Dr Rebecca Hall

Dr Rebecca Hall

Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Contact details

Email
r.j.hall@bham.ac.uk

Dr Rebecca Hall’s current research focuses on characterising the genetic changes that influence the evolution and emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria.

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Qualifications

  • PhD in Mechanistic Biology 2020
  • BSc in Biology 2014

Biography

Dr Rebecca Hall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Professor Alan McNally. Her current research characterises the genetic changes that potentiates the evolution of multidrug resistance (MDR) in the global pathogen Escherichia coli. Her previous research with Professor McNally includes investigations into the transcriptional response to MDR plasmid acquisition, and a collaborative project researching the response of E. coli to non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals.

 Dr Hall’s previous research topics included the evolution of gene relationships in prokaryote pangenomes (PDRA, University of Nottingham) and the role of metabolism in the evolution of symbiosis (PhD, University of York). 

Teaching

Rebecca has delivered Masters lectures and workshops on insect-microbe symbiosis and the evolution of antimicrobial resistance.

Rebecca has also delivered Small Group Teaching to undergraduates on topics of AMR and the microbiome.

Postgraduate supervision

Rebecca regularly supervises PGRs on projects relating to AMR.

Research

Dr Hall’s current research uses experimental evolution to identify genetic changes arising as a result of antibiotic selection.

Key research interests include:

Why multidrug resistance in Escherichia coli is restricted to only certain lineages.

How metabolism influences microbial evolution (both pathogens and symbionts). 

Publications

Hall RJ, Snaith AE, Thomas MJN, Brockhurst MA, McNally A. 2024. Multidrug resistance plasmids commonly reprogram expression of metabolic genes in Escherichia coli. mSystems 10.1128/msystems.01193-23.

Hall RJ, Snaith AE, Element SJ, Moran RA, Smith H, Cummins EA, Bottery MJ, Chowdhury KF, Sareen D, Ahmad I, Blair JMA, Carter LJ, McNally A. 2024. Non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals are toxic against Escherichia coli with no evolution of cross-resistance to antibiotics. npj Antimicrobials and Resistance 10.1038/s44259-024-00028-5.

Snaith AE, Moran RA, Hall RJ, Casey A, Ratcliffe L, van Schaik W, Whitehouse T, McNally A. 2024. Longitudinal genomic surveillance of a UK intensive care unit shows a lack of patient colonisation by multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacterial pathogens. Microbial Genomics 10.1099/mgen.0.001314.

Element SJ, Moran RA, Beattie E, Hall RJ, van Schaik W, Buckner MMC. 2023. Growth in a biofilm promotes conjugation of a blaNDM-1-bearing plasmid between Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. mSphere 10.1128/msphere.00170-23.

Cummins EA, Moran RA, Snaith AE, Hall RJ, Connor CH, Dunn SJ, McNally A. 2023. Parallel loss of type VI secretion systems in two multi-drug-resistant Escherichia coli lineages. Microbial Genomics 10.1099/mgen.0.001133.