Areas of interest

Antimicrobial resistance COVID-19 Gastroenteritis Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Microbiome in health and disease

Research group

Microbiota and Systems Biology

Biography

Dr. Chonwerawong leads the host-microbiota interactions team of the Microbiota Systems Biology Laboratory at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and a Theme Leader within the Synnate Program (NHMRC Synergy Grant). Her work focusses on understanding the role of the human microbiota in the context of host state and how these key host-microbiome interactions modulate the immune system in various sites such as the gut, lung, bladder and female reproductive tract.

Dr. Chonwerawong works with a team of scientists to define host innate immune signatures to the gastrointestinal microbiome using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and ex vivo patient organoid models. As part of the Synergy Grant, Dr. Chonwerawong established the organ-on-a-chip platform which is being applied to define host-microbiome interactions by enabling in-depth characterisation of bacterial dynamics and immune state at the site of disease.

Dr. Chonwerawong’s work with the gut microbiota and in vitro models in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) resulted in intellectual property licensed to BiomeBank Australia for IBD treatment using microbiome-based medicines. These methods are being applied to screen for therapeutic candidate gut bacteria to better define how the microbiota is associated with disease development and resolution.