• Question: Matt, how will your research help the world.

    Asked by rachel&niamh to Matt on 11 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Matthew Moore

      Matthew Moore answered on 11 Mar 2015:

      Well cystic fibrosis is a really common genetic disease and the leading cause of death in cystic fibrosis is due to bacterial infection of the lungs and in particular a bacterium called Pseudomonas aeruginosa*, which I work on!

      It is the aim to identify what really makes this bacteria harmful by looking at different genetic types of it to determine how better to treat it.

      Already, the scientists who’s group I work for discovered something called the Liverpool Epidemic Strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and realise that it was being transmitted between patients. As a result they began testing patients for this strain and segregated them if they had the Liverpool Epidemic Strain (which is also more harmful then most and cannot be treated), this massively reduced the numbers of people infected with it.

      I am now looking at its genes to determine how it evolved to be so different to other Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

      *sooo-doh-moan-ass air-idge-in-osa

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