We are a multidisciplinary team of microbiologists, biochemists and bioinformaticians working together with the aim to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Assoc. Prof. Rietie Venter
Team Leader
My research passion is to understand antimicrobial resistance and to use this knowledge as a basis for antimicrobial drug discovery. I obtained my BSc(Hons) and Master’s degrees with distinction from the University of the Free State in South Africa before securing a scholarship to do a PhD in the UK. After completing my PhD at the University of Leeds, I moved to Cambridge, where I spent twelve years doing research on multidrug transporters, first as a post-doc and later running my own research group as a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the University of Cambridge. I joined the University of South Australia as Head of Microbiology in December 2012 where I am leading an internationally acclaimed research group on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Email me: rietie.venter@unisa.edu.au
Dr. Steven Polyak
Research Associate
Protein biochemist working on Efflux Pump Inhibitors
Email me: Steven.Polyak@unisa.edu.au
Dr. Sylvia Sapula
Research Associate
Molecular Microbiologist and Protein Biochemist. Working on understanding the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in residential aged care facilities.
Email me: sylvia.sapula@unisa.edu.au
Anteneh Amsalu
PhD student
BSc in Medical Laboratory Technology and Master’s degree in Medical Microbiology. Lecturer and researcher at University of Gondar, Ethiopia. PhD student at University of South Australia since 2018. Research project: Surveillance and characterization of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria from clinical and environmental settings. Antimicrobial resistance is the biggest challenge facing healthcare today. Without urgent action, we stand in danger of entering a post-antibiotic era, where medicine as it is practiced today would no longer be possible. My research is aimed at understanding how resistance is acquired and is disseminated through healthcare as well as the environment. A particular focus is carbapenem resistant Gram-negative bacteria which are on the World Health Organization’s list of critically important pathogens.
Naomi Siderius
PhD Student
MALDI-TOF MS wizard. Working on the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in Residential Aged Care Facilities.
Email me: naomi.siderius@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Jack Blaikie
PhD student
Working on Antimicrobial Resistant Klebsiella spp. Social secretary of our group.
Email me: jack.blaikie@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Belaynesh Asrat
PhD student
Working on Antimicrobial Resistant Gram-positive pathogens
Email me: belaynesh.asrat@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Yu Wang
PhD student
Working on Metallo beta-Lactamases from Chryseobacterium indologenes.
Email me: yu.wang@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Zifang Xiang (Owen)
Masters Student
Determination of the role of drug efflux pumps in cross-resistance between antibiotics and biocides and other phenotypic behaviors in Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Email me: zifan.xiang@student.adelaide.edu.au
Sida Liu
Masters Student
Determining the role of bacterial antibiotic efflux pumps in biofilm formation and pathogenesis and how efflux pump inhibitors can act as anti-virulence agents.
Email me: liusy071@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Hanbiao Chen (Winston)
Masters Student
Workin on polypharmacy as an instigating factor in antimicrobial resistance and the role of drug efflux pumps in this phenomenon.
Email me: chehy169@mymail.unisa.edu.au
Dr David Ogunniyi
Visiting Scientist
Antibacterial drug discovery. Master of bioluminescent infection models.
Email me: david.ogunniyi@adelaide.edu.au
Dr Chai Wern Chern (Brian)
Former PhD student. Currently a lecturer in Pharmacy at UniSA
Just passed his PhD with flying colours.
RIETIE VENTER ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE LAB 
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