Qualifications | Research interests | Publications | Presentations | Awards | Grants and funding | Memberships
Dr Sanmarié Schlebusch is an experienced clinical microbiologist. She is currently the Medical Director Microbiology, Virology, and Genomics at Public and Environmental Health, Forensic and Scientific Services, and the designated person responsible for clinical governance of the Public and Environmental Health laboratory, including Queensland Public Health and Infectious diseases REference Genomics (Q-PHIRE Genomics). She is also a Clinical Microbiologist at Pathology Queensland and both Vice Chair and Board Director for NATA.
Previously Sanmarié was the Director of Microbiology at Mater Pathology in Brisbane, where she led the clinical validation and NATA accreditation for microbial whole genome sequencing, the first such accreditation achieved in Queensland.
Dr Schlebusch is internationally recognised for her pioneering of innovative technologies in clinical microbiology, including clinical metagenomics (RCPA PathWay, 114). She is well-published and has been involved in several major research projects. She was amongst the first intake of clinical microbiologists accredited by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia to supervise and report on microbial genomics in laboratories, including pathogen identification, characterisation and phylogeny.
Sanmarié is currently undertaking research on the effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiome using a metagenomic approach. She further contributes to translational medicine and research as senior lecturer with the University of Queensland.
See more information about Dr Sanmarié Schlebusch at:
Dr Schlebusch is currently undertaking research with the University of Queensland: Assessing the effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiome – a metagenomic approach.
The Gut and its microbiome in the Fight against Superbug Threats (GaimitFaST) research, which includes patients from the MERINO trials (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02437045) and patients admitted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital intensive care unit (ICU).
The human gut contains a vast array of micro-organisms that play an essential role in human health and disease. The use of antimicrobials has a detrimental effect on gut microbiota and increased risk for infection or colonisation with resistant organisms. The gastro-intestinal tract is a major reservoir for colonisation with multi-drug resistant pathogens. This study utilised whole genome sequencing on faecal samples or rectal swabs from hospitalised patients with a focus on three groups (no antibiotics, piperacillin-tazobactam or meropenem treatment), to describe the relative microbial diversity in each patient sample set collected over time and compared between groups. In addition, changes to key organisms and antimicrobial resistance genes will be assessed. This work will inform decisions around antibiotic usage and have implications for preventing antimicrobial resistance transfer. The project also involves enhancing laboratory methodology, bioinformatics pipelines, and clinical interpretation of metagenomic sequencing to support utilisation in healthcare.
This is a multi-site collaborative research project, which includes FSS as a collaborating site.
See more information at: https://clinical-research.centre.uq.edu.au/profile/1143/sanmarie-schlebusch
Nhu NTK, Phan M, Hancock SJ, Peters KM, Alvarez-Fraga L, Forde BM, Andersen SB, Miliya T, Harris PNA, Beatson SA, Schlebusch S, Bergh H, Turner P, Brauner A, Westerlund-Wikstrom B, Irwin AD, Schembri MA. (2024). High-risk Escherichia coli clones that cause neonatal meningitis and association with recrudescent infection. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.91853
Stewart AG, Harris PNA, Graham RMA, Jennison AV, Schlebusch S, Harris-Brown T, Paterson DL, Forde BM. (2024). Differences in antimicrobial resistance gene abundance and microbial diversity of the gut microbiome in patients on antibiotics enrolled in a clinical trial. Pathology, 56(S.1). DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2023.12.137
Howard-Jones AR, Mahar J, Proudmore K,, Butel-Simoes G, Eden J, Neave MJ, Mileto P, Hueston L, Freeman K,. Ellem J, Caly L, Sikazwe C, Levy A, Thomas A, Taylor C, Kurucz N, Smyth K, Jennison A, Moore P, Wright R, Mee PT, Feldman R, Dwyer D, O'Sulliuvan MV, Mahoney AA, Warner MS, Papanicolas L, Schlebusch S, Lim CK, Baird R, Speers D, Williams DT, Currie BT, Kok J. (2024). Diagnostic and phylogenetic perspectives of the 2023 Murray Valley encephalitis virus outbreak in Australia. The Lancet. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4714415
Nhu NTK, Phan M, Hancock SJ, Peters KM, Alvarez-Fraga, Forde BM, Andersen SB, Miliya T, Harris PNA, Beatson SA, Schlebusch S, Bergh H, Turner P, Brauner A, Westerlund-Wikstrom B, Irwin AD, Schembri MA, (2023). High-risk Escheria coli clones that cause neonatal meningitis and association with recrusdescent infection. medRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.05.23296362
Stewart A, Schlebusch S, Vlack S, McMahon J, Sullivan M, Pyke A, Hajkowicz, (2023). First case of mpox diagnosed in Queensland, Australia: clinical and molecular aspects. Medical Journal of Australia. DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51842
Palou T, Wilmot M, Duchene S, Porter A, Kemoi J, Suarkia D, Andersson P, Watt A, Sherry N, Seemann T, Sait M, Turharus C, Nguyen S, Schlebusch S, Thompson C, McMahon J, Vaccher S, Lin C, Esoram D, Howden BP, Susapu M, (2022). Genomic characterisation reveals a dominant lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in Papua New Guinea. Virus Evolution, 8(1). DOI: 10.1093/ve/veac033
Schlebusch S, Graham RMA, Jennison AV, Lassig-Smith MM, Harris PNA, Lipman J, Cuiv PO, Paterson DL, (2022). Standard rectal swabs as a surrogate sample for gut microbiome monitoring in intensive care. BMC Microbiology, 22. DOI: 10.1186/s12866-022-02487-0
Ahmed W, Bivins A, Smith WFM, Metcalfe S, Stephens M, Jennison AV, Moore FAJ, Bourke J, Schlebusch S, McMahon J, Hewitson G, Nguyen S, Barcelon J, Jackson G, Mueller JF, Ehret J, Hosegood I, Tian W, Wang H, Yang L, Bertsch P, Tynan J, Thomas KV, Bibby K, Graber TE, Ziels R, Simpson SL, (2022). Detection of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 in aircraft wastewater. Science of the Total Environment, 820. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153171
Eustace MB, Sud A, Thompson C, Scheblusch S, Horvath RL. (2022). Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in real time: coordinating a local hospital response using whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2. Medical Journal of Australia, 217(10). DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51762
Smoll NR, Taylor C, Martin R, Wheatley S, Moore P, Finger M, Moore F, Schlebusch S, Khandaker G, (2021). SARS-CoV-2 public health investigation in an aged care facility and challenges with serological screening in low pre-test probability settings. Communicable Diseases Intelligence, 45. DOI: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.42
Brischetto A, Schooneveldt J, Schlebusch S, (2021). Evaluation of direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing using positive blood culture broth in an Australian laboratory. Pathology. DOI: 10.1016/j.pathol.2021.03.013
Pyke AT, Nair N, van den Hurk A, Burtonclay P, Nguyen S, Barcelon J, Kistler C, Schlebusch S, McMahon J, Moore F, (2021). Replication Kinetics of B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Including Assessment of a B.1.1.7 Mutant Carrying a Defective ORF7a Gene. Viruses, 13. DOI: 10.3390/v13061087
Stehlik P, Alcorn K, Jones A, Schlebusch S, Wattiaux A, Henry F, (2021). Repeat testing for SARS-COV-2: Persistence of viral RNA is common, and clearance is slower in older age groups. Medical Journal of Australia, 214(10) 468-470. DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.27.20183483
O'Toole Á, Hill V, Pybus OG et al. (2021) Tracking the international spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages B.1.1.7 and B.1.351/501Y-V2 [version 1; peer review: 1 approved]. Wellcome Open Res 2021, 6:121. DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16661.1
Stewart AG, Satlin MJ, Schlebusch S, Isler B, Forde BM, Paterson DL, Harris PNA, (2020). Completing the Picture - Capturing the Resistome in Antibiotic Clinical Trials. DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1877
Pyke AT, Choong K, Moore F, Schlebusch S, Taylor C, Hewitson G, McMahon J, Neelima Nair, Moore P, Finger M, Burtonclay P, Wheatley S, (2020). A Case of Japanese Encephalitis with a Fatal Outcome in an Australian Who Traveled from Bali in 2019. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 5(3) 133. DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed5030133
Walczak A, Wilks K, Shakhovskoy R, Baird T, Schlebusch S, Taylor C, Reid D, Choong K, (2020). COVID-19 in a complex obstetric patient with cystic fibrosis. Infection, Disease & Health. ISSN 2468-0451. DOI: 10.1016/j.idh.2020.07.002
Moyniham KM, McGarvey T, Barlow A, Heney C, Gibbons K, Clark JE, Schlebusch S, Luregn J, (2020). Testing for Common Respiratory Viruses in Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care: Epidemiology and Outcomes. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 21(6) e333-e341. DOI: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002302
Arulkumaran N, Routledge M, Schlebusch S, Lipman J, Conway Morris A, (2020) Antimicrobial-associated harm in critical care: a narrative review. Intensive Care Medicine. DOI: 10.1007/s00134-020-05929-3
For publications prior to commencement at FSS see: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/15383730_Sanmarie_Schlebusch
November 2023: Metagenomics Case Presentation. In: Communicable Diseases Genomics Network Metagenomics webinar.
December 2022: SARS-CoV-2 genomics (“COVID Genomics”) Update. In: Pathology Queensland Staff Forum [online].
November 2022: Swiss cheese and report authorisation. In: Communicable Diseases Genomics Network Microbial Genomics Reporting webinar.
July 2022: Omicron BA.4 and BA.5. In: The Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) - COVID-19 now: vaccines, antiviral treatments, variants [webinar].
April 2022: The application of sequencing to the COVID response. In: The Royal College of Pathologists of Australia (RCPA)- Microbiology Molecular Workshop [hybrid].
October 2020: SARS-Co-V-2 genomics Queensland. In: The McCormack Infection Meeting, online, Queensland.
November 2019: Invited speaker, The gut microbiome and emergence of antimicrobial resistance. In: National Antimicrobial Resistance Forum 2019, Brisbane, Qld.
September 2019: Invited speaker, New microbial diagnostics – clinical metagenomics. In: Short Course in Critical Infection 2019, Brisbane Qld.
August 2019: Invited speaker, Metagenomics in Healthcare. In: Pathology grand rounds, Pathology Queensland, Brisbane Qld.
Dr Sanmarié Schlebusch
Medical Director Microbiology, Virology, and Genomics for Public and Environmental Health
phone: +61 1800 000 377