Kathie Grant

Public Health England
Glasgow United Kingdom

Biographical Sketch: Dr Kathie Grant is an internationally recognised expert in the field of foodborne pathogens with 30 years experience in clinical and public health microbiology and a research interest in exploiting whole genome sequencing (WGS) of bacterial pathogens to improve the understanding and control of foodborne bacterial illness. Head of Public Health England’s Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit in United Kingdom which is the national reference laboratory for a range of foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli VTEC, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum. Since 2001 she has championed the use of molecular methods leading to improvements in the detection and investigation of bacterial foodborne disease within the UK. Her laboratory is one of the first laboratories in the world to implement the use of WGS for routine bacterial reference service delivery.

Papers:
Identifying the Source of Foodborne Outbreaks: WGS, the New Sleuth on the Block