John Heritage

Faculty of Biological Sciences, Leeds University, United Kingdom

Dr Heritage is a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Leeds. Having trained as a general biologist during his postgraduate studies he also worked as a clinical scientist, specialising in diagnostic bacteriology. Research centres on the evolution and spread of genes conferring resistance to antibacterial antibiotics. This work has been undertaken in close liaison with clinical colleagues and has spurred the development of molecular methods to examine life-threatening infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More recently, this research has focused on the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the population at large and in the food chain. Long-standing interest in antibiotic resistance genes was influential in obtaining Food Standards Agency funding to study the risk posed by a gene encoding beta-lactamase in transgenic plants.

In 1997, he was appointed as a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP), on which he served for two full terms. He was a founder member of the UK Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) and served two terms on that committee also. Through membership of ACAF, he was co-opted to the Molecular Requirements Working Group of the UK Advisory Committee on Releases into the Environment (ACRE). he is a former member of the GM panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and chaired the working group on genetically modified microorganisms. He is a member of the Working Group on Microorganisms in Food and Feed: Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) and the Working Group on Genetically Modified Microorganisms.

Any competing interests declared are displayed with individual evaluations.

Faculty Member: Infectious Diseases > Antimicrobials & Drug Resistance (since 14 November 2005)

Links

http://www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk/staff/profile.php?staff=JH

All recent recommendations

• 3.0
  Analysis and distribution of class 1 and class 2 integrons and associated gene cassettes among Escherichia coli isolates from swine, horses, cats and dogs collected in the BfT-GermVet monitoring study.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 9.0
  Emergence and spread of azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Scotland.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.2
  Resistance among Escherichia coli to sulphonamides and other antimicrobials now little used in man.
  Recommended by John Heritage, Yong-Hyun Cho
  
• 3.0
  Proteomic analysis of triclosan resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants qnr and aac(6')-Ib-cr in extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in China.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Determinants of self-medication with antibiotics in Europe: the impact of beliefs, country wealth and the healthcare system.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in foods of animal origin product in Italy.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Antimicrobial resistance islands: resistance gene clusters in Salmonella chromosome and plasmids.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 6.0
  CTX-M: changing the face of ESBLs in Europe.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Virulence factors in Escherichia coli with CTX-M-15 and other extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in the UK.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Prevalence and characterization of integrons from bacteria isolated from a slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinant qnrS1 found in Salmonella enterica strains isolated in the UK.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Population structure and resistance genes in antibiotic-resistant bacteria from a remote community with minimal antibiotic exposure.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 4.8
  A comparison of vancomycin and metronidazole for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, stratified by disease severity.
  Recommended by Larry Bush, John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Effect of triclosan or a phenolic farm disinfectant on the selection of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella enterica.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  General practitioners' perceptions of antimicrobial resistance: a qualitative study.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 4.8
  Tracking the in vivo evolution of multidrug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus by whole-genome sequencing.
  Recommended by Thomas Dougherty, John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Transfer of plasmid and chromosomal glycopeptide resistance determinants occurs more readily in the digestive tract of mice than in vitro and exconjugants can persist stably in vivo in the absence of glycopeptide selection.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Can mass media campaigns change antimicrobial prescribing? A regional evaluation study.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Farm disinfectants select for cyclohexane resistance, a marker of multiple antibiotic resistance, in Escherichia coli.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from pet animals and their relationship to human isolates.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Prevalence and characterization of class 1 and class 2 integrons in Escherichia coli isolated from meat and meat products of Norwegian origin.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 6.0
  Sampling the antibiotic resistome.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  Plasmid transfer in the animal intestine and other dynamic bacterial populations: the role of community structure and environment.
  Recommended by John Heritage
  
• 3.0
  ABC proteins and antibiotic drug resistance: is it all about transport?
  Recommended by John Heritage