Associate Professor Scott Beatson
Associate Professor

Scott Beatson

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 54863

Background

Scott Beatson is an Associate Professor and NHMRC Career Development Fellow at The University of Queensland (UQ). He specializes in bacterial pathogenomics: using whole-genome sequencing to investigate transmission, pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Recent work from his group includes genomic analyses of pandrug resistant enterobacteriaceae and the multidrug resistant Escherichia coli ST131 pandemic clone. He was awarded a PhD from UQ for his work in bacterial pathogenesis in 2002 and developed his career in bacterial genomics in the United Kingdom with the support of fellowships from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (University of Oxford) and the UK Medical Research Council (University of Birmingham). Since returning to Australia he has held fellowships from both the NHMRC and ARC and has led a successful research group in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at UQ since 2008. He is also a member of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre and the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics. In 2016 he received the Frank Fenner Award from the Australian Society for Microbiology in recognition of his contribution to microbiology research in Australia.

Availability

Associate Professor Scott Beatson is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Bacteriology Biological Sciences Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Epigenetics (incl. genome methylation and epigenomics) Genetics Genomics Infectious agents Medical microbiology Microbial genetics Microbiology Molecular evolution Phylogeny and comparative analysis

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, University of Otago
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, University of Otago
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, The University of Manchester

Research impacts

In the past five years the Beatson Lab has focussed on clinically relevant pathogens and exploiting genomic technologies in the clinical setting. His group regularly reports the genome analyses of antibiotic resistant bacteria to the major tertiary hospitals in Brisbane as part of Queensland Genomics. He is the senior author of a phylogenomic study of E. coli ST131 in PNAS (2014; 312 citations), and joint first author of a landmark publication on the E. coli O157 genome (2006; 413 citations). Genome analysis software developed in his group is widely used i.e. BRIG (2011; 1026 citations) and EasyFig (2011; 756 citations). Since 1998 he has co-authored more than 120 journal articles (9756 citations), including 61 in the past 5 years and 43 with greater than 50 citations (Google Scholar 22/08/19). He regularly publishes in high-impact, general interest or specialist medical/microbiology journals including Science, PNAS, Clin Infect Dis, Nat Commun and MBio.

Search Professor Scott Beatson’s works on UQ eSpace

186 works between 1998 and 2025
All (186) Journal Article (169) Conference Publication (12) Other Outputs (5)

81 - 100 of 186 works

2016

Journal Article

Mechanisms involved in acquisition of blaNDM genes by IncA/C2 and IncFIIY plasmids

Wailan, Alexander M., Sidjabat, Hanna E., Yam, Wan Keat, Alikhan, Nabil-Fareed, Petty, Nicola K., Sartor, Anna L., Williamson, Deborah A., Forde, Brian M., Schembri, Mark A., Beatson, Scott A., Paterson, David L., Walsh, Timothy R. and Partridge, Sally R. (2016). Mechanisms involved in acquisition of blaNDM genes by IncA/C2 and IncFIIY plasmids. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 60 (7), 4082-4088. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00368-16

Mechanisms involved in acquisition of blaNDM genes by IncA/C2 and IncFIIY plasmids

2016

Journal Article

Erratum for Ben Zakour et al., Sequential Acquisition of Virulence and Fluoroquinolone Resistance Has Shaped the Evolution of Escherichia coli ST131

Ben Zakour, Nouri L, Alsheikh-Hussain, Areej S, Ashcroft, Melinda M, Khanh Nhu, Nguyen Thi, Roberts, Leah W, Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Schembri, Mark A and Beatson, Scott A (2016). Erratum for Ben Zakour et al., Sequential Acquisition of Virulence and Fluoroquinolone Resistance Has Shaped the Evolution of Escherichia coli ST131. mBio, 7 (3), 1-1. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00958-16

Erratum for Ben Zakour et al., Sequential Acquisition of Virulence and Fluoroquinolone Resistance Has Shaped the Evolution of Escherichia coli ST131

2016

Journal Article

Complete genome sequence of the haloalkaliphilic, obligately chemolithoautotrophic thiosulfate and sulfide-oxidizing γ-proteobacterium Thioalkalimicrobium cyclicum type strain ALM 1 (DSM 14477T)

Kappler, Ulrike, Davenport, Karen, Beatson, Scott, Lapidus, Alla, Pan, Chongle, Han, Cliff, Montero-Calasanz, Maria del Carmen, Land, Miriam, Hauser, Loren, Rohde, Manfred, Goeker, Markus, Ivanova, Natalia, Woyke, Tanja, Klenk, Hans-Peter and Kyrpides, Nikos C. (2016). Complete genome sequence of the haloalkaliphilic, obligately chemolithoautotrophic thiosulfate and sulfide-oxidizing γ-proteobacterium Thioalkalimicrobium cyclicum type strain ALM 1 (DSM 14477T). Standards in Genomic Sciences, 11 (38) 38, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s40793-016-0162-x

Complete genome sequence of the haloalkaliphilic, obligately chemolithoautotrophic thiosulfate and sulfide-oxidizing γ-proteobacterium Thioalkalimicrobium cyclicum type strain ALM 1 (DSM 14477T)

2016

Journal Article

Molecular characterisation of the Vacuolating Autotransporter Toxin in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Nichols, Katie B., Totsika, Makrina, Moriel, Danilo G., Lo, Alvin W., Yang, Ji, Wurpel, Daniel J., Rossiter, Amanda E., Strugnell, Richard A., Henderson, Ian R., Ulett, Glen C., Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2016). Molecular characterisation of the Vacuolating Autotransporter Toxin in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology, 198 (10), 1487-1498. doi: 10.1128/JB.00791-15

Molecular characterisation of the Vacuolating Autotransporter Toxin in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

2016

Journal Article

Sequential acquisition of virulence and fluoroquinolone resistance has shaped the evolution of Escherichia coli ST131

Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Alsheikh-Hussain, Areej S., Ashcroft, Melinda M., Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Roberts, Leah W., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Schembri, Mark A. and Beatson, Scott A. (2016). Sequential acquisition of virulence and fluoroquinolone resistance has shaped the evolution of Escherichia coli ST131. MBio, 7 (2) e00347-16, e00347-16.1-e00347-16.11. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00347-16

Sequential acquisition of virulence and fluoroquinolone resistance has shaped the evolution of Escherichia coli ST131

2016

Journal Article

Molecular and structural characterization of a novel Escherichia coli interleukin receptor mimic protein

Moriel, Danilo G., Heras, Begona, Paxman, Jason J., Lo, Alvin W., Tan, Lendl, Sullivan, Matthew J., Dando, Samantha J., Beatson, Scott A., Ulett, Glen C. and Schembri, Mark A. (2016). Molecular and structural characterization of a novel Escherichia coli interleukin receptor mimic protein. mBio, 7 (2) e02046-15, 1-11. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02046-15

Molecular and structural characterization of a novel Escherichia coli interleukin receptor mimic protein

2016

Journal Article

Stability of active prophages in industrial Lactococcus lactis strains in the presence of heat, acid, osmotic, oxidative and antibiotic stressors

Ho, Chun-Hoong, Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Beatson, Scott A., Bansal, Nidhi and Turner, Mark S. (2016). Stability of active prophages in industrial Lactococcus lactis strains in the presence of heat, acid, osmotic, oxidative and antibiotic stressors. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 220, 26-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.12.012

Stability of active prophages in industrial Lactococcus lactis strains in the presence of heat, acid, osmotic, oxidative and antibiotic stressors

2016

Journal Article

Genomic comparison of two O111:H- Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli isolates from a historic hemolytic uremic syndrome outbreak in Australia

McAllister, Lauren J., Bent, Stephen J., Petty, Nicola K., Skippington, Elizabeth, Beatson, Scott A., Paton, Jmaes C. and Paton, Adrienne W. (2016). Genomic comparison of two O111:H- Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli isolates from a historic hemolytic uremic syndrome outbreak in Australia. Infection and Immunity, 84 (3), 775-781. doi: 10.1128/IAI.01229-15

Genomic comparison of two O111:H- Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli isolates from a historic hemolytic uremic syndrome outbreak in Australia

2016

Conference Publication

Multi-hospital spread of a pan-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clone with an ISEcp1-directed blaOXA-181 insertion into the mgrB gene in the AE

Pal, Tibor , Sonnevend, Agnes Maria , Ghazawi, Akela , Haidermota, Aliashgher , Girgis, Safinaz , Alfaresi, Mubarak , Omar, Mohammed , Paterson, David L. , Beatson, Scott , Forde, Brian and Zowawi, Hosam M. (2016). Multi-hospital spread of a pan-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clone with an ISEcp1-directed blaOXA-181 insertion into the mgrB gene in the AE. The 26th European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9-12 April 2016.

Multi-hospital spread of a pan-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clone with an ISEcp1-directed blaOXA-181 insertion into the mgrB gene in the AE

2016

Journal Article

Discovery and Characterization of Human Urine Utilization by Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Streptococcus agalactiae

Ipe, Deepak S., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Sullivan, Matthew J., Beatson, Scott A., Ulett, Kimberly B., Benjamin, William H., Davies, Mark R., Dando, Samantha J., King, Nathan P., Cripps, Allan W., Schembri, Mark A., Dougan, Gordon and Ulett, Glen C. (2016). Discovery and Characterization of Human Urine Utilization by Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Streptococcus agalactiae. Infection and Immunity, 84 (1), 307-319. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00938-15

Discovery and Characterization of Human Urine Utilization by Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Streptococcus agalactiae

2016

Conference Publication

Within-host whole genome analysis of an antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain sub-type in cystic fibrosis

Sherrard, L., Tai, A., Wee, B., Ramsay, K., Kidd, T., Ben Zakour, N., Whiley, D., Beatson, S. and Bell, S. C. (2016). Within-host whole genome analysis of an antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain sub-type in cystic fibrosis. Annual North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, Orlando, FL, United States, 27-29 October 2016. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons.

Within-host whole genome analysis of an antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain sub-type in cystic fibrosis

2015

Journal Article

Lineage-specific methyltransferases define the methylome of the globally disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 clone

Forde, Brian M., Phan, Minh-Duy, Gawthorne, Jayde A., Ashcroft, Melinda M., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Sarkar, Sohinee, Peters, Kate M., Chan, Kok-Gan, Chong, Teik Min, Yin, Wai-Fong, Upton, Mathew, Schembri, Mark A. and Beatson, Scott A. (2015). Lineage-specific methyltransferases define the methylome of the globally disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 clone. MBio, 6 (6) e01602-15, e01602-15. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01602-15

Lineage-specific methyltransferases define the methylome of the globally disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 clone

2015

Journal Article

The role of H4 flagella in Escherichia coli ST131 virulence

Kakkanat, Asha, Totsika, Makrina, Schaale, Kolja, Duell, Benjamin L., Lo, Alvin W., Phan, Minh-Duy, Moriel, Danilo G., Beatson, Scott A., Sweet, Matthew J., Ulett, Glen C. and Schembri, Mark A. (2015). The role of H4 flagella in Escherichia coli ST131 virulence. Scientific Reports, 5 (16149) 16149, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/srep16149

The role of H4 flagella in Escherichia coli ST131 virulence

2015

Journal Article

Transfer of scarlet fever-associated elements into the group A Streptococcus M1T1 clone

Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Davies, Mark R., You, Yuanhai, Chen, Jonathan H. K., Forde, Brian M., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Yang, Ruifu, Cui, Yujun, Barnett, Timothy C., Venturini, Carola, Ong, Cheryl-lynn Y., Tse, Herman, Dougan, Gordon, Zhang, Jianzhong, Yuen, Kwok-Yung, Beatson, Scott A. and Walker MJ (2015). Transfer of scarlet fever-associated elements into the group A Streptococcus M1T1 clone. Scientific Reports, 5 (1) 15877, 15877.1-15877.7. doi: 10.1038/srep15877

Transfer of scarlet fever-associated elements into the group A Streptococcus M1T1 clone

2015

Journal Article

Stepwise evolution of pandrug-resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Zowawi, Hosam M., Forde, Brian M., Alfaresi, Mubarak, Alzarouni, Abdulqadir, Farahat, Yasser, Chong, Teik-Min, Yin, Wai-Fong, Chan, Kok-Gan, Li, Jian, Schembri, Mark A., Beatson, Scott A. and Paterson, David L. (2015). Stepwise evolution of pandrug-resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae.. Scientific Reports, 5 (Art No.: 15082) 15082, 15082. doi: 10.1038/srep15082

Stepwise evolution of pandrug-resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

2015

Journal Article

Molecular characterization of the multidrug resistant escherichia coli ST131 clone

Schembri, Mark A., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Minh-Duy Phan, Forde, Brian M., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell and Beatson, Scott A. (2015). Molecular characterization of the multidrug resistant escherichia coli ST131 clone. Pathogens, 4 (3), 422-430. doi: 10.3390/pathogens4030422

Molecular characterization of the multidrug resistant escherichia coli ST131 clone

2015

Journal Article

Molecular analysis of asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli strain VR50 reveals adaptation to the urinary tract by gene acquisition

Beatson, Scott A., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Totsika, Makrina, Forde, Brian M., Watts, Rebecca E., Mabbett, Amanda N., Szubert, Jan M., Sarkar, Sohinee, Phan, Minh-Duy, Peters, Kate M., Petty, Nicola K., Alikhan, Nabil-Fareed, Sullivan, Mitchell J., Gawthorne, Jayde A., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Nguyen Thi Khanh Nhu, Chong, Teik Min, Yin, Wai-Fong, Chan, Kok-Gan, Hancock, Viktoria, Ussery, David W., Ulett, Glen C. and Schembri, Mark A. (2015). Molecular analysis of asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli strain VR50 reveals adaptation to the urinary tract by gene acquisition. Infection and Immunity, 83 (5), 1749-1764. doi: 10.1128/IAI.02810-14

Molecular analysis of asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli strain VR50 reveals adaptation to the urinary tract by gene acquisition

2015

Journal Article

Molecular Characterization of a Multidrug Resistance IncF Plasmid from the Globally Disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 Clone.

Phan, Minh Duy, Forde, Brian M., Peters, Kate M., Sarkar, Sohinee, Hancock, Steven, Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Zakour, Nouri L. Ben, Upton, Mathew, Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2015). Molecular Characterization of a Multidrug Resistance IncF Plasmid from the Globally Disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 Clone.. PLoS One, 10 (4) e0122369, e0122369-e0122369. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122369

Molecular Characterization of a Multidrug Resistance IncF Plasmid from the Globally Disseminated Escherichia coli ST131 Clone.

2015

Journal Article

Erratum: the host metabolite D-serine contributes to bacterial niche specificity through gene selection

Connolly, James P. R., Goldstone, Robert J., Burgess, Karl, Cogdell, Richard J., Beatson, Scott A., Vollmer, Waldemar, Smith, David G. E. and Roe, Andrew J. (2015). Erratum: the host metabolite D-serine contributes to bacterial niche specificity through gene selection. ISME Journal, 9 (4), 1052-1052. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2015.17

Erratum: the host metabolite D-serine contributes to bacterial niche specificity through gene selection

2015

Journal Article

Third-generation cephalosporin resistance conferred by a chromosomally encoded blaCMY-23 gene in the Escherichia coli ST131 reference strain EC958

Phan, Minh-Duy, Peters, Kate M., Sarkar, Sohinee, Forde, Brian M., Lo, Alvin W., Stanton-Cook, Mitchell, Roberts, Leah W., Upton, Mathew, Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2015). Third-generation cephalosporin resistance conferred by a chromosomally encoded blaCMY-23 gene in the Escherichia coli ST131 reference strain EC958. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 70 (7) dkv066, 1969-1972. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkv066

Third-generation cephalosporin resistance conferred by a chromosomally encoded blaCMY-23 gene in the Escherichia coli ST131 reference strain EC958

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2027
    Next-generation genomic disease surveillance in urban wastewater systems (ARC Discovery Projects administered by University of Technology Sydney)
    University of Technology Sydney
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2024
    Australian Pathogen Genomics (AusPathoGen) Program (MRFF Genomics Health Futures Mission, Flagships administered by University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant
  • 2020
    Rapid detection of resistance genes from Gram-negative bacteria isolated from blood in ICU-admitted patients
    Pathology Queensland - Study, Education & Research Trust Fund
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Virulence and detection of Escherichia coli that cause neonatal meningitis
    The Children's Hospital Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2023
    Cluster randomised trial of a multimodal intervention to reduce antimicrobial use in residential aged care facilities
    NHMRC MRFF - Antimicrobial Resistance Targeted Call for Research
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2023
    Integrated bacterial genomics and virulence analysis of uropathogenic Streptococcus agalactiae (NHMRC Project Grant led by Griffith University)
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2020
    Epigenetic regulation in bacteria
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016
    Instrumentation for the analysis of cellular and metabolic phenotypes
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Bacterial Pathogenomics: whole-genome sequencing to investigate infection transmission, pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance
    NHMRC Career Development Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2018
    Superbugs and veterinary drugs: Are multidrug-resistant zoonotic pathogens residing in Australian animals? (ARC Linkage Project administered by University of Adelaide)
    University of Adelaide
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2017
    A pan-genome reverse vaccinology approach to disease prevention in farmed fish
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2018
    Functional and genomic analysis of the globally disseminated multidrug resistant Escherichia coli ST131 clone
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2015
    Smarter fermentations through starter culture genomics
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2015
    Evolution and pathogenicity of NDM-1 positive Escherichia coli
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2012
    ResTeach Funding 2012 0.2 FTE School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
    UQ ResTeach
    Open grant
  • 2011
    Cell culture facilities for studying host-pathogen interactions and immune function
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Escherichia coli ST131: an emerging pathogen
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2013
    Adhesins of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2009
    Genomics as a tool to study P aeruginosa lung disease in cystic fibrosis
    Australian Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Evolution and function of a novel lateral flagellar locus, Flag-2, in pathogenic Escherichia coli (NHMRC Project grant administered by the University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant
  • 2009
    Infrastructure for biochemistry and infectious disease resarch in molecualr biosciences
    UQ School/Centre Co-Funding
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Molecular basis of asymptomatic colonization of the human urinary tract
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    ResTeach 2009 0.2 FTE School of Chemical and Molecular Biosciences
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2012
    The evolution of bacterial pathogenesis: a genomic approach
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2008
    Understanding staphylococcal urinary tract infections: a comparative genomics approach
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2007
    The complete genome sequence of asymptomatic bacteriuria 'Escherichia coli' strain VR50
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2007
    NHMRC Howard Florey Fellowship: Bacterial Pathogenesis: A Genomic Approach
    NHMRC Career Development Award
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Scott Beatson is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Completed supervision

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Associate Professor Scott Beatson's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au