Bio Sketch

My current research and clinical interests are focused on the molecular identification, characterization, and typing of multidrug resistant bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, vancomycin resistant Enterococcus and carbapenemase-producing Gram negative bacteria. I am the primary investigator of a study investigating the nasopharyngeal resistome in infants, in the first year of life, using NGS applications. I am also involved in epidemiological investigations of nosocomial outbreaks of resistant organisms using WGS and other typing tools, and the design and validation of new molecular diagnostics. 

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2012-06-04-its-a-gut-feeling

Research Interests

o Next Generation Sequencing in Microbial Genetics
o Phenotypic and Genetic Resistance Detection and Bacterial Typing
o Design and Validation of New Diagnostics
o Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigation of Nosocomial Infections
o Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance

Publications (ORCID)

1. Tootla, H., Bamford, C., Moodley, C., (2020 in review). The BinaxNOW pneumococcal antigen test - an adjunct for diagnosis of pneumococcal bacteraemia. South African Journal of Infectious Diseases. 

2. Ogunbosi, B., Moodley, C., Naicker, P., Nuttall, J., Bamford, C., Eley, B., (2020 in review). Colonisation with extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in children admitted to a paediatric referral hospital in South Africa. PLOS ONE.

3. Manenzhe, R.I., Dube, F.S., Wright, M., Lennard, K., Mounaud, S., Lo, S., Zar, H., Nierman, W., Nicol, M., Moodley, C., (2020). Characterization of pneumococcal colonization dynamics and antimicrobial resistance using shotgun metagenomic sequencing in intensively sampled South African infants. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.543898  

4. Manenzhe, R.I., Dube, F.S., Wright, M., Lennard, K., Zar, H., Mounaud, S., Nierman, W., Nicol, M., Moodley, C., (2020). Longitudinal changes in the nasopharyngeal resistome of South African infants using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231887 

5. Bamford, C., Moodley, C., Young, A., Nicol, M., (2019). The accuracy of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) detection in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species in South African laboratories using the Vitek 2 Gram-negative susceptibility card AST-N255. South African Journal of Infectious Diseases, https://doi.org/10.4102/sajid.v34i1.114 

6. Manenzhe, R.I., Moodley, C., Abdulgader, S.M., Robberts, F.J.L., Zar, H.J., Nicol, M.P., Dube, F.S., 2019. Nasopharyngeal carriage of antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci in an intensively sampled South African birth cohort. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10:610. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00610 

7. Wojno, J.M., Moodley, C., Pienaar, J., Beylis, N., Jacobsz, L., Nicol, M., Roussouw, J., Bamford, C., 2016. Human Brucellosis in South Africa: Public health and diagnostic pitfalls. South African Medical Journal, 106:9, 883-885. http://dx.doi.org/10.7196%2FSAMJ.2016.v106i9.11020 

8. Moodley, C., Lochan, H., Rip, D., Bamford, C., Hendricks, M., Davidson, A., Eley, B., 2016. Emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus at a tertiary paediatric hospital in South Africa. South African Medical Journal, 106:6, 562-566. http://dx.doi.org/10.7196%2FSAMJ.2016.v106i6.10858 

9. Jacobson, R. K., Manesen, M. R., Moodley, C., Smith, M., Williams, S.G., Nicol, M. P., Bamford, C. M (2015). Molecular characterisation and epidemiological investigation of an outbreak of blaOXA-181 carbapenemase-producing isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae in South Africa. South African Medical Journal, 105:12, 1030-1035. http://dx.doi.org/10.7196%2FSAMJ.2015.v105i12.9926 

10. Moodley, C., Reid, S. J., Abratt, V. R. (2015). Molecular characterization of ABC-type multidrug efflux systems in Bifidobacterium longum. Anaerobe, 32, 63-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2014.12.004 

11. Gqunta, K., Van Wyk, J., Ekermans, P., Bamford, C., Moodley, C., Govender, S. (2015). First report of an IMI-2 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacter asburiae clinical isolate in South Africa. South African Journal of Infectious Diseases, 30:1. https://doi.org/10.1080/23120053.2015.1103963 

12. Claassen, S., du Toit, E., Kaba, M., Moodley, C., Zar, H.J., Nicol, M.P (2013). A comparison of the efficiency of five different commercial DNA extraction kits for extraction of DNA from faecal samples. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 94:2, 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2013.05.008

Funding Awards

2019

1. NRF Thuthuka Grant Award (R392 000)

2. Wellcome Trust Travel Bursary (£750)

3. Pfizer Grant Co-application ($100 000.00)

2018

1. NRF Thuthuka Grant Award (R372 000)

2. NHLS Research Trust Development Grant (R380 000)

3. URC Short Research Visit Travel Grant (R14 000)

4. URC ACC Software Grant (R160 000)

2017

1. NRF Thuthuka Grant Award (R338 000)

2. NHLS Research Trust Development Grant (R100 000)

2016

1. NHLS Research Trust Development Grant (R100 000)

2. URC Start-up grant (R10 000)

3. URC Short Research Visit Travel Grant (R16 000)