Dr. Georgina Cox is an Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). She completed undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. She then joined the laboratory of Dr. Gerard Wright within the Institute of Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University (Ontario, Canada), as a postdoctoral research scientist.
Dr. Cox’s primary research focus involves the study of pathogenic bacteria. If significant and rapid advances are not made to combat multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria, we will face a major global health crisis. Antibiotics have become a mainstay of modern medicine and without these drugs, common infections will result in fatalities and medical operations will become impossible. Indeed, bacteria harness an impressive and fascinating array of resistance mechanisms in response to toxic molecules. A comprehensive understanding of such mechanisms is essential to overcome this health threat. Utilizing a mixture of structural, molecular and genetic approaches, research in the Cox lab involves gaining insight into two areas (1) how bacteria resist antibiotics and (2) how they interact with their host. The over-arching goal of her research is the identification and development of innovative alternatives to traditional antibacterial chemotherapy.
