Dr. Jennison is the Chief Scientist of the Public Health Microbiology laboratory in the Queensland Department of Health, which is the Australian state of Queensland’s reference laboratory responsible for the molecular surveillance of notifiable bacterial pathogens and characterisation of public health related outbreaks.

Prof Jennison has led the laboratory in the application of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for pathogen surveillance and heads numerous research projects aimed at utilising WGS for improving molecular epidemiological investigation and preventing disease outbreaks of notifiable and emerging pathogens. Prof Jennison has a particular interest in genomic analysis for understanding environmental threats from emerging pathogens and addressing antimicrobial resistance issues in bacterial pathogens including N. gonorrhoeae. She is a founding member and current Chair of the Communicable Diseases Genomics Network (CDGN), Deputy Chair of the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) and assisted at both the state and national level in the establishment of integrated national genomics surveillance for a number of pathogens including SARS-COV-2.

Talk Title: Responding to emerging disease threats – lessons on balancing innovation and compliance in the laboratory