Professor Emeritus Sheila Patrick

Chair of Molecular Medical Bacteriology

1977 BSc (Honours Microbiology); University of Edinburgh

1981 PhD Microbiology; University of Edinburgh

2006 DSc Opportunistic pathogens of the normal human microbiota; University of Edinburgh

Fellow of the the Higher Education Academy

Chair, Society for Anaerobic Microbiology

http://www.uksam.org/home

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Opportunistic bacterial infections that arise from the normal resident human microbiota, with emphasis on anaerobic bacteria.

The aim of Professor Patrick's research is to contribute to our understanding of opportunistic bacterial infection so that we can better understand these diseases and improve on prevention, diagnosis and treatment. She has been involved in research into anaerobic bacteria of the human microbiota in health and disease for more than 38 years.

Her research in biofilm-associated prosthetic joint infection highlighted the importance of mild ultrasound treatment of retrieved implants to dislodge biofilm and the need for anaerobic culture for the detection of Propionibacterium (Cutibacterium) acnes for accurate infection diagnosis. Her research resulted in re-assessment of P. acnes phylogeny; the description of a novel sub-group and designation of sub-species. This has informed our understanding of P. acnes in health and disease. With a post-doctoral researcher in her lab, Dr Andrew McDowell, in 2012 she wrote the chapter on the taxonomic family Propionibacteriaceae in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, the recognised global taxonomic authority in Bacteriology. As PI, she designed a Randomised Controlled Trial to investigate pre-surgical skin disinfection. The trial outcome informs surgical practice; application of two different antiseptics sequentially significantly reduced the number of patients with surgical-site contamination. Bacteria from surgical-sites that were contaminated were derived from patients’ skin, not the operating surgeon, indicating the most likely source of implant infection is the patient. This underlines the importance of effective antisepsis.

She was Principal Investigator, in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Centre, for the first complete genome sequence of B. fragilis.  From this, the mechanism generating antigenic and phase variation of B. fragilis, which she had first described in the 1980s, was elucidated and the unprecedented level of DNA inversion events controlling variation discovered (DOI:10.1126/science.1107008) Analysis of a second fully annotated genome and genomic comparisons revealed that polysaccharide biosynthesis formed a large part of B. fragilis diversity within the pan-genome. The original fully annotated sequences underpin global research and have provided the template for subsequent B. fragilis genome sequences. Her subsequent research provided key insights into the mechanisms of metronidazole resistance, horizontal gene transfer and pathogenic potential in B. fragilis.  One of the most exciting discoveries arising from the genome sequence, with potentially high importance for human health, was the discovery of the unique homologue of eukaryotic ubiquitin and the link with autoimmune disease. 

She was involved in intiating and became a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for Mitigating Changes in Prokaryotic Nomenclature, established under the auspices of the International Committe on Systematics of Prokaryotes in 2024, to address the impact of nomenclature change on microbiology practice, in particular in relation to infectious disease.

During her career she has initiated and sustained successful collaborative research, as evidenced by joint publications, across wide geographical locations, including Hungary, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, USA (Los Angeles, North Carolina, Seattle, Rochester) as well as within UK

She took early retirement 31 December 2015 and has the position of Emeritus Professor at Queen's University in perpetuity. 

BOOK AND BOOK CHAPTER PUBLICATION

Patrick S, Larkin MJ 1995. Immunological and molecular aspects of bacterial virulence. Chichester; J. Wiley. 275pp

Patrick, S. 2002. Bacteroides. Chapter 91, pp 1921-1948. In: Molecular Medical Microbiology B Boulnois, G Griffin, C Hormaeche, G Keusch, M Levine, H Smith, P Williams, M Sussman (Eds). London: Academic Press.

Patrick S and Duerden BI. 2006. Gram-negative non-spore forming obligate anaerobes. Chapter 45, pp 541-556. In: Principles and Practice of Clinical Bacteriology 2 ^nd Edn. SH Gillespie, P Hawkey (Eds). London: Wiley.

McDowell A and Patrick S. 2011. Propionibacterium Chapter 13 In: Molecular detection of human bacterial pathogens. D Liu (Ed). Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis Group.

Patrick S and McDowell A. 2012, The Propionibacteriaceae. In: Volume 5 Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology 2nd Edn. H-J Busse, M Goodfellow, P Kämpfer, W Ludwig, JT Staley, K Suzuki, WB Whitman (Eds). New York: Springer-Verlag.  http://www.bergeys.org/

Patrick S. 2015 Bacteroides. Chapter 51. In: Molecular Medical Microbiology 2nd Edn. Tang Y-W, Sussman M, Liu D, Poxton I, Schwartzman J. (Eds) London: Academic Press.

Patrick S, Hughes HC, Morris TE, Brook I. 2026. Anaerobic infections: general concepts. In: Volume 2, Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases 10th Edn. Blaser MI, Cohen JI, Holland SM, Doi Y, Falsey A, Garrett WS, Marr KA, Mitre E and Wilson E (Eds) Philadelphia: Elsevier.