My research focuses on the biology, pathogenesis and transmission of several enteric pathogens and their impact on food safety. The bacterial pathogens I study include enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, which causes potentially fatal bloody diarrhoea and kidney disease in infected individuals, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a major cause of enteritis associated with the consumption of improperly cooked seafood, and Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the classical secretory diarrhoeal disease, cholera. All these pathogens are capable of inhabiting two diverse ecological niches, that of the mammalian intestine as well as that of the natural environment.

Lloyd SJ, Ritchie JM, Torres AG. 'Fimbriation and curliation in escherichia coli O157:H7 a paradigm of intestinal and environmental colonization'. Gut Microbes, 3 (3), pp. 1-5. doi: 10.4161/gmic.20661 Moreira CG, Russell R, Mishra AA, Narayanan S, Ritchie JM, Waldor MK, Curtis MM, Winter SE, Weinshnker D, Sperandio V. (2016) 'Bacterial adrenergic sensors regulate virulence of enteric pathogens in the gut'. mBio, doi: 10.1128/mBio.00826-16 Le Roux F, Wegner KM, Baker-Austin C, Vezzulli L, Osorio CR, Amaro C, Ritchie JM, Defoirdt T, Destoumieux-Garzón D, Blokesch M, Mazel D, Jacq A, Cava F, Gram L, Wendling CC, Strauch E, Kirschner A, Huehn S. (2015) 'The emergence of Vibrio pathogens in Europe: Ecology, evolution and pathogenesis (Paris, 11-12 March 2015)'. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6 (JUL) doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00830