Joshua Monteith

After completing my undergraduate studies at UQ, I developed a keen interesting in infectious diseases. Before commencing MD, I completed a summer research project with Dr Timothy Wells to better understand how Gram-negative bacteria exploit our antibody responses to evade serum-mediated killing. It was found that a subset of patients produced ‘cloaking antibody’ that impaired clearance of bacteria during infection. This field of research led to direct translational outcomes that used plasmapheresis to treat patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

I quickly changed my study plan and deferred MD to complete an Honours research project, to prepare for an MD-PhD with focus on clinical translation. My current project at the Diamantina Institute focuses on improving treatment options for patients with chronic P. aeruginosa infection through better understanding ‘cloaking antibody’.