Julia Sanchez Garrido

Dr. Julia Sanchez Garrido is a Research Associate at the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London. She leads research in the Gad Frankel Lab within the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology (formerly Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection). Her work focuses on mucosal host-pathogen interactions in intestinal and pulmonary infections, using Citrobacter rodentium and Klebsiella pneumoniae models to study virulence mechanisms, immune responses, and antimicrobial resistance. She holds a PhD from Imperial College London under Dr. Avinash Shenoy, with prior expertise in inflammasome biology and cell death pathways.

Her research integrates molecular/cellular techniques with in vivo models to explore bacterial effectors' roles in immune subversion. Key contributions include elucidating Klebsiella's carbapenem resistance mechanisms via OmpK36 regulation and defining how bacterial effector networks shape inflammation outcomes. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and actively contributes to science outreach, coordinating Imperial's Great Exhibition Road Festival since 2018. She serves as Chair of the London Infection Network for Early Career Researchers (LINE) and has held postdoc representation roles in the Department of Life Sciences, advocating for researcher development and interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Key Affiliations:
  • Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology
  • London Infection Network for ECRs (LINE)
  • CMBI Postdoc Association (2020-2023)
• Research Themes:
  • Type III secretion system effector networks
  • Antimicrobial resistance evolution
  • Mucosal immunity and inflammation
  • Inflammasome regulation in infection

Her publications (n=15+) span high-impact journals like Science, Mucosal Immunology, and Cell Reports, with a focus on bacterial virulence strategies and host immune defenses. She has pioneered platforms like citrOgen for antigen presentation and developed novel insights into Klebsiella's polysaccharide-based resistance mechanisms.