Kat Holt

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Kat Holt
Born
Kathryn Elizabeth Holt
NationalityAustralian
Alma mater University of Western Australia (BSc (Hons), BA)
University of Cambridge (PhD)
University of Melbourne (MEpi)
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobial genomics
Computational genomics
Epidemiology
Institutions Monash University
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Thesis High-throughput sequencing provides insights into genome variation and evolution in Salmonella Typhi  (2008)
Doctoral advisor Gordon Dougan
Julian Parkhill
Duncan Maskell
Website https://holtlab.net

Kathryn "Kat" Elizabeth Holt is an Australian computational biologist specializing in infectious disease genomics. She is a professor at Monash University's Department of Infectious Diseases and a professor of Microbial Systems Genomics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Her current research focuses on investigating the evolution and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. In 2015, Holt received the L'Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talent Award.

Contents

Early life and education

The daughter of two biomedical scientists, Holt grew up in an environment where science was a frequent topic of discussion. [1]

From 2002 to 2005, she was a research assistant at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. [2] In 2004, Holt graduated from the University of Western Australia with Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biochemistry, Applied Statistics, and Philosophy, as well as Honours in Genetics with a focus on plant gene expression. [1]

One year after completing her undergraduate education, in 2005, Holt worked as a research technician in the Bioinformatics Division of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). [2] Shortly afterward, she began her pursuit of a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Wellcome Sanger Trust Institute (WSTI) and the University of Cambridge. Her doctoral research focusing on the genomics of typhoid fever was supervised by Gordan Dougan, Julian Parkhill, and Duncan Maskell. Holt continued her education at the University of Melbourne, where she obtained her Master of Epidemiology degree in 2011.

Career and research

Holt conducted postdoctoral research as a research fellow at the University of Melbourne Department of Microbiology and Immunology from 2010 to 2012. She then became a senior research fellow at the same university in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Bio21 Institute from 2012 to 2018. In 2015, Holt was named a L'Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talent.

In April 2018, Holt was appointed a professor of Microbial Systems Genomics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in the Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology. Additionally, Holt has been a professor of research at Monash University in the Department of Infectious Diseases since January 2019.

Publications

Awards and recognitions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bio21 Institute</span>

The Bio21 Institute of Molecular Science and Biotechnology, abbreviated as the Bio21 Institute, is an Australian scientific research institute that focuses on basic science and applied biotechnology. The Bio21 Institute is based at the University of Melbourne on Flemington Road in Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards</span> Scientific award

The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards, created in 1998, aim to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress. The awards are a result of a partnership between the French cosmetics company L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and carry a grant of $100,000 USD for each laureate. This award is also known as the L'Oréal-Helena Rubinstein Women in Science Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire M. Fraser</span> American genome scientist and microbiologist

Claire M. Fraser is an American genome scientist and microbiologist who has worked in microbial genomics and genome medicine. Her research has contributed to the understanding of the diversity and evolution of microbial life. Fraser is the director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, where she holds the Dean's Endowed Professorship in the School of Medicine. She has joint faculty appointments at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology. In 2019, she began serving a one-year term as President-Elect for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which will be followed by a one-year term as AAAS president starting in February 2020 and a one-year term as chair of the Board of Directors in February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Hilton</span> Australian molecular biologist

Douglas James Hilton is an Australian molecular biologist. He is the CEO of CSIRO and immediate past Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. His research has focused on cytokines, signal transduction pathways and the regulation of blood cell formation (hematopoiesis). Hilton was the President of the Association of the Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) from 2014-16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Dougan</span>

Gordon Dougan is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and head of pathogen research and a member of the board of management at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, United Kingdom. He is also a Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. During his career, Dougan has pioneered work on enteric diseases and been heavily involved in the movement to improve vaccine usage in developing countries. In this regard he was recently voted as one of the top ten most influential people in the vaccine world by people working in the area.

Adeyinka Gladys Falusi, FAS NPOM, is a Nigerian Professor of haematology and former Director of the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Parkhill</span> Geneticist, working with pathogens

Julian Parkhill is Professor of Bacterial Evolution in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge. He previously served as head of pathogen genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrid Scheffer</span> Australian paediatric neurologist

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Mark J. Pallen is a research leader at the Quadram Institute and Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of East Anglia. In recent years, he has been at the forefront of efforts to apply next-generation sequencing to problems in microbiology and ancient DNA research.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Oladunni Taylor</span> Nigerian biochemist (born 1937)

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Valerie Mizrahi is a South African molecular biologist.

Duncan John Maskell, is a British and Australian biochemist, academic, and academic administrator, who specialises in molecular microbiology and bacterial infectious diseases. Since 2018, he has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Australia. He previously taught at the University of Cambridge, England.

Matire Louise Ngarongoa Harwood is a New Zealand clinical researcher and trainee general practitioner. She is an associate professor at the University of Auckland. Harwood was the 2017 New Zealand L'Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow. Her expertise is in Māori health, focussed on reducing health inequity by improving indigenous health and well-being.

Katharine Arwen Michie is an Australian structural biologist, biochemist and physicist. In 2005 she was named a Fellow of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science and was also awarded a Marie Curie International Research Fellowship in January, 2006. Michie is currently in charge of the Structural Biology X-ray Facility, a part of the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hailan Hu</span> Chinese neuroscientist

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Jacqueline Chaparro Olaya is a Colombian biologist and parasitologist, recipient of the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science grant in 2001 for her research on the application of molecular techniques in the field of infectious diseases.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Tracking the spread of deadly diseases". Stories of Australian Science. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kathryn Holt, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne". L'Oréal For Women in Science Australia & New Zealand. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  3. "2015 For Women in Science International Rising Talents". UNESCO. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  4. "Georgina Sweet Laureate Fellowship". University of Melbourne. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. "Gottschalk Medal". Australian Academy of Science. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  6. "Senior Medical Research Fellowship". The Viertel Charitable Foundation. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  7. "Philanthropies Select 41 Scientists as International Research Scholars". Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

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