Dr. Belinda Ferrari
- Position: Senior Lecturer
- Room: S132/119, Samuels
- Phone: (+61 2) 9385 2032
- Fax: (+61 2) 9385 1483
- email: b.ferrari@unsw.edu.au
Professional Experience
- 2003-2010: Project Leader for the Environmental Biotechnology CRC
- 2006-2008: Environmental Biotechnology CRC Research Fellow at Macquarie University
- 2003-2005: Macquarie University Research Fellow Scholarship Holder (MQRF)
- 2002-2003: University of Copenhagen Research Fellow Scholarship Holder
- 2001-2002: Research Fellow MQ Collaborative Industry Grant with Sydney Water
Research Contribution
Dr Ferrari has made significant contributions to, and is a leader in the development of fluorescence-based detection strategies for pathogens, particularly Cryptosporidium and Giardia with a recently awarded ARC-Linkage grant with NSW Health. Since 2004, her role as Environmental Biotechnology CRC project leader of the Water Pathogen team at Macquarie University has led to publication of over 12 refereed articles and 30 conference proceedings and 1 patent application in the area of pathogen detection. Her Water Pathogen team is developing a suite of online field systems to rapidly and accurately identify potential disease causing micro-organisms including Cryptosporidium, Cyanobacteria and E. coli. These new tools are currently under validation for rapid screening of pathogenic species by Health and Water authorities in the UK, USA and Australia.
Her other major interest is in microbial diversity of uncultivated bacteria where she held an ARC Discovery Grant. Her development of a novel cultivation method for previously undescribed soil bacteria was recently recognised by Nature with an invitation to submit her protocol for publication. By combining micromanipulation and microcultivation, the growth of uncharacterised soil bacteria which, in some cases, are most similar to those only isolated from extreme environments, has been achieved. This high impact research is leading to a systems biology approach for understanding the function of these unknown bacteria in the environment by several groups worldwide.
Dr Ferrari's research is multidisciplinary, spanning the biomolecular sciences, particularly microbiology, biotechnology, genomics, proteomics and cell biology. Her greatest contribution has surrounded the use of emerging technologies for real world applications in microbiology and cell biology. This includes the development of an innovative method for cultivation of the 'yet to be cultured' bacterial majority (Nature Protocols, In press) and the development of biosensors and novel strategies for monitoring microorganisms of interest to public health as part of the Environmental Biotechnologies CRC program.
Honours & Awards
- FEMS Microbiology Young Scientist Travel Grant Award 2005
- FEMS Microbiology Young Scientist Travel Grant Award 2002
- Australian Flow Cytometry Group Travel Award 2000
- Australian Society for Microbiology Student Travel Award 2000
Active Research Projects
- Application of flow cytometry and cell sorting to microbiology
- Cultivation of Yet-to-be Cultured Microorganisms from Soil Including Contaminated Soils from Antarctica
Publications
- Mai-Prochnow, A., Webb S.B, Ferrari, B. C. and Kjelleberg, S. (2008)
- Ecological advantages of autolysis during the development and dispersal of Pseudoalteromonas tunicata biofilms.
- Appl. Environ. Microbiol 72:5414-5420
- Aladaileh, S., Mohammad, M.G., Ferrari, B., Nair S.V. & Raftos, D.A. (2008)
- In vitro effects of noradrenaline on Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) hemocytes.
- Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology a-Molecular & Inegrative Physiology. 151: 691-697
- Alagappan, A., Tujula, N.A., Power, M., Ferguson, C.M., Bergquist, P.L. & Ferrari, B.C. (2008)
- Development of fluorescent in situ hybridisation for Cryptosporidium detection reveals zoonotic and anthroponotic transmission of sporadic cryptosporidiosis in Sydney.
- Journal of Microbiological Methods. 75: 535-539
- Ferrari, B.C., Winsley, T., Gillings, M. and Binnerup, S. (2008)
- Cultivating previously uncultured soil bacteria using a soil substrate membrane system.
- Nature Protocols. 3: 1261-1269
- Ibanez-Peral, R., Bergquist, P.L., Walter, M.R., Gibbs, M., Goldys, E.M. and Ferrari, B. (2008)
- Potential use of quantum dots in flow cytometry
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 9: 2622-2638.
- Ferrari BC and Bergquist PL. (2007)
- Quantum dots as alternatives to organic fluorophores for Cryptosporidium detection using conventional flow cytometry and specific monoclonal antibodies: lessons learned
- Cytometry A. 71 (4): 265-271
- Ferrari BC., Tujula N,, Stoner K. and Kjelleberg S (2006)
- Catalysed Reporter Deposition-FISH allows for enrichment independent detection of microcolony forming soil bacteria
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology.72(1): 918-922
- Truong Q. and Ferrari BC (2006)
- Quantitative and Qualitative Comparisons of Cryptosporidium Faecal Purification Procedures for the Isolation of Oocysts suitable for Proteomic analysis
- International Journal for Parasitology. 36:811-819
- Power M.L, Ferrari BC, Littlefield-Wyer J, Gordon DM, Slade MB. and Veal DA. (2006)
- A naturally occurring novel allele of Escherichia coli outer membrane protein A reduces sensitivity to bacteriophage
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology;72(12): 7930-7932
- Ferrari BC, Binnerup S and Gillings MR (2005)
- Microcolony cultivation on a soil-substrate membrane system selects for previously uncultured soil bacteria
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 71 (12):8174-8720
- Ferrari BC, Oregaard G and Sørensen S. (2004)
- Studying the purity and recovery of GFP-labelled bacteria for culturing and molecular analysis following fluorescence activated cell sorting using a benchtop flow cytometer
- Microbial Ecology 48(2): 239-245
- Mackintosh JA, Choi HY, Bae SH, Veal DA, Bell PJ, Ferrari BC, Van Dyk DD, VerrillsNM, Paik YK, Karuso P. (2003)
- A fluorescent natural product for ultra sensitive detection of proteins in 1-D and 2-D gel electrophoresis.
- Proteomics. 3 (12): 2273-2288.
- Ferrari BC, Attfield PA, Veal DA. and Bell P. (2003)
- Application of the novel fluorescent dye Beljian red to the differentiation of Giardia cysts
- Journal of Microbiological Methods 52 (1): 133-135
- Ferrari BC and Veal DA. (2003)
- Analysis-only Detection of Giardia by Combining Immunomagnetic Separation and Two-Color Flow Cytometry.
- Cytometry ;51(2):79-86