Ruth Thornton

Dr Ruth Thornton is a Senior Research Fellow at the UWA Centre for Child Health Research within the UWA Medical School, affiliated with the Telethon Kids Institute. She specializes in bacterial respiratory infections, particularly chronic and recurrent otitis media, focusing on biofilm dynamics and host-pathogen interactions. Her research has redefined understanding of middle ear infections through discoveries about bacterial persistence mechanisms involving biofilms and host DNA scaffolding. She leads the ATOMIC ears clinical trial investigating anti-biofilm therapies for chronic ear infections.

Research interests include bacterial biofilms, intracellular persistence, and host immunity in chronic respiratory infections such as otitis media and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. She explores novel treatments and diagnostic methods for pediatric respiratory infections, with contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being.

Her work has been funded by grants including the Passe and Williams Foundation Mid-Career Research Fellowship and NHMRC grants. Notable awards include the School of Biomedical Sciences Mid-Career Research Award (2022) and two Channel 7 Telethon Grants (2021–2022).

Dr Thornton supervises PhD students and collaborates on projects like the Blitz-OM clinical trial and the PICOBOO platform trial for COVID-19 booster vaccinations. She leads teams at Perth Children’s Hospital and the Telethon Kids Institute, advancing translational research in pediatric infectious diseases.