Deirdre Collins

Deirdre Collins is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia (UWA), and a member of the Marshall Centre. She holds an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship and works with Professor Thomas Riley's Clostridium difficile research group at PathWest Laboratory Medicine, QEII Medical Centre. Her roles include Epidemiologist for Food-borne disease surveillance at the Department of Health (WA) and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Edith Cowan University.

Education: PhD in Microbiology (UWA, 2012-2016), Master of Infectious Diseases (UWA, 2008-2010), BA (Moderator) in Human Genetics (Trinity College Dublin, 2003-2007).

Research focuses on Clostridium difficile epidemiology, antibiotic resistance, and genomic analysis. Key topics include infection prevalence in Asia-Pacific regions, environmental contamination, and transmission dynamics. Her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being.

Notable projects include a NHMRC-funded initiative on reducing C. difficile infections via One Health approaches and a study on ribotypes circulating in Asia. Awards include NHMRC Early Career Fellow status.

Labs/Teams: Active in Prof. Riley's research group, PathWest laboratories, and collaborative networks in Vietnam and Cambodia.