Dr Stephan Brouwer

Research Fellow

Institute for Molecular Bioscience
s.brouwer@uq.edu.au
+61 7 344 36274

Overview

Stephan Brouwer (ORCiD: 0000-0002-9777-2992) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland. With expertise in bacterial pathogenesis, encompassing both Gram-negative and Gram-positive human pathogens, his research explores the interaction between infectious disease agents and the human host. Much of his work focuses on understanding and preventing disease caused by the human pathogen Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes). He is at the forefront of the global effort to characterise a scarlet fever outbreak which began in North Asia in 2011, and his current research themes centre around the emergence of new hypervirulent GAS lineages that pose a major public health threat. Stephan utilises modern molecular technologies to study host-pathogen interactions and identify the genetic requirements for GAS to cause disease, with the aim to pursue the development of life-saving therapeutic and preventative advances. He has published his findings in Top Tier journals and helped to establish a sentinel hospital surveillance system in Australia to monitor the importation of GAS isolates causing epidemic scarlet fever.

Stephan completed his PhD in 2015 at one of Germany’s most respected research institutes, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), where he conducted research on post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He then moved to Australia to join the group of Prof. Mark Walker at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, where he is working eversince.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Technische Universitat Braunschweig
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, Berufsakademie Oldenburg

Publications

  • Mu, Andre, Klare, William P., Baines, Sarah L., Ignatius Pang, C. N., Guérillot, Romain, Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Keller, Nadia, Wilksch, Jonathan, Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Phan, Minh-Duy, Keller, Bernhard, Nijagal, Brunda, Tull, Dedreia, Dayalan, Saravanan, Chua, Hwa Huat Charlie, Skoneczny, Dominik, Koval, Jason, Hachani, Abderrahman, Shah, Anup D., Neha, Nitika, Jadhav, Snehal, Partridge, Sally R., Cork, Amanda J., Peters, Kate, Bertolla, Olivia, Brouwer, Stephan, Hancock, Steven J., Álvarez-Fraga, Laura, De Oliveira, David M. P. ... Walker, Mark J. (2023). Integrative omics identifies conserved and pathogen-specific responses of sepsis-causing bacteria. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 1530, 1-21. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37200-w

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Curren, Bodie F., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, De Oliveira, David M. P., Jespersen, Magnus G., Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2023). Pathogenesis, epidemiology and control of Group A Streptococcus infection. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 21 (7), 431-447. doi: 10.1038/s41579-023-00865-7

  • Davies, Mark R., Keller, Nadia, Brouwer, Stephan, Jespersen, Magnus G., Cork, Amanda J., Hayes, Andrew J., Pitt, Miranda E., De Oliveira, David M. P., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Bertolla, Olivia M., Mediati, Daniel G., Curren, Bodie F., Taiaroa, George, Lacey, Jake A., Smith, Helen V., Fang, Ning-Xia, Coin, Lachlan J. M., Stevens, Kerrie, Tong, Steven Y. C., Sanderson-Smith, Martina, Tree, Jai J., Irwin, Adam D., Grimwood, Keith, Howden, Benjamin P., Jennison, Amy V. and Walker, Mark J. (2023). Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes M1UK in Australia and characterization of the mutation driving enhanced expression of superantigen SpeA. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 1051, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36717-4

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Barnett, Timothy C., Daw, Jessica N., Walker, Mark J. and Brouwer, Stephan (2020). Genetic manipulation of Group A Streptococcus - gene deletion by allelic replacement. Group A Streptococcus: methods and protocols. (pp. 59-69) edited by Thomas Proft and Jacelyn M. S. Loh. New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0467-0_5

Journal Article

  • Mu, Andre, Klare, William P., Baines, Sarah L., Ignatius Pang, C. N., Guérillot, Romain, Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Keller, Nadia, Wilksch, Jonathan, Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Phan, Minh-Duy, Keller, Bernhard, Nijagal, Brunda, Tull, Dedreia, Dayalan, Saravanan, Chua, Hwa Huat Charlie, Skoneczny, Dominik, Koval, Jason, Hachani, Abderrahman, Shah, Anup D., Neha, Nitika, Jadhav, Snehal, Partridge, Sally R., Cork, Amanda J., Peters, Kate, Bertolla, Olivia, Brouwer, Stephan, Hancock, Steven J., Álvarez-Fraga, Laura, De Oliveira, David M. P. ... Walker, Mark J. (2023). Integrative omics identifies conserved and pathogen-specific responses of sepsis-causing bacteria. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 1530, 1-21. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37200-w

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Curren, Bodie F., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, De Oliveira, David M. P., Jespersen, Magnus G., Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2023). Pathogenesis, epidemiology and control of Group A Streptococcus infection. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 21 (7), 431-447. doi: 10.1038/s41579-023-00865-7

  • Davies, Mark R., Keller, Nadia, Brouwer, Stephan, Jespersen, Magnus G., Cork, Amanda J., Hayes, Andrew J., Pitt, Miranda E., De Oliveira, David M. P., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Bertolla, Olivia M., Mediati, Daniel G., Curren, Bodie F., Taiaroa, George, Lacey, Jake A., Smith, Helen V., Fang, Ning-Xia, Coin, Lachlan J. M., Stevens, Kerrie, Tong, Steven Y. C., Sanderson-Smith, Martina, Tree, Jai J., Irwin, Adam D., Grimwood, Keith, Howden, Benjamin P., Jennison, Amy V. and Walker, Mark J. (2023). Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes M1UK in Australia and characterization of the mutation driving enhanced expression of superantigen SpeA. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 1051, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36717-4

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Curren, Bodie F., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, De Oliveira, David M. P., Jespersen, Magnus G., Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2023). Author Correction: Pathogenesis, epidemiology and control of Group A Streptococcus infection (Nature Reviews Microbiology, (2023), 21, 7, (431-447), 10.1038/s41579-023-00865-7). Nature Reviews Microbiology, 21 (9), 619-619. doi: 10.1038/s41579-023-00939-6

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Jespersen, Magnus G., Ong, Cheryl-lynn Y., De Oliveira, David M. P., Keller, Bernhard, Cork, Amanda J., Djoko, Karrera Y., Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2022). Streptococcus pyogenes hijacks host glutathione for growth and innate immune evasion. mBio, 13 (3), e0067622. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00676-22

  • De Oliveira, David M. P., Keller, Bernhard, Hayes, Andrew J., Ong, Cheryl-Lynn Y., Harbison-Price, Nichaela, El-Deeb, Ibrahim M., Li, Gen, Keller, Nadia, Bohlmann, Lisa, Brouwer, Stephan, Turner, Andrew G., Cork, Amanda J., Jones, Thomas R., Paterson, David L., McEwan, Alastair G., Davies, Mark R., McDevitt, Christopher A., Itzstein, Mark von and Walker, Mark J. (2022). Neurodegenerative disease treatment drug PBT2 breaks intrinsic polymyxin resistance in Gram-positive bacteria. Antibiotics, 11 (4) 449, 449. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11040449

  • De Oliveira, David M. P., Forde, Brian M., Phan, Minh-Duy, Steiner, Bernhard, Zhang, Bing, Zuegg, Johannes, El-deeb, Ibrahim M., Li, Gen, Keller, Nadia, Brouwer, Stephan, Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Cork, Amanda J., Bauer, Michelle J., Alquethamy, Saleh F., Beatson, Scott A., Roberts, Jason A., Paterson, David L., McEwan, Alastair G., Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Schembri, Mark A., McDevitt, Christopher A., von Itzstein, Mark and Walker, Mark J. (2022). Rescuing Tetracycline Class Antibiotics for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Pulmonary Infection. mBio, 13 (1) e03517, e0351721. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03517-21

  • Hurst, Jacklyn R., Brouwer, Stephan, Walker, Mark J. and McCormick, John K. (2021). Streptococcal superantigens and the return of scarlet fever. PLOS Pathogens, 17 (12) e1010097, e1010097. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010097

  • Richter, Johanna, Monteleone, Mercedes M, Cork, Amanda J., Barnett, Timothy C., Nizet, Victor, Brouwer, Stephan, Schroder, Kate and Walker, Mark J. (2021). Streptolysins are the primary inflammasome activators in macrophages during Streptococcus pyogenes infection. Immunology and Cell Biology, 99 (10), 1-13. doi: 10.1111/imcb.12499

  • Richter, Johanna, Brouwer, Stephan, Schroder, Kate and Walker, Mark J. (2021). Inflammasome activation and IL ‐1β signalling in Group A Streptococcus disease. Cellular Microbiology, 23 (9) e13373, 1-9. doi: 10.1111/cmi.13373

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Barnett, Timothy C., Ly, Diane, Kasper, Katherine J., De Oliveira, David M. P., Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Cork, Amanda J., McIntyre, Liam, Jespersen, Magnus G., Richter, Johanna, Schulz, Benjamin L., Dougan, Gordon, Nizet, Victor, Yuen, Kwok-Yung, You, Yuanhai, McCormick, John K., Sanderson-Smith, Martina L., Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2020). Prophage exotoxins enhance colonization fitness in epidemic scarlet fever-causing Streptococcus pyogenes. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 5018, 5018. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18700-5

  • Stewart, Louisa J., Ong, Cheryl-Lynn Y., Zhang, May M., Brouwer, Stephan, McIntyre, Liam, Davies, Mark R., Walker, Mark J., McEwan, Alastair G., Waldron, Kevin J. and Djoko, Karrera Y. (2020). Role of glutathione in buffering excess intracellular copper in Streptococcus pyogenes. mBio, 11 (6) e02804-20, 1-19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02804-20

  • De Oliveira, David M. P., Bohlmann, Lisa, Conroy, Trent, Jen, Freda E.-C., Everest-Dass, Arun, Hansford, Karl A., Bolisetti, Raghu, El-Deeb, Ibrahim M., Forde, Brian M., Phan, Minh-Duy, Lacey, Jake A., Tan, Aimee, Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Brouwer, Stephan, Keller, Nadia, Kidd, Timothy J., Cork, Amanda J., Bauer, Michelle J., Cook, Gregory M., Davies, Mark R., Beatson, Scott A., Paterson, David L., McEwan, Alastair G., Li, Jian, Schembri, Mark A., Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Jennings, Michael P., McDevitt, Christopher A., von Itzstein, Mark and Walker, Mark J. (2020). Repurposing a neurodegenerative disease drug to treat Gram-negative antibiotic-resistant bacterial sepsis. Science Translational Medicine, 12 (570) abb3791, eabb3791. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abb3791

  • Shewell, Lucy K., Day, Christopher J., Jen, Freda E.-C., Haselhorst, Thomas, Atack, John M., Reijneveld, Josephine F., Everest-Dass, Arun, James, David B. A., Boguslawski, Kristina M., Brouwer, Stephan, Gillen, Christine M., Luo, Zhenyao, Kobe, Bostjan, Nizet, Victor, von Itzstein, Mark, Walker, Mark J., Paton, Adrienne W., Paton, James C., Torres, Victor J. and Jennings, Michael P. (2020). All major cholesterol-dependent cytolysins use glycans as cellular receptors. Science Advances, 6 (21) EAAZ4926, eaaz4926. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz4926

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Lacey, Jake A., You, Yuanhai, Davies, Mark R. and Walker, Mark J. (2019). Scarlet fever changes its spots. Lancet Infectious Diseases, 19 (11), 1154-1155. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30494-3

  • De Oliveira, David M. P., Everest-Dass, Arun, Hartley-Tassell, Lauren, Day, Christopher J., Indraratna, Anuk, Brouwer, Stephan, Cleary, Ailish, Kautto, Liisa, Gorman, Jody, Packer, Nicolle H., Jennings, Michael P., Walker, Mark J. and Sanderson-Smith, Martina L. (2019). Human glycan expression patterns influence Group A streptococcal colonization of epithelial cells. FASEB Journal, 33 (10), 10808-10818. doi: 10.1096/fj.201900559R

  • Brouwer, Stephan and Walker, Mark J. (2019). The serotype-specific role of regulator of cov polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of invasive group a streptococcal infections. American Journal of Pathology, 189 (10), 1913-1915. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2019.07.005

  • Walker, Mark J., Brouwer, Stephan, Forde, Brian M., Worthing, Kate A., McIntyre, Liam, Sundac, Lana, Maloney, Sam, Roberts, Leah W., Barnett, Timothy C., Richter, Johanna, Cork, Amanda J., Irwin, Adam D., You, Yuanhai, Zhang, Jianzhong, Dougan, Gordon, Yuen, K. Y., Nizet, Victor, Beatson, Scott A., Grimwood, Keith and Davies, Mark R. (2019). Detection of epidemic scarlet fever group A Streptococcus in Australia. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 69 (7), 1232-1234. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz099

  • Walker, Mark J. and Brouwer, Stephan (2018). Scarlet fever makes a comeback. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 18 (2), 128-129. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30694-1

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Cork, Amanda J., Ong, Cheryl-Lynn Y., Barnett, Timothy C., West, Nicholas P., McIver, Kevin S. and Walker, Mark J. (2018). The endopeptidase PepO regulates the SpeB cysteine protease and is essential for the virulence of invasive M1T1 Streptococcus pyogenes. Journal of Bacteriology, 200 (8) e00654-17, e00654-17. doi: 10.1128/JB.00654-17

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Barnett, Timothy C., Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Rohde, Manfred and Walker, Mark J. (2016). Streptococcus pyogenes adhesion and colonization. FEBS Letters, 590 (21), 3739-3757. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.12254

  • Brouwer, Stephan, Pustelny, Christian, Ritter, Christiane, Klinkert, Birgit, Narberhaus, Franz and Häussler, Susanne (2014). The PqsR and RhlR transcriptional regulators determine the level of Pseudomonas quinolone signal synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by producing two different pqsABCDE mRNA isoforms. Journal of Bacteriology, 196 (23), 4163-4171. doi: 10.1128/JB.02000-14

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: