Professor Elizabeth Hartland AM

Areas of interest

Antimicrobial resistance Gastroenteritis Microbiome in health and disease Pneumonia

Research group

Biography

In June 2024, Professor Hartland was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to medical research, particularly microbiology, and tertiary research.

An international leader in the fields of microbiology and immunology, Professor Hartland’s long-standing research interest is in the pathogenesis of infections caused by bacterial pathogens, with a focus on the inflammatory response to infection and microbial immune evasion.

Professor Hartland has made significant contributions to the understanding of underlying host and bacterial molecular mechanisms that determine the outcome of bacterial interactions with human cells and the development of disease.

Her research program is focussed on the cell intrinsic mechanisms of innate immunity and how these may be harnessed to fight infections such as Legionnaire’s Disease, melioidosis, dysentery and E. coli diarrhoea. Her goal is to define the host targets and biochemical functions of bacterial virulence ‘effector’ proteins that block cell intrinsic innate immune responses, thereby allowing bacterial pathogens to replicate and spread. This knowledge can complement the use of antibiotics by optimising the innate immune resistance to infection to block bacterial replication.

Professor Hartland has received more than $42M in grant and fellowship funding as a sole or joint investigator from both national (NHMRC and ARC), as well as international funding bodies such as the Human Frontiers Science Program.

Student opportunities

Education

Awards and fellowships

Affiliations

Publication highlights

Pearson JS, Giogha C, Ong SY, Kennedy CL, Kelly M,Robinson KS, Wong T, Mansell A, Riedmaier P, Zaid, A, Mühlen S, Oates C, Crepin VF, Marches O, Ang CS, Williamson NA, O’ReillyL, Bankovacki A, Nachbur U, Infusini G, Webb AS, Silke J, Strasser A, Frankel G, Hartland EL (2013) A type III effector antagonizes death receptor signalling during bacterial gut infection. Nature, 501:247-51.
Gomez-Valero L, Rusniok C, Neou M, Dervins-Ravault D, Petty N, Jarraud S, Steinert M, Heuner K, Gribaldo S, Medigue, C, GlöcknerG, Hartland EL, Buchrieser C (2014) Comparative analyses of Legionella species identifies genetic features of strains causing Legionnaires’ Disease. Genome Biol, 15:505.
King N, Riedmaier P, Schuelein R, Brown DL, Petru M, Zarsky V, Dolezal P, Luo L, Bugarcic A, Stanley AC, Murray RZ, Collins BM, Teasdale RD, Hartland EL*, Stow JL* (2015) SNARE molecular mimicry by a Legionella pneumophila Dot/Icm effector. Cell Microbiol, 17:767-784 *joint senior authors.
Giogha C, Wong Fok Lung T, Mühlen S, Pearson J, Hartland EL (2015) Substrate recognition by the zinc metalloprotease effector NleC from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Cell Microbiol, 17:1766-1778.
Brown AS, Yang C, Fung KY, Bachem A, Bourges D, Bedoui S*, Hartland EL*, van Driel IR* (2016) Cooperation between monocyte-derived dendritic cells and lymphoid cells in the acute response to a bacterial lung pathogen. PLoS Pathogens, 2:e1005691 *joint senior authors.
Zhang Y, Mühlen S, Oates CV, Pearson JS, Hartland EL (2016) Identification of a distinct substrate binding domain in the bacterial cysteine methyltransferase effectors NleE and OspZ. J Biol Chem, 291:20149-20162.
Pearson JS, Giogha C, Mühlen S, Nachbur U, Wong Fok Lung T, Zhang Y, Oates C, Ingle D, Hildebrand J, Dagley L, Bankovacki A, Schroeder G, Frankel G, Master S, Vince J, Webb A, Silke J, Hartland EL (2017) EspL is a bacterial cysteine protease effector that cleaves RHIM proteins to block necroptosis and inflammation. Nat Microbiol, 2:16258.
Pollock G, Oates CVL, Giogha C, Wong Fok Lung T, Ong SY, Pearson JS, Hartland EL (2017) Distinct roles of the anti-apoptotic effectors NleB and NleF from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Infect Immun, 85:e01071-16.

Professor Elizabeth Hartland AM, BSc (Hons), BA, PhD, Grad Cert Higher Ed, FASM, Institute Director