Associate Professor David McMillan completed his PhD at the University of Wollongong and completed post-doctoral studies at the Queensland Institute for Medical Research and the German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Braunschweig, Germany. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow at USC in 2013.
Research interests
The major research interests of my group are the study and prevention of Streptococcus pyogenes infections and discovery of novel antibiotics.
S. pyogenes infection results in half a million deaths each year. The bacterium is one of the leading bacterial killers of humans for which no vaccine is available. Research in this theme is focused on the:
- development and evaluation of novel group A streptococcal vaccines
- understanding the genetic basis of group A streptococcal disease
- population genetics of streptococci.
The emergence and global expansion of antibiotic resistant bacteria is having a major impact on our ability to treat once preventable diseases. For some bacterial strains, failures in ‘antibiotics of last resort’ have been reported. Research in this theme is focused on:
- identification and testing novel antibiotic compounds from natural sources
- characterisation of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms.
Honours and postgraduate projects
Our research group has research projects available in all above themes. Please contact Dr David McMillan for more information.
Research grants
Dr McMillan has attracted competitive research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, National Heart Foundation, Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, and Innovation connections. He has also been successful in attracting funds from commercial sources.
| Project Name | Funding Body |
|---|---|
| QB-USC-028 (Drug discovery and product development) | QBiotics |
| Monitoring group B streptococcus causing life-threatening invasive diseases in new borns and the elderly on the Sunshine Coast | Wishlist |
Research areas
- Pathogenesis and prevention of Streptococcus pyogenes infections
- Discovery of novel antibiotics
- Hospital and Health acquired infections
Teaching areas
- BIM331 Immunology
- MBT352 Molecular Biotechnology
- MBT353 Microbial Pathogenesis
- LFS262 Medical Microbiology
- LFS251 Biochemistry
Program coordinator
Dr McMillan's specialist areas of knowledge include bacteria, hospital infections and infection of medical devices.