Dr Rod James is a Medical Microbiologist at the Melbourne Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory (MDU PHL) and the Director of Clinical Services at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Guidance Group and National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS). Rod has been involved with antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship research for the past 10 years, with a major interest in implementation of capacity building programs in regional and remote Australian facilities and in low- and middle-income countries within the Asia Pacific region. Rod is the current Antimicrobial Resistance Theme co-lead at the Doherty Institute.
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Key Achievements
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Rod has played a significant role in enhancing metrics and audit methodology ensuring appropriate usage of antimicrobials. His contributions have been instrumental in establishing antimicrobial stewardship programs across Australia, where he provided guidance on national policies and accreditation standards.
Rod spearheaded the development of the National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey (NAPS), which received funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care, and directly contribute to the implementation of National AMR Strategies.
Additionally, he has been involved in consultancies with the World Health Organization (WHO) and holds a leadership position at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance. In this role, he supports a broad range of pharmacy and laboratory mentorship initiatives as part of the Fleming Fund and COMBAT-AMR programs.
Publications
Research Groups
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Howden Group
Research from Professor Ben Howden’s group uses genomics, molecular biology, epidemiology and clinical studies to address a broad range of issues related to invasive bacterial diseases in humans, especially those caused by staphylococci, enterococci and other antimicrobial-resistant species. Additionally, working closely with scientists in the MDU PHL, they investigate the epidemiology, evolution and spread of bacterial pathogens of public health significance such as Neisseria gonorrhoea, Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella and Salmonella spp., Legionella spp., and carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacteria.
Lab Team
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Director Of Microbiological Diagnostic Unit (MDU) Public Health Laboratory
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Deputy Director, Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory
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Adrianna Turner
Research Assistant
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Alexandra-Maria Blejusca
Research Assistant
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Ashleigh Hayes
Research Assistant
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Dr Calum Walsh
Research Fellow
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Dr Celeste Donato
Research Fellow
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Dr Chris Connor
Research Fellow
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NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow
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Diane Daniel
AMR Research Scientist
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Emily Sotheran
PhD student
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Dr Jean Lee
Research Fellow
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Dr Jessica Webb
Research Fellow
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Joseph Napier
Masters student
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Karolina Mercoulia
PhD student
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Lamali Sadeesh Kumar
PhD student
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Dr Lisa Ioannidis
Centre for Pathogen Genomics Coordinator
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Dr Louise Judd
CPG/DAMG Senior Genomics Scientist
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Lucy Li
Research Assistant
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Maria Duarte Aguilera
AMR Research Technical Assistant
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Dr Marielle Babinear
CPG / DAMG
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Marwa Alhotali
PhD student
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Munazzah Maqbool
PhD student
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Neta Petersiel
PhD student
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Dr Patiyan Andersson
Research Fellow
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Dr Paul Kinsella
PhD student
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Rachel Cass
AMR Research Technical Assistant
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Dr Ryan Wick
Research Fellow
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Samriddhi Thakur
PhD student
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Dr Sarah Baines
Research Fellow
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Sher Maine Tan
PhD student
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Clinician Researcher and Infectious Diseases Physician
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Taylor Harshegyi
CPG / DAMG
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Thinley Dorji
PhD student
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Warasinee Mujchariyakul
PhD student