Dr Sacha Pidot, PhD
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ORCID ID - 0000-0003-1202-6614 Sacha is a molecular microbiologist with interests in identifying and developing new antimicrobials, primarily from Actinomycete bacteria. He graduated with a PhD from Monash University, during which time he investigated the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer. M. ulcerans uses an unusual toxic polyketide, mycolactone, to cause the pathology seen in human ulcers. |
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This introduction to the world of polyketides piqued his interest in the ways that bacteria produce bioactive metabolites and following his PhD he joined the lab of Prof Christian Hertweck at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow. Here, he studied natural product biosynthesis in anaerobic bacteria, leading to the discovery of the antibiotic clostrubin, which received the Medac Prize (2014 and 2015) and Leibniz Foundation “Drug of the Year” awards (2015).
Since moving to the Doherty Institute, Sacha has established his own group to continue unearthing new antimicrobials and investigating their biosynthesis, in particular those from human pathogenic bacteria.
Since moving to the Doherty Institute, Sacha has established his own group to continue unearthing new antimicrobials and investigating their biosynthesis, in particular those from human pathogenic bacteria.