Jai Tree

Associate Professor Jai Tree is a faculty member in the School of Biotech & Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where he has served since 2015, first as a Senior Lecturer (2015-2021) and then as an Associate Professor (2022-present). His research focuses on bacterial pathogenesis with particular emphasis on non-coding RNA regulation of virulence mechanisms in important human pathogens.

• PhD Microbiology, University of Queensland (2007)
• BScApp (Biotech) Hons I, University of Queensland (2001)

Professor Tree's research interests center on how bacteria pathogens cause disease, with a strong focus on understanding how non-coding RNAs control virulence gene expression. His lab uses a range of molecular techniques including UV-crosslinking, high throughput sequencing, RNA structure probing, and bioinformatics to investigate these regulatory mechanisms. His primary model systems include enterohaemorrhagic E. coli O157 (EHEC), which causes diseases ranging from gastroenteritis to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, and Staphylococcus aureus, particularly MRSA strains. A significant portion of his work examines how non-coding RNAs contribute to antibiotic resistance mechanisms in bacterial pathogens.

Analysis of Professor Tree's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on RNA-mediated regulation in bacterial pathogens, with particular attention to how small RNAs control virulence and antibiotic resistance. His work spans multiple bacterial species including E. coli, S. aureus, and S. pyogenes, demonstrating expertise in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. The methodologies employed across his publications consistently feature advanced RNA analysis techniques, particularly CLASH (crosslinking, ligation, and sequencing of hybrids) to identify RNA-RNA interactions in vivo.

Professor Tree actively supervises multiple graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in his laboratory. His current lab members include:

• Dr Daniel Mediati (Post-doctoral researcher)
• Dr Winton Wu (Post-doctoral researcher)
• Pranita Poudyal (PhD student)
• Thomas Zammit (PhD student)
• Janelle Ramos (PhD student, co-supervised by A/Prof Matthew Baker)
• Christopher Jin (Hons student)
• Monika Vesse (Hons student)

His laboratory, known as the Tree Lab, maintains an active research program focused on RNA biology in bacterial pathogens, with ongoing projects investigating both fundamental RNA regulatory mechanisms and their implications for bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance.