Our Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Daniel Pletzer | Associate Professor
Dr. Daniel Pletzer commenced his academic journey with a Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics (2009) from the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria (Dept. of Medical- and Bioinformatics). The practical component of his thesis, titled ‘Computational gene prediction and large genome comparisons’ was conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health (Murray lab) in Boston, Massachusetts.
Subsequently, he moved to Germany, joining the Jacobs University Bremen (now Constructor University). Under the guidance of Prof. Matthias Ullrich, his focus was on investigating metabolic transcription factors in the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, culminating in the completion of a Master of Science in Molecular Genetics in 2011.
His academic journey progressed with a doctoral study at the same university, under the mentorship of Dr. Helge Weingart. In 2014, he earned a PhD in Microbiology with his thesis “Drug export and nutrient import: Insights from the bacterial model organisms Erwinia amylovora and Pseudomonas aeruginosa” receiving special distinction (summa cum laude).
Following this, he undertook a brief Postdoc in the lab of Prof. Mathias Winterhalter focusing on the characterization of small outer membrane proteins from Pseudomonas and Rhodococcus species (2014-2015).
In 2015, Daniel was honoured with one of Germany’s esteemed Feodor-Lynen Postdoctoral Fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. With this fellowship, he joined the lab of renowned microbiologist Prof. Bob Hancock in Vancouver, Canada (2015-2019). His research encompassed novel therapeutic treatment strategies (including host defence peptides, nanoparticles and peptidomimetics), bacterial stress response, biofilm and persistence, ESKAPE pathogens, and various animal infection models.
He further received a national Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Canada Foundation (2017) and a Postdoctoral Research Trainee Award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (2018).
In November 2019, Dr. Pletzer joined the Microbiology & Immunology Department at the University of Otago in a tenure-track position at the rank of Lecturer (Assistant Professor) continuing his commitment to combat infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
Upon his affiliation with the University of Otago, Dr. Pletzer has secured funding as a Principal Investigator from esteemed organisations such as the Royal Society, Health Research Council, and Maurice Wilkins Centre. He further has successfully cultivated strategic relationships with industry partners, assuming leadership roles in contract-based research for prominent national entities, including Air New Zealand, as well as engaging in international projects.
Postdoctoral Fellows and Staff
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Sam Wardell
Sam’s work ranges from molecular biology and biochemistry to bioinformatics and computational analysis. [+]
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Sam Wardell
sam.taylor-wardell@otago.ac.nz
Sam joined the lab in May 2021. He received a New Zealand Lottery Grants Board Post-Doctoral Fellowship to work on the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen adaptation of antibiotic tolerance. In addition, his invaluable experience in bioinformatics supports many student projects in the lab. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry in Prof. Iain Lamont’s lab at the University of Otago on the evolution of antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa (recipient of Exceptional PhD Thesis Award 2021).
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Anupriya Gupta
My research uses murine infection models and molecular approaches to understand host immune responses and bacterial interactions during polymicrobial skin infections. [+]
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Anupriya Gupta
Anupriya joined the lab in 2024 on a Marsden-funded project and her research focuses on understanding host-pathogen interactions during polymicrobial skin infections. As an immunologist, she investigate how the immune system responds to complex infections involving Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using murine infection models and molecular approaches, she studies how pathogen-pathogen interactions shape immune responses, disease severity, and treatment resistance. Ultimately, my goal is to uncover mechanisms that can inform improved therapeutic strategies for infectious skin diseases.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Shilpa Nair
To identify and evaluate novel host defence peptides (HDPs) from the bovine proteome for application in meat preservation and the food industry. [+]
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
Dr. Shilpa Nair
Shilpa joined the lab in 2023 on a collaborative project with Dr. Matthias Fellner working on metabolomics and lipidomics using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as model organisms. She obtained her PhD in in Prof. Simon Swifts’s lab at the University of Auckland. Shilpa is also the Director of Real World Labs Limited where she provides consultancy services on antibacterial efficacy testing of novel or commercially available antimicrobial products.
FLOOR MANAGER
Dr. Antonella Gianfelice
Antonella is the floor manager. [+]
FLOOR MANAGER
Dr. Antonella Gianfelice
antonella.gianfelice@otago.ac.nz
Antonella is the floor manager, keeping the paperwork organized and ensuring everyone stays on track with health and safety and is well supported.
PhD Students
PHD STUDENT (MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY)
Rory Smith
I am interested in the virulence factors that bacteria use to cooperate and compete with human cells and other bacterial species, and how we can influence these to treat infections. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY)
Rory Smith
Rory joined as a summer student in 2022, continued with a 4th year Medical Science Hons project in 2023 and is now working as PhD student on liposomes to combat Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii virulence factors.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Maddie Hardie Boys
I use molecular techniques to investigate mechanisms of cephalosporin and polymyxin antibiotic resistance in multi-drug resistant clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Maddie Hardie Boys
Maddie initially joined the lab in 2022 as a summer student, where she focused on characterizing histone-like proteins in P. aeruginosa. Building upon this experience, she pursued a project centered on lipid modification and potassium uptake during her fourth year as a Biomedical Sciences (Hons) student. Presently, she is started as a PhD student, tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in P. aeruginosa.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Saffron Whitta
Saffron is working on novel peptide compounds and various linker strategies to treat complex Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Saffron Whitta
Saffron is a PhD (Microbiology) student and joined the lab in July 2023 on a MWC-funded project.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Prasanga Kumarage
My research explores how peptide–gold nanoparticle conjugates can combat biofilms formed by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, uncovering their potential as next-generation therapeutic strategies. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Prasanga Kumarage
prasanga.kumarage@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Prasanga is from Sri Lanka and joined the lab in 2024.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY & PHARMACY)
Robiul Shanto
My research focuses on investigating how Klebsiella pneumoniae develops resistance to antibiotic combination therapies and exploring novel strategies to overcome this resistance in the treatment of lung infections. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY & PHARMACY)
Robiul Shanto
robiul.islam@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Robiul joined the lab in 2024. He is exploring how Klebsiella pneumoniae develops resistance to multiple antibiotics and studies effective ways to overcome it.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING)
Meera Kabiraz
Meera is working on the development of antimicrobial peptide-based biomaterials. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING)
Meera Kabiraz
meera.probha@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Meera joined the lab in 2024 as a PhD project student.
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Tasbiha Gul
Tasbiha's PhD is focused on developing a combination therapy using antimicrobial peptides and zinc oxide nanoparticles to target multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Evan Frederick
Evan is contributing to an MBIE-funded project focused on harnessing ovine host defence peptides (HDPs) to combat meat spoilage bacteria. [+]
PHD STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Evan Frederick
evan.frederick@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Evan joined the lab in June 2025 and is currently working on an MBIE-funded project using host defense peptide to prevent food spoilage.
PHD STUDENT (PHARMACY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Simon Su
Simon aims to create new antibiotic-peptide linkers to enhance drug uptake in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. [+]
PHD STUDENT (PHARMACY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Simon Su
Simon PhD (Pharmacy) project aims to create new antibiotic-peptide linkers to enhance drug uptake in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Simon started his PhD journey in March 2022 and is co-supervised with Prof. Sarah Hook and A/Prof. Allan Gamble
PHD STUDENT (PHARMACY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Prodip Kumar Baral
Prodip is developing dry powders to treat multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary infections using antibiotics and biologics. [+]
PHD STUDENT (PHARMACY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Prodip Kumar Baral
Prodip PhD (Pharmacy) joined the lab in 2024 and is currently working on the development of inhaled powder formulations of antibacterial drugs and peptides to treat multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary infection. He has completed his M. S. and B. Pharm (Hons.) from the Department of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Bangladesh. His research interests include pharmaceutical product development, pharmaceutical microbiology, and mycology.
Prodiop is co-supervised with Prof. Shyamal Das
PHD STUDENT (BIOCHEMISTRY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Haziq Azlan
Haziq working on serine proteases from S. aureus.. [+]
PHD STUDENT (BIOCHEMISTRY & MICROBIOLOGY)
Haziq Azlan
Haziq joined the lab as a PhD student (Biochemistry) part-time in 2024
Haziq is co-supervised with Dr. Matthias Fellner
PHD STUDENT (BIOCHEMISTRY & MICROBIOLOGY)
You Xiangyan
My research focuses on characterizing the fluorophosphonate-binding serine hydrolase FphA from Staphylococcus aureus and exploring its role in bacterial physiology. [+]
PHD STUDENT (BIOCHEMISTRY & MICROBIOLOGY)
You Xiangyan
You joined the lab in 2024 as a PhD student (Biochemistry) working on serine proteases from S. aureus.
You is co-supervised with Dr. Matthias Fellner
MSc and 4th Year Students
MSc student (Microbiology)
Mark Nicholas Lemzin-Abdrashitov
My research investigates the biogeography of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus within colony biofilms, looking at how spatial constraints dictate interactions between these pathogens [+]
MSc student (Microbiology)
Mark Nicholas Lemzin-Abdrashitov
Mark joined the lab in March 2023 (as an undergraduate research assistant and continued his journey as a BSc(Hons) and subsequently MSc student.
MSC STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Janaya Stevenson
Janaya joined the lab in March 2024. [+]
MSC STUDENT (MICROBIOLOGY)
Janaya Stevenson
Janaya joined the lab as 4th Year Honours student working on glutathione transport in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She continues her journey in the lab as an MSc student working on Acinetobacter baumannii infections using transposon mutant libraries.
MSc (Biomedical Sciences)
Janki Patel
Janki is working ion starvation mechanisms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa [+]
MSc (Biomedical Sciences)
Janki Patel
Joined March 2025 as BBiomed(Hons) student and continues her journey as MSc student in 2026.
BSc(Hons) student (Medicine)
Kathy Nam
My project investigates how innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) contribute to immune responses during Staphylococcus aureus skin infection. [+]
BSc(Hons) student (Medicine)
Kathy Nam
Kathy joined the lab as 4th Year Medicine Honours student in January 2026 working on Innate Lymphoid cells (ILCs) in bacterial skin infections.
BSc(Hons) student (Biomedical Sciences)
Molly Player
This year I will be pursuing a project looking into universal stress proteins in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. [+]
BSc(Hons) student (Biomedical Sciences)
Molly Player
Molly joined the lab as summer student in 2025 and started her BBiomed(Hons) journey in March 2026
Visiting Students and Staff
Professional training year, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Edie Dennis
Exploring antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of product derived compounds from Dhalia flowers. [+]
Professional training year, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Edie Dennis
Edie joined the lab in September, 2025.
Degree Project in Engineering Biotechnology
Sofie Näslund
I am working on synthetic host defence peptides derived from sequences in the chicken genome, focusing on antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity [+]
Degree Project in Engineering Biotechnology
Sofie Näslund
Joined the lab beginning of 2026
China Scholarship Council visiting scholar
Huanli Gao
She is working pH-responsive lignin-based nanocarriers and their biological activity [+]
China Scholarship Council visiting scholar
Huanli Gao
Hunanli received a CSC scholarship to join us in 2025. She comes from the Nanjing Forresty University.
Previous Students in The Lab
PhD Students
Master Students
4th Year Postgraduate Students
Summer Students
Previous Researchers in The Lab
Research Staff
Visiting Researchers
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