Prof. Fiona Henriquez
Professor, School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland
Professor Fiona Henriquez has been researching Free-Living amoebae for approximately 20 years with over 80 research outputs in this specific field. Her research is focused on the development of new treatments and prevention measures for amoebic gill disease and characterisation of Neoparamoeba species and its bacterial microbiome. This has led to investigating how amoebae can be vectors for bacteria and other infectious microbes, and their role in the emergence of antimicrobial resistance addressing the ‘One Health’ agenda.
Her work on AGD is a result from translating methods for Neoparamoeba culture and handling from her work on other amoebae, which are human pathogens. Her laboratory has a catalogue of Neoparamoeba isolates in culture and can be used for reference, drug sensitivity testing, positive controls for diagnostic PCR and screening.
Selected publications
- O’Halloran, E.; Mooney, R.; Rodgers, K.; Henriquez, F.L. Microbial Interactions That Contribute to Gill Disease in Aquaculture. Parasitologia 2022, 2, 266-291. https://doi.org/10.3390/parasitologia2040023
- MacPhail, D. P. C., Koppenstein, R., Maciver, S. K., Paley, R., Longshaw, M., & Henriquez, F. L. (2020). Vibrio species are predominantly intracellular within cultures of Neoparamoeba perurans, causative agent of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD). Aquaculture, 532, [736083]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.736083