Professor Peter Hawkey BSc, DSc, MBBS, MD, FRCPath, FFPath, FRCPI

• FRCPI, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 2012
• DSc, University of Leeds, 2002
• MRCPath, 1984
• MD, University of Bristol, 1983
• MB BS, University of London (Kings College Hospital), 1978
• BSc (Hons) Microbiology, University of East Anglia, 1972

Peter Hawkey started his scientific career as a plant pathologist working on Gleosporium perrenans a fungal storage pathogen of pathogen in apples at East Malling Research Station. A longstanding attraction to medical microbiology following a research post in 1971 at Kings College Hospital prompted enrolment for a medical degree. Experience as a junior doctor looking after patients with the superbug of the 1970’s, gentamicin resistant, Klebsiella pneumoniae kindled a life-long interest in the mechanism and evolution of plasmid mediated resistance to antibiotics in gram negative bacteria.

Recruitment as a lecturer at the University of Bristol to work on gentamicin resistant Providencia stuartii resulted in a higher degree studying transposition immunity and composite transposon formation in vivo mediated by Tn3. This thesis supervised by Peter Bennett and Sir Mark Richmond, the MRCPath being obtained concurrently.

Due to lack of promotion opportunities in Bristol a move to work with Richard Lacey in Leeds as Senior Lecturer and subsequently a personal chair in 1992 facilitated the development of his research group which worked on molecular evolution of plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and acinetobacter. The early application in 1989 of PCR to M. tuberculosis led to a further research area resulting in the development of clinical diagnostics for TB using PCR and rapid PCR-based typing techniques forM. tuberculosis

An invitation to run a workshop in Guangzhou, China in 1997 led to the characterisation and first description of the gene encoding second most common CTX-M Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) in the world, CTX-M-14. His longstanding interest in the evolution and development of antibiotic resistance in China and the Far East has resulted in a number of important publications in the arena of molecular epidemiology of antibiotic resistance. A move to the chair of public health and clinical bacteriology, which was newly established jointly by the University of Birmingham, HPA and Heart of England Foundation Trust, enabled more extensive development of research on the molecular epidemiology of M. tuberculosis, the environmental flow and evolution of antibiotic resistance genes in collaboration with the University of Warwick and the antibiotic research group founded by Laura Piddock. Peter’s group was the first to describe the existence of variable number tandem repeat DNA elements within the Staphylococcus aureus genome and to exploit those variable elements for rapid molecular typing to identify cases of cross-infection in patients. The application of the same technology to Clostridium difficile has led to research work on sub-typing of the dominant clones of Clostridium difficile in the UK and to chairing the Department of Health working party producing the definitive guidance on the control and management of Clostridium difficile infections for England. A similar role has been filled in relation to ESBL and carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae for the DoH through the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (ARHAI) of which Peter was a founder member.

Teaching Programmes

• Medicine and Surgery MBChB
• Medical Science BMedSc (Intercalated)
• Medical Science BMedSc
• Dental Surgery BDS

Peter is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• Mechanisms and molecular epidemiology of antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae and MRSA
• Molecular epidemiology and pathogenesis of Clostridium difficile
• Molecular epidemiology and phylogeny of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Peter on the contact details above, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email: dr@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call +44 (0)121 414 5005.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Research themes

Antimicrobial resistance, molecular epidemiology, rapid diagnostics for infection, clinical trials.

Peter’s work focuses on the following 4 areas:

Research activity

Novel resistance mechanisms

Peter’s research group is currently studying widely dispersed and clinically very important mechanisms of resistance to Extended Spectrum cephalosporins and carbapenem antibiotics. Collaboration both locally across the Midlands and internationally in China and India are involved in characterising the molecular basis and genetic mobility of newly emerging and emerged resistance genes to these antibiotics.

Molecular epidemiology

Peter has been involved in developing novel molecular characterisation techniques for nosocomial (hospital acquired) bacteria for over 30 years. The group is exploring the use of genomics and other genetic techniques which can be applied quickly to differentiate particular clones of bacteria causing nosocomial infection. A wide range of pathogens from Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridium difficile and Mycobacterium tuberculosis is studied by the group.

Identification of nosocomial pathogens

Rapid methods for screening patients and identifying nosocomial bacteria are both developed and existing methodologies subjected to clinical trial by the group.

Novel interventions to reduce nosocomial infection

Currently studied approaches include the introduction of clinical care systems to enhance control of nosocomial infection and the use of novel probiotic strategies. Development and research on the use of Faecal Transplant Therapy (FTT) for treating severe Clostridium difficile infection. Peter has established the largest UK FTT service and is applying the technique with Professor Tigobal to the treatment of IBD.  Read the BBC article on this research here.

Research study protocols

“Effect of General Practice characteristics and antibiotic prescribing on E. coli antibiotic non-susceptibility in the West Midlands region of England – a four year ecological study.”

National Committees and Advisory Groups (member of):

• PHE HCAI & AMR Programme Board (2009 onwards)
• Chairman of NEQAS microbiology steering committee (2009)
• Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (ARHAI) [previously Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Research] (2006 onwards), and the ARHAI sub-committee on Healthcare-associated Infection Research Network (HAIRN) (2008 onwards)
• Chairman of DoH working party on the control and management of Clostridium difficile infections, and member of the DoH MRSA working party (2005 onwards)
• Defra Antimicrobial Resistance Co-ordination Group (DARC) (2005 onwards) and chair of the DARC group’s sub-committee on ESBLs (2008 onwards)
• Council of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2001-7), chairman of Grants Committee (from 2005-8), and member of Education Committee (1995-9)

International Committees and Advisory Groups

• Chairman of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing (EUCAST) Sub-Committee on Molecular Testing (1998-2002)
• Advisor and trainer for SEARO to the WHO Antimicrobial Resistance
• Monitoring Programme (1997 onwards)