Jo Hobbs

Dr Jo Hobbs is a Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology at the School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Her research focuses on antibiotic tolerance mechanisms in bacteria, particularly clinical isolates. She investigates how tolerance contributes to persistent infections and explores strategies to reverse tolerance.

Education: Dr Hobbs holds a PhD in Molecular Microbiology (2009, University of Leeds) and a BSc in Microbiology (2005, University of Leeds). She also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position at the University of Victoria.

Research Interests: Her work combines bacterial genetics, clinical microbiology, and enzymology to address key questions about antibiotic tolerance, including prevalence in clinical isolates, mechanisms of tolerance, and translational strategies to combat treatment failures. Her lab’s goal is to develop chemical inhibitors to resensitize bacteria to existing antibiotics.

Grants & Projects: She leads a Royal Society-funded project (2023–2024) examining the role of clinical stringent response mutations in horizontal gene transfer and antibiotic resistance dissemination.

Labs/Teams: The Hobbs Lab (www.hobbs-lab.co.uk) collaborates internationally, focusing on translational microbiology and antimicrobial strategies.