Byeonghwa Jeon, PhD

My research focuses on antibiotic resistance and zoonotic bacterial infections within a One Health framework, linking human, animal, and environmental health. We investigate how resistance determinants and stress responses enable pathogens to persist and spread across hosts, and how this knowledge can be translated into safe, non-antibiotic interventions. A major emphasis of my lab is on phage-based control of antibiotic-resistant and zoonotic pathogens. We develop virulent, broad-host-range phage cocktails targeting various pathogens, including Campylobacter, Clostridium, and pathogenic E. coli.

Moreover, we examine how plasmid-mediated resistance, particularly mcr-1-carrying colistin resistance plasmids, reprograms bacterial physiology, for example, by altering surface polysaccharide biosynthesis in ways that simultaneously enhance antibiotic resistance and virulence. We also study stress and antibiotic tolerance mechanisms and evaluate non-antibiotic antimicrobial adjuvants and their impact on the gut microbiome. Together, these efforts aim to deliver phage-based and adjunctive strategies that mitigate antibiotic resistance and zoonotic infections within a One Health context.