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)

121 - 140 of 186 works

2013

Journal Article

Increased S-nitrosylation and proteasomal degradation of caspase-3 during infection contribute to the persistence of adherent invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) in immune cells

Dunne, Karl A., Allam, Amr, McIntosh, Anne, Houston, Stephanie A., Cerovic, Vuk, Goodyear, Carl S., Roe, Andrew J., Beatson, Scott A., Milling, Simon W., Walker, Daniel and Wall, Daniel M. (2013). Increased S-nitrosylation and proteasomal degradation of caspase-3 during infection contribute to the persistence of adherent invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) in immune cells. PLoS ONE, 8 (7) e68386, e68386. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068386

Increased S-nitrosylation and proteasomal degradation of caspase-3 during infection contribute to the persistence of adherent invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) in immune cells

2013

Journal Article

A FimH inhibitor prevents acute bladder infection and treats chronic cystitis caused by multidrug resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli ST131

Totsika, Makrina, Kostakioti, Maria, Hannan, Thomas J., Upton, Mathew, Beatson, Scott A., Janetka, James W., Hultgren, Scott J. and Schembri, Mark A. (2013). A FimH inhibitor prevents acute bladder infection and treats chronic cystitis caused by multidrug resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli ST131. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 208 (6), 921-928. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jit245

A FimH inhibitor prevents acute bladder infection and treats chronic cystitis caused by multidrug resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli ST131

2013

Journal Article

Acquisition of the Sda1-encoding bacteriophage does not enhance virulence of the serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes strain SF370

Venturini, Carola, Ong, Cheryl-Iynn Y., Gillen, Christine M., Ben-Zakour, Nouri L., Maamary, Peter G., Nizet, Victor, Beatson, Scott A. and Walker, Mark J. (2013). Acquisition of the Sda1-encoding bacteriophage does not enhance virulence of the serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes strain SF370. Infection and Immunity, 81 (6), 2062-2069. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00192-13

Acquisition of the Sda1-encoding bacteriophage does not enhance virulence of the serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes strain SF370

2013

Journal Article

Chaperone-usher fimbriae of Escherichia coli

Wurpel, Daniel J., Beatson, Scott A., Totsika, Makrina, Petty, Nicola K. and Schembri, Mark A. (2013). Chaperone-usher fimbriae of Escherichia coli. PLoS One, 85 (1) e52835, e52835.1-e52835.11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052835

Chaperone-usher fimbriae of Escherichia coli

2013

Journal Article

Draft genome sequence of the male-killing Wolbachia strain wBol1 reveals recent horizontal gene transfers from diverse sources

Duplouy, Anne, Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Inaki, Beatson, Scott A., Szubert, Jan M., Brownlie, Jeremy C., McMeniman, Conor J., McGraw, Elizabeth A., Hurst, Gregory D. D., Charlat, Sylvain, O'Neill, Scott L. and Woolfit, Megan (2013). Draft genome sequence of the male-killing Wolbachia strain wBol1 reveals recent horizontal gene transfers from diverse sources. Bmc Genomics, 14 (1) 20, 20.1-20.13. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-14-20

Draft genome sequence of the male-killing Wolbachia strain wBol1 reveals recent horizontal gene transfers from diverse sources

2013

Journal Article

Genomic evolution of the pathogenic Wolbachia strain, wMelPop

Woolfit, Megan, Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Inaki, Brownlie, Jeremy C., Walker, Thomas, Riegler, Markus, Seleznev, Andrei, Popovici, Jean, Rances, Edwige, Wee, Bryan A., Pavlides, Jennifer, Sullivan, Mitchell J., Beatson, Scott A., Lane, Amanda, Sidhu, Manpreet, McMeniman, Conor J., McGraw, Elizabeth A. and O'Neill, Scott L. (2013). Genomic evolution of the pathogenic Wolbachia strain, wMelPop. Genome Biology and Evolution, 5 (11), 2189-2204. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evt169

Genomic evolution of the pathogenic Wolbachia strain, wMelPop

2013

Journal Article

Streptococcal collagen-like protein A and general stress protein 24 are immunomodulating virulence factors of group A Streptococcus

Tsatsaronis, James A., Hollands, Andrew, Cole, Jason N., Maamary, Peter G., Gillen, Christine M., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Kotb, Malak, Nizet, Victor, Beatson, Scott A., Mark J. Walker and Sanderson-Smith, Martina L. (2013). Streptococcal collagen-like protein A and general stress protein 24 are immunomodulating virulence factors of group A Streptococcus. FASEB Journal, 27 (7), 2633-2643. doi: 10.1096/fj.12-226662

Streptococcal collagen-like protein A and general stress protein 24 are immunomodulating virulence factors of group A Streptococcus

2013

Journal Article

Genome sequence of hydrothermal arsenic-respiring bacterium Marinobacter santoriniensis NKSG1T

Handley, Kim M., Upton, Mathew, Beatson, Scott A., Héry, Marina and Lloyd, Jonathan R. (2013). Genome sequence of hydrothermal arsenic-respiring bacterium Marinobacter santoriniensis NKSG1T. Genome Announcements, 1 (3) e00231-13. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00231-13

Genome sequence of hydrothermal arsenic-respiring bacterium Marinobacter santoriniensis NKSG1T

2012

Journal Article

Extragenic suppressor mutations that restore twitching motility to fimL mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are associated with elevated intracellular cyclic AMP levels

Nolan, Laura M., Beatson, Scott A., Croft, Larry, Jones, Peter M., George, Anthony M., Mattick, John S., Turnbull, Lynne and Whitchurch, Cynthia B. (2012). Extragenic suppressor mutations that restore twitching motility to fimL mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are associated with elevated intracellular cyclic AMP levels. MicrobiologyOpen, 1 (4), 490-501. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.49

Extragenic suppressor mutations that restore twitching motility to fimL mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are associated with elevated intracellular cyclic AMP levels

2012

Journal Article

Outsmarting outbreaks

Walker, Mark J. and Beatson, Scott A. (2012). Outsmarting outbreaks. Science, 338 (6111), 1161-1162. doi: 10.1126/science.1232327

Outsmarting outbreaks

2012

Journal Article

Tracing the evolutionary history of the pandemic group A streptococcal M1T1 clone

Maamary, Peter G., Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Cole, Jason N., Hollands, Andrew, Aziz, Ramy K., Barnett, Timothy C., Cork, Amanda J., Henningham, Anna, Sanderson-Smith, Martina, McArthur, Jason D., Venturini, Carola, Gillen, Christine M., Kirk, Joshua K., Johnson, Dwight R., Taylor, William L., Kaplan, Edward L., Kotb, Malak, Nizet, Victor, Beatson, Scott A. and Walker, Mark J. (2012). Tracing the evolutionary history of the pandemic group A streptococcal M1T1 clone. FASEB Journal, 26 (11), 4675-4684. doi: 10.1096/fj.12-212142

Tracing the evolutionary history of the pandemic group A streptococcal M1T1 clone

2012

Journal Article

Heat resistance and salt Hypersensitivity in Lactococcus lactis due to spontaneous mutation of llmg_1816 (gdpP) induced by high-temperature growth

Smith, William M., Pham, Thi Huong, Lei, Lin, Dou, Junchao, Soomro, Aijaz H., Beatson, Scott A., Dykes, Gary A. and Turner, Mark S. (2012). Heat resistance and salt Hypersensitivity in Lactococcus lactis due to spontaneous mutation of llmg_1816 (gdpP) induced by high-temperature growth. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78 (21), 7753-7759. doi: 10.1128/AEM.02316-12

Heat resistance and salt Hypersensitivity in Lactococcus lactis due to spontaneous mutation of llmg_1816 (gdpP) induced by high-temperature growth

2012

Journal Article

Complete genome sequence of the facultatively chemolithoautotrophic and methylotrophic alpha Proteobacterium Starkeya novella type strain (ATCC 8093(T))

Kappler, Ulrike, Davenport, Karen, Beatson, Scott, Lucas, Susan, Lapidus, Alla, Copeland, Alex, Berry, Kerrie W., Del Rio, Tijana Glavina, Hammon, Nancy, Dalin, Eileen, Tice, Hope, Pitluck, Sam, Richardson, Paul, Bruce, David, Goodwin, Lynne A., Han, Cliff, Tapia, Roxanne, Detter, John C., Chang, Yun-juan, Jeffries, Cynthia D., Land, Miriam, Hauser, Loren, Kyrpides, Nikos C., Goeker, Markus, Ivanova, Natalia, Klenk, Hans-Peter and Woyke, Tanja (2012). Complete genome sequence of the facultatively chemolithoautotrophic and methylotrophic alpha Proteobacterium Starkeya novella type strain (ATCC 8093(T)). Standards in Genomic Sciences, 7 (1), 44-58. doi: 10.4056/sigs.3006378

Complete genome sequence of the facultatively chemolithoautotrophic and methylotrophic alpha Proteobacterium Starkeya novella type strain (ATCC 8093(T))

2012

Journal Article

Lysogeny with shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophages represses type III secretion in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Xu, Xuefang, McAteer, Sean P., Tree, Jai J., Shaw, Darren J., Wolfson, Eliza B. K., Beatson, Scott A., Roe, Andrew J., Allison, Lesley J., Chase-Topping, Margo E., Mahajan, Arvind, Tozzoli, Rosangela, Woolhouse, Mark E. J., Morabito, Stefano and Gally, David L. (2012). Lysogeny with shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophages represses type III secretion in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. PLoS Pathogens, 8 (5) e1002672, e1002672.1-e1002672.15. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002672

Lysogeny with shiga toxin 2-encoding bacteriophages represses type III secretion in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

2012

Journal Article

Comparative genomics of the Staphylococcus intermedius group of animal pathogens

Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Beatson, Scott A., van den Broek, Adri H. M., Thoday, Keith L. and Fitzgerald, J. Ross (2012). Comparative genomics of the Staphylococcus intermedius group of animal pathogens. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2 44, 44.1-44.15. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00044

Comparative genomics of the Staphylococcus intermedius group of animal pathogens

2012

Journal Article

Origin of the diversity in DNA recognition domains in phasevarion associated modA genes of pathogenic Neisseria and Haemophilus influenzae

Gawthorne, Jayde A., Beatson, Scott A., Srikantha, Yogitha N., Fox, Kate L. and Jennings, Michael P. (2012). Origin of the diversity in DNA recognition domains in phasevarion associated modA genes of pathogenic Neisseria and Haemophilus influenzae. PLoS One, 7 (3) e32337, e32337.1-e32337.10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032337

Origin of the diversity in DNA recognition domains in phasevarion associated modA genes of pathogenic Neisseria and Haemophilus influenzae

2012

Journal Article

Physical and linkage maps for Drosophila serrata, a model species for studies of clinal adaptation and sexual selection

Stocker, Ann J., Rusuwa, Bosco B., Blacket, Mark J., Frentiu, Francesca D., Sullivan, Mitchell, Foley, Bradley R., Beatson, Scott, Hoffman, Ary A. and Chenoweth, Stephen F. (2012). Physical and linkage maps for Drosophila serrata, a model species for studies of clinal adaptation and sexual selection. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 2 (2), 287-297. doi: 10.1534/g3.111.001354

Physical and linkage maps for Drosophila serrata, a model species for studies of clinal adaptation and sexual selection

2012

Journal Article

Characterisation of a cell wall-anchored protein of Staphylococcus saprophyticus associated with linoleic acid resistance

King, Nathan P, Sakinc, Turkan, Ben Zakour, Nouri L, Totsika, Makrina, Heras, Begona, Simerska, Pavla, Shepherd, Mark, Gatermann, Soren G, Beatson, Scott A and Schembri, Mark A (2012). Characterisation of a cell wall-anchored protein of Staphylococcus saprophyticus associated with linoleic acid resistance. BMC Microbiology, 12 (1) 8, 8.1-8.25. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-12-8

Characterisation of a cell wall-anchored protein of Staphylococcus saprophyticus associated with linoleic acid resistance

2012

Journal Article

Analysis of a Streptococcus pyogenes puerperal sepsis cluster using whole-genome sequencing

Ben Zakour, Nouri L., Venturini, Carola, Beatson, Scott A. and Walker, Mark J. (2012). Analysis of a Streptococcus pyogenes puerperal sepsis cluster using whole-genome sequencing. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 50 (7), 2224-2228. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00675-12

Analysis of a Streptococcus pyogenes puerperal sepsis cluster using whole-genome sequencing

2012

Conference Publication

Acquired aminoglycoside resistance in pseudomonas aeruginosa from a cystic fibrosis patient

Hanks-Thomson, Kirstin R., Kidd, Timothy J., Wainwright, Claire E., Ramsey, Kay A., Steen, Jason A., Bell, Scott C., Zakour, Nouri L. Ben and Beatson, Scott A. (2012). Acquired aminoglycoside resistance in pseudomonas aeruginosa from a cystic fibrosis patient. Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM2012), Brisbane, Australia, 1-4 July 2012.

Acquired aminoglycoside resistance in pseudomonas aeruginosa from a cystic fibrosis patient

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

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Supervision history

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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