Jessica Webb

Dr Jessica Webb

Lecturer Bioinformatics

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Dr Jessica Webb is a Molecular Microbiologist and computational microbiologist who has extensive experience working in these areas across both research and public health and is a lecturer in Bioinformatics at the University of Adelaide. She is an Honorary Research Fellow in the pathogen genomics team at the Peter Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne, where she has been instrumental in establishing the Australian Pathogen Genomics Program, which is informing the use of pathogen genomics in public health and by the Australian Centre for Disease Control.

She is also an Honorary Research Fellow in the melioidosis (caused by the environmental pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei) team at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin. She is recognised as a global expert on melioidosis and Bukholderia where she has spent 15 years working on the disease. She also leads the global curation and development of strain genotyping for Burkholderia mallei (Causes glanders) and Burkholderia pseudomallei (Causes melioidosis) on PubMLST, a genomic epidemiology resource used by 1000s of individuals globally.

Her research integrates genomics, molecular biology, phenotypic data and epidemiology to track and trace the distribution of B. pseudomallei, unravel antimicrobial resistance and transmission of pathogens with public health significance and develop genomic tools impacting burden of disease through translation.

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2025 Meumann, E. M., Kaestli, M., Webb, J. R., Rigas, V., Woerle, C., Mayo, M., & Currie, B. J. (2025). <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> Sequence Type 46 Transmission from Asia to Australia. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 31(2).
    DOI
    2024 Kaestli, M., Farook, S., Jilani, M. S. A., Anwar, S., Siddiqui, T. A., Mayo, M., . . . Currie, B. J. (2024). Use of Comparative Genomics To Resolve an Unusual Case of Aminoglycoside Susceptibility in the Melioidosis Pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei in Bangladesh. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 111(5), 1056-1059.
    DOI
    2024 Webb, J. R., Andersson, P., Sim, E., Zahedi, A., Donald, A., Hoang, T., . . . Howden, B. P. (2024). Implementing a national programme of pathogen genomics for public health: the Australian Pathogen Genomics Program (AusPathoGen). The Lancet Microbe, 6(3), 100969.
    DOI Europe PMC1
    2024 Gora, H., Hasan, T., Smith, S., Wilson, I., Mayo, M., Woerle, C., . . . Meumann, E. M. (2024). Melioidosis of the Central Nervous System: Impact of the <i>bimA</i>
    <i>Bm</i> Allele on Patient Presentation and Outcome. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 78(4), 968-975.
    DOI
    2023 Guterres, H., Gusmao, C., Pinheiro, M., Martins, J., Odio, G., Maia, C., . . . Muhi, S. (2023). Melioidosis in Timor-Leste: First Case Description and Phylogenetic Analysis. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 10(8).
    DOI
    2023 Hall, C. M., Somprasong, N., Hagen, J. P., Nottingham, R., Sahl, J. W., Webb, J. R., . . . Schweizer, H. P. (2023). Exploring Cefiderocol Resistance Mechanisms in Burkholderia pseudomallei. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 67(6).
    DOI
    2023 Somprasong, N., Hagen, J. P., Sahl, J. W., Webb, J. R., Hall, C. M., Currie, B. J., . . . Schweizer, H. P. (2023). A conserved active site PenA β-lactamase Ambler motif specific for Burkholderia pseudomallei/B. mallei is likely responsible for intrinsic amoxicillin-clavulanic acid sensitivity and facilitates a simple diagnostic PCR assay for melioidosis. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 61(3), 106714.
    DOI
    2022 Gee, J. E., Bower, W. A., Kunkel, A., Petras, J., Gettings, J., Bye, M., . . . Hoffmaster, A. R. (2022). Multistate Outbreak of Melioidosis Associated with Imported Aromatherapy Spray. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(9), 861-868.
    DOI
    2022 Webb, J. R., Mayo, M., Rachlin, A., Woerle, C., Meumann, E., Rigas, V., . . . Currie, B. J. (2022). Genomic Epidemiology Links Burkholderia pseudomallei from Individual Human Cases to B. pseudomallei from Targeted Environmental Sampling in Northern Australia. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 60(3).
    DOI
    2022 Amiss, A. S., von Pein, J. B., Webb, J. R., Condon, N. D., Harvey, P. J., Phan, M. -D., . . . Lawrence, N. (2022). Modified horseshoe crab peptides target and kill bacteria inside host cells. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 79(1).
    DOI
    2021 Currie, B. J., Mayo, M., Ward, L. M., Kaestli, M., Meumann, E. M., Webb, J. R., . . . Anstey, N. M. (2021). The Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study: a 30-year prospective, observational investigation. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 21(12), 1737-1746.
    DOI
    2021 Somprasong, N., Yi, J., Hall, C. M., Webb, J. R., Sahl, J. W., Wagner, D. M., . . . Schweizer, H. P. (2021). Conservation of Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division Efflux Pump-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in Burkholderia cepacia Complex and Burkholderia pseudomallei Complex Species. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 65(9).
    DOI
    2021 Meumann, E. M., Kaestli, M., Mayo, M., Ward, L., Rachlin, A., Webb, J. R., . . . Currie, B. J. (2021). Emergence of <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> Sequence Type 562, Northern Australia. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 27(4), 1057-1067.
    DOI
    2021 Somprasong, N., Hall, C. M., Webb, J. R., Sahl, J. W., Wagner, D. M., Keim, P., . . . Schweizer, H. P. (2021). Burkholderia ubonensis High-Level Tetracycline Resistance Is Due to Efflux Pump Synergy Involving a Novel TetA(64) Resistance Determinant. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 65(3).
    DOI
    2021 Rachlin, A., Luangraj, M., Kaestli, M., Rattanavong, S., Phoumin, P., Webb, J. R., . . . Dance, D. A. B. (2021). Using Land Runoff To Survey the Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Burkholderia pseudomallei Strains in Vientiane, Laos. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87(4).
    DOI
    2021 Madden, D. E., Webb, J. R., Steinig, E. J., Currie, B. J., Price, E. P., & Sarovich, D. S. (2021). Taking the next-gen step: Comprehensive antimicrobial resistance detection from Burkholderia pseudomallei. EBioMedicine, 63, 103152.
    DOI
    2021 Win, M. M., Win, K. K. N., Wah, T. T., Aye, S. N., Htwe, T. T., Zin, K. N., . . . Dance, D. A. B. (2021). Enhanced melioidosis surveillance in patients attending four tertiary hospitals in Yangon, Myanmar. Epidemiology and Infection, 149.
    DOI
    2020 Webb, J. R., Buller, N., Rachlin, A., Golledge, C., Sarovich, D. S., Price, E. P., . . . Currie, B. J. (2020). A Persisting Nontropical Focus of Burkholderia pseudomallei with Limited Genome Evolution over Five Decades. mSystems, 5(6).
    DOI
    2020 Amiss, A. S., Webb, J. R., Mayo, M., Currie, B. J., Craik, D. J., Henriques, S. T., & Lawrence, N. (2020). Safer In Vitro Drug Screening Models for Melioidosis Therapy Development. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103(5), 1846-1851.
    DOI
    2020 Somprasong, N., Hall, C. M., Webb, J. R., Sahl, J. W., Wagner, D. M., Keim, P., . . . Schweizer, H. P. (2020). Burkholderia ubonensis Meropenem Resistance: Insights into Distinct Properties of Class A β-Lactamases in Burkholderia cepacia Complex and Burkholderia pseudomallei Complex Bacteria. mBio, 11(2).
    DOI
    2019 Rachlin, A., Shilton, C., Webb, J. R., Mayo, M., Kaestli, M., Kleinecke, M., . . . Currie, B. J. (2019). Melioidosis fatalities in captive slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta): combining epidemiology, pathology and whole-genome sequencing supports variable mechanisms of transmission with one health implications. BMC Veterinary Research, 15(1).
    DOI
    2019 Rachlin, A., Kleinecke, M., Kaestli, M., Mayo, M., Webb, J. R., Rigas, V., . . . Currie, B. J. (2019). A cluster of melioidosis infections in hatchling saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) resolved using genome-wide comparison of a common north Australian strain of Burkholderia pseudomallei. Microbial Genomics, 5(8).
    DOI
    2019 Webb, J. R., Sarovich, D. S., Price, E. P., Ward, L. M., Mayo, M., & Currie, B. J. (2019). <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> Lipopolysaccharide Genotype Does Not Correlate With Severity or Outcome in Melioidosis: Host Risk Factors Remain the Critical Determinant. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 6(4).
    DOI
    2018 Webb, J. R., Price, E. P., Somprasong, N., Schweizer, H. P., Baird, R. W., Currie, B. J., & Sarovich, D. S. (2018). Development and Validation of a Triplex Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay to Detect Efflux Pump-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in
    <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i>. Future Microbiology, 13(12), 1403-1418.
    DOI
    2018 Sarovich, D. S., Webb, J. R., Pitman, M. C., Viberg, L. T., Mayo, M., Baird, R. W., . . . Price, E. P. (2018). Raising the Stakes: Loss of Efflux Pump Regulation Decreases Meropenem Susceptibility in Burkholderia pseudomallei. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 67(2), 243-250.
    DOI
    2017 Webb, J. R., Price, E. P., Currie, B. J., & Sarovich, D. S. (2017). Loss of Methyltransferase Function and Increased Efflux Activity Leads to Doxycycline Resistance in Burkholderia pseudomallei. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 61(6).
    DOI
    - Sarovich, D. S., Price, E. P., Webb, J. R., Ward, L. M., Voutsinos, M. Y., Tuanyok, A., . . . Currie, B. J. (n.d.). Variable Virulence Factors in Burkholderia pseudomallei (Melioidosis) Associated with Human Disease. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e91682.
    DOI
    - Horan, K., Viberg, L., Ballard, S. A., Globan, M., Bond, K., Webb, J. R., . . . Sherry, N. L. (n.d.). Bringing TB Genomics to the Clinic: A Comprehensive Pipeline to Predict Antimicrobial Susceptibility from Genomic Data, Validated and Accredited to ISO Standards.
    - Price, E. P., Sarovich, D. S., Webb, J. R., Hall, C. M., Jaramillo, S. A., Sahl, J. W., . . . Wagner, D. M. (n.d.). Phylogeographic, genomic, and meropenem susceptibility analysis of Burkholderia ubonensis. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(9), e0005928.
    DOI
    - Webb, J. R., Rachlin, A., Rigas, V., Sarovich, D. S., Price, E. P., Kaestli, M., . . . Currie, B. J. (n.d.). Tracing the environmental footprint of the Burkholderia pseudomallei lipopolysaccharide genotypes in the tropical “Top End” of the Northern Territory, Australia. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 13(7), e0007369.
    DOI
    - Webb, J. R., Win, M. M., Zin, K. N., Win, K. K. N., Wah, T. T., Ashley, E. A., . . . Dance, D. A. B. (n.d.). Myanmar Burkholderia pseudomallei strains are genetically diverse and originate from Asia with phylogenetic evidence of reintroductions from neighbouring countries. Scientific Reports, 10(1).
    DOI
    - Rachlin, A., Mayo, M., Webb, J. R., Kleinecke, M., Rigas, V., Harrington, G., . . . Kaestli, M. (n.d.). Whole-genome sequencing of Burkholderia pseudomallei from an urban melioidosis hot spot reveals a fine-scale population structure and localised spatial clustering in the environment. Scientific Reports, 10(1).
    DOI
    - Hodgetts, K., Kleinecke, M., Woerle, C., Kaestli, M., Budd, R., Webb, J. R., . . . Meumann, E. M. (n.d.). Melioidosis in the remote Katherine region of northern Australia. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16(6), e0010486.
    DOI
    - Watt, A. E., Cummins, M. L., Donato, C. M., Wirth, W., Porter, A. F., Andersson, P., . . . Howden, B. P. (n.d.). Parameters for one health genomic surveillance of Escherichia coli from Australia. Nature Communications, 16(1).
    DOI
    - Anggraini, D., Siregar, F. M., Rosdiana, D., Kemal, R. A., Yovi, I., Triani, Z. D., . . . Currie, B. J. (n.d.). Epidemiology and genetic diversity of Burkholderia pseudomallei from Riau Province, Indonesia. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 18(5), e0012195.
    DOI

Teaching topics include microbiology, pathogen surveillance, bacterial and human genomics and bioinformatics. 

The University of Adelaide:

BIOINF 7150 - Genomics Applications 

BIOINF 3010 - Genomics Applications III 

MICRO 3000 - Infection & Immunity IIIA 

MICRO 3102 - Infection & Immunity IIIA (Biomedical Science)

MICRO 3007 - Infection & Immunity A (Theory) III 

 

 

 

 

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Genomics for the detection and surveillance of high-priority pathogenic bacteria The University of Melbourne - Doctorate - Alexandra-Maria Blejusca
    2023 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Comparative genomics to characterise Burkholderia from Victoria, Australia in a global context The University of Melbourne - Honours - Alexandra-Maria Blejusca
    2023 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Genomics to understand Enterococcus spp. resistant to last-line antimicrobials The University of Melbourne - Doctorate - Jia Qi Beh
  • Position: Lecturer Bioinformatics
  • Email: jessica.webb@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Molecular Life Sciences, floor Fourth Floor
  • Org Unit: School of Biological Sciences
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