Dr Johanna Rhodes BSc MSc PhD ALS

Dr Johanna Rhodes

School of Biosciences
Assistant Professor

Contact details

Email
j.rhodes@bham.ac.uk
Twitter

Dr Rhodes’ research is primarily concerned with leveraging large multi-omics datasets to investigate how pathogenic fungi emerge and evolve. She is particularly interested in how human activity drives the evolvability of Candida and Aspergillus species, through the lens of antifungal drug resistance.

Qualifications

Assistant professor in Fungal Genomics:

  • PhD in Systems Biology 2012, University of Warwick
  • MSc in Systems Biology 2009, University of Warwick
  • BSc (Hons) in Computational Biology, University of Warwick

Biography

After completing her PhD in host gene regulatory networks activated in response to fungal infection at the University of Warwick, Jo moved to Imperial College London to research fungal pathogens, and focus on human infection. Her research has focused on three of the four WHO Critical Priority Group fungal pathogens: Cryptococcus neoformansCandida auris and Aspergillus fumigatus. As an assistant professor at the University 麻豆精选, the Rhodes Group uses a One Health approach to balance and optimise the health of humans, animals and the environment.

Postgraduate supervision

I have supervised three PhD students, one of which has recently passed their viva and one has just submitted their thesis.

Research

Current:

  • Evolvability of pathogenic fungi and the emergence of antifungal drug resistance
  • Microbiome links between inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases
  • Candida auris genomic surveillance, wastewater testing and metagenomics

Previous:

  • Population genomics of emerging antifungal resistance in the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus
  • Population genomics of Cryptococcus neoformans

Other activities

Journal Editor:

  • Nature Antimicrobials & Resistance – 2023 to present
  • Mycopathologia – 2023 to present
  • BMS Fungal Biology – 2023 to present

 Software contributions:

  • C. auris Pathogenwatch
  • Afum FAIR data station
  • MARDy database
  • AfumID
  • FungAMR database

Board members and societal organisations:

  • Aspergillus Genomes Research Policy Committee – 2023 to present
  • Genetics Society of America Early Career Leadership – 2023 to present
  • Linnean Society Associate member – 2024 to present