Stephen P. Diggle
Stephen P. Diggle (Steve Diggle) is a British/American microbiologist who is currently a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where he is also the Director of the Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection. His research focuses on microbial interactions, social behaviors, and the role of these dynamics in chronic infection and antimicrobial resistance. His lab website can be found here.
Academic Career
Diggle graduated from the University of Salford with a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences in 1997. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology at the University of Nottingham in 2001, where he studied quorum sensing in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.[1][2] Following his doctoral work, he held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Nottingham. From 2006 to 2014, he held a Royal Society University Fellowship. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013 before moving to the United States. In 2017, Diggle joined the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology as an Associate Professor and was promoted to Full Professor in 2022.
Research Interests
Professor Diggle's research primarily investigates the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa,[1][2] which is a major cause of chronic, debilitating lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and is known for its high levels of antibiotic resistance.
His lab's core research areas include:
- Novel Therapeutic Strategies: Research into developing new treatments, including exploring the potential of R-pyocins (bacteriocins) as targeted antimicrobials against P. aeruginosa[3][4][5][6] and his involvement in the AncientBiotics Consortium, which investigates the antimicrobial properties of ancient medical remedies.[7]
- Quorum Sensing and Social Cheating: He has a long-standing interest in how bacteria communicate via quorum sensing (cell-to-cell signaling)[8][9][10] and how cooperative behaviors are maintained in microbial populations, particularly concerning the ecological and evolutionary consequences of "cheats" (non-producing individuals) that exploit communal resources ("public goods") like secreted virulence factors.
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Evolution: Investigating how P. aeruginosa evolves and adapts to treatment during chronic infections in the CF lung. This includes studying the role of genomic diversification and evolutionary trade-offs in AMR.[11][12]
Honors and Recognition
- Elected to the American Academy of Microbiology (2023)
- American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer (2021–2023)
- Cullen-Peck Scholar Award (Georgia Tech, 2020)
- Fleming Prize awarded by the Microbiology Society (2010)
- Recipient of a Royal Society University Fellowship (2006–2014)
Editorial Roles
Diggle is the Deputy Editor in Chief of the journal Microbiology and also serves as an Editor for mBio. He has previously served on the editorial boards of several other microbiology-focused journals.
Personal Life
In his spare time, Diggle plays the bass guitar and has played in a number of UK and US bands, including recording original music with a band called Meaner and he currently plays in a covers band called The Variants of Concern. He also has a strong interest in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Letizia, Morgana; Diggle, Stephen P.; Whiteley, Marvin (2025). "Pseudomonas aeruginosa: ecology, evolution, pathogenesis and antimicrobial susceptibility". Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 23 (11): 701–717. doi:10.1038/s41579-025-01193-8. ISSN 1740-1534. PMID 40442328 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Diggle, Stephen P.; Whiteley, Marvin (2020). "Microbe Profile: Pseudomonas aeruginosa: opportunistic pathogen and lab rat". Microbiology (Reading, England). 166 (1): 30–33. doi:10.1099/mic.0.000860. ISSN 1465-2080. PMC 7273324 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 31597590. - ↑ Mei, Madeline; Estrada, Isaac; Diggle, Stephen P.; Goldberg, Joanna B. (2025-02-28). "R-pyocins as targeted antimicrobials against Pseudomonas aeruginosa". Npj Antimicrobials and Resistance. 3 (1): 17. doi:10.1038/s44259-025-00088-1. ISSN 2731-8745. PMC 11871291 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 40021925 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Mei, Madeline; Pheng, Preston; Kurzeja-Edwards, Detriana; Diggle, Stephen P. (2023-12-12). "High prevalence of lipopolysaccharide mutants and R2-pyocin susceptible variants in Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations sourced from cystic fibrosis lung infections". Microbiology Spectrum. 11 (6): e0177323. doi:10.1128/spectrum.01773-23. ISSN 2165-0497. PMC 10714928 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 37877708 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Mei, Madeline; Thomas, Jacob; Diggle, Stephen P. (2021-05-04). "Heterogenous Susceptibility to R-Pyocins in Populations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Sourced from Cystic Fibrosis Lungs". mBio. 12 (3): e00458–21. doi:10.1128/mBio.00458-21. ISSN 2150-7511. PMC 8262887 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 33947755 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Oluyombo, Olubukola; Penfold, Christopher N.; Diggle, Stephen P. (2019-01-29). "Competition in Biofilms between Cystic Fibrosis Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Is Shaped by R-Pyocins". mBio. 10 (1): e01828–18. doi:10.1128/mBio.01828-18. ISSN 2150-7511. PMC 6355985. PMID 30696740.
- ↑ Harrison, Freya; Roberts, Aled E. L.; Gabrilska, Rebecca; Rumbaugh, Kendra P.; Lee, Christina; Diggle, Stephen P. (2015-08-11). "A 1,000-Year-Old Antimicrobial Remedy with Antistaphylococcal Activity". mBio. 6 (4): e01129. doi:10.1128/mBio.01129-15. ISSN 2150-7511. PMC 4542191. PMID 26265721.
- ↑ Soto-Aceves, Martin P.; Diggle, Stephen P.; Greenberg, E. Peter (2023). "Microbial Primer: LuxR-LuxI Quorum Sensing". Microbiology (Reading, England). 169 (9): 001343. doi:10.1099/mic.0.001343. ISSN 1465-2080. PMC 10569067 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 37655474 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Azimi, Sheyda; Klementiev, Alexander D.; Whiteley, Marvin; Diggle, Stephen P. (2020-09-08). "Bacterial Quorum Sensing During Infection". Annual Review of Microbiology. 74: 201–219. doi:10.1146/annurev-micro-032020-093845. ISSN 1545-3251. PMID 32660382 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Whiteley, Marvin; Diggle, Stephen P.; Greenberg, E. Peter (2017-11-15). "Progress in and promise of bacterial quorum sensing research". Nature. 551 (7680): 313–320. doi:10.1038/nature24624. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 5870893. PMID 29144467.
- ↑ Vanderwoude, Jelly; Azimi, Sheyda; Read, Timothy D.; Diggle, Stephen P. (2024-02-14). "The role of hypermutation and collateral sensitivity in antimicrobial resistance diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations in cystic fibrosis lung infection". mBio. 15 (2): e0310923. doi:10.1128/mbio.03109-23. ISSN 2150-7511. PMC 10865868 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38171021 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Azimi, Sheyda; Roberts, Aled E. L.; Peng, Shengyun; Weitz, Joshua S.; McNally, Alan; Brown, Samuel P.; Diggle, Stephen P. (2020). "Allelic polymorphism shapes community function in evolving Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations". The ISME journal. 14 (8): 1929–1942. doi:10.1038/s41396-020-0652-0. ISSN 1751-7370. PMC 7368067 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 32341475 Check|pmid=value (help).
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