacteria

The project will be focussed on further developing a new phage-based assay patented by UoN for the rapid detection of mycobacterial pathogens. This new assay format reduces the time to detection and identification down to 6 h (compared to previously published methods that take 48 h). In its initial stages the PhD student will work on developing internal controls and optimising the DNA amplification steps, comparing results gained using standard PCR and iso-thermal DNA amplification methods. Once this is done, the project will focus on applying the method to the diagnosis of mycobacterial infections in developing tests for non-bovine species (such as pigs, goats, deer, wildlife) to demonstrate that the method can be used to improve current diagnostics and can also be used for epidemiological studies to understand disease transmission.