Dr Johanna Rhodes BSc MSc PhD ALS

School of Biosciences
Assistant Professor

Contact details

Email: j.rhodes@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Biosciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

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

Qualifications

PhD, University of Warwick, 2012

MSc, University of Warwick, 2009

BSc, University of Warwick, 2008

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 neoformans, Candida auris and Aspergillus fumigatus. As an assistant professor at the University of Birmingham, the Rhodes Group uses a One Health approach to balance and optimise the health of humans, animals and the environment.

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Rhodes has supervised three PhD students, two of which have recently passed their viva.

Research

Current research

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 research

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

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Delma, FZ, Spruijtenburg, B, Meis, JF, de Jong, AW, Groot, J, Rhodes, J, Melchers, WJG, Verweij, PE, de Groot, T, Meijer, EFJ & Buil, JB 2025, 'Emergence of Flucytosine-Resistant Candida tropicalis Clade, the Netherlands', Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 1354-1364. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3107.241918

Delbaje, E, Pontes, L, Rhodes, J, Steenwyk, J, Lu, L, Dos Reis, TF, Rokas, A & Goldman, GH 2025, 'Aspergillus fumigatus mitogenomes and their influence on azole-resistant and -susceptible populations', npj Antimicrobials and Resistance, vol. 3, no. 1, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-025-00083-6

Song, Y, Buil, JB, Rhodes, J, Zoll, J, Tehupeiory-Kooreman, M, Ergün, M, Zhang, J, Li, R, Bosch, T, Melchers, WJG & Verweij, PE 2025, 'Triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2022: a genomic and phenotypic study', The Lancet Microbe, vol. 6, no. 8, 101114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101114

Leitao, R, Wan, IU, Chown, H, Williams, TJ, Fisher, MC & Rhodes, J 2024, 'Detection of fungal sequences in human brain: rDNA locus amplification and deep sequencing', Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, 31790. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82840-7

Bottery, MJ, van Rhijn, N, Chown, H, Rhodes, JL, Celia-Sanchez, BN, Brewer, MT, Momany, M, Fisher, MC, Knight, CG & Bromley, MJ 2024, 'Elevated mutation rates in multi-azole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus drive rapid evolution of antifungal resistance', Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, 10654. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54568-5

Kappel, D, Gifford, H, Brackin, A, Abdolrasouli, A, Eyre, DW, Jeffery, K, Schlenz, S, Aanensen, DM, Brown, CS, Borman, A, Johnson, E, Holmes, A, Armstrong-James, D, Fisher, MC & Rhodes, J 2024, 'Genomic epidemiology describes introduction and outbreaks of antifungal drug-resistant Candida auris', npj Antimicrobials and Resistance, vol. 2, no. 1, 26. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-024-00043-6

Rhodes, J, Jacobs, J, Dennis, EK, Manjari, SR, Banavali, NK, Marlow, R, Rokebul, MA, Chaturvedi, S & Chaturvedi, V 2024, 'What makes Candida auris pan-drug resistant? Integrative insights from genomic, transcriptomic, and phenomic analysis of clinical strains resistant to all four major classes of antifungal drugs', Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, vol. 68, no. 10, e0091124. https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.00911-24

Shelton, JMG, Rhodes, J, Uzzell, CB, Hemmings, S, Brackin, AP, Sewell, TR, Alghamdi, A, Dyer, PS, Fraser, M, Borman, AM, Johnson, EM, Piel, FB, Singer, AC & Fisher, MC 2023, 'Citizen science reveals landscape-scale exposures to multiazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus bioaerosols', Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 29, eadh8839. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh8839

Simmons, BC, Rhodes, J, Rogers, TR, Verweij, PE, Abdolrasouli, A, Schelenz, S, Hemmings, SJ, Talento, AF, Griffin, A, Mansfield, M, Sheehan, D, Bosch, T & Fisher, MC 2023, 'Genomic Epidemiology Identifies Azole Resistance Due to TR₃₄/L98H in European Aspergillus fumigatus Causing COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis', Journal of Fungi, vol. 9, no. 11, 1104. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9111104

Hemmings, SJ, Rhodes, JL & Fisher, MC 2023, 'Long-read Sequencing and de novo Genome Assembly of Three Aspergillus fumigatus Genomes', Mycopathologia, vol. 188, no. 4, pp. 409-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-023-00740-2

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Gifford, H, Rhodes, J, Wilson, D & Farrer, R 2024, Genomic Innovation and Virulence Evolution in the Emerging Human Fungal Pathogen Candida auris. in M Nowrousian & JE Stajich (eds), Fungal Genomics. 3 edn, The Mycota, vol. 13, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, pp. 163-188. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75666-5_10

Comment/debate

Gifford, H, Rhodes, J & Farrer, RA 2024, 'The diverse genomes of Candida auris', The Lancet. Microbe, vol. 5, no. 9, 100903. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(24)00135-6

Rhodes, J 2023, 'Genomic surveillance urgently needed to control wheat blast pandemic spreading across continents', PLoS Biology, vol. 21, no. 4, e3002090. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002090

Review article

Hui, ST, Gifford, H & Rhodes, J 2024, 'Emerging Antifungal Resistance in Fungal Pathogens', Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 43-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40588-024-00219-8

Short survey

Gangneux, JP, Rhodes, JL & Papon, N 2023, 'Airway microbiome: environmental exposure–respiratory health nexus', Trends in Molecular Medicine, vol. 29, no. 11, pp. 875-877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2023.08.011

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