About
Jontana completed her BSc. in Pathogology and Microbiology at the University of Bristol, and her MSc in Medical Science with focus in Infection Biology at Uppsala University. She then proceeded to obtain her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Porto, in collaboration with the Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University. Her research was part of the Print-aid Marie-Curie ITN consortium for the development of anti-biofilm 3D printed implants. Jontana's PhD research focused on the development of standardised biofilm methods and minimum information guidelines, with the goal of improving reproducibility within the field. She organised the first ring trial to evaluate the reproducibility of microplate based biofilm methods, as well as the formation of a minimum information guideline on these methods with the input of experts in the field. During her PhD she also developed and evaluated the repeatability of a four species urinary catheter (CAUTI) biofilm model using plate counts and flourescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with confoncal microscopy (CSLM). Subsequently, she worked as a PDRA at the University of Glasgow, in affiliation with Glasgow Caledonian University, where her research focused on the application of drug-loaded wound dressings in combination with cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), where she developed 5 species in vitro wound biofilm models. This work also included a clinical observational study of the microbiome and fungal burden of DFU swabs obtained from patients in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
Prizes or Honours
- Young Investigator Award (Center for Biofilm Engineering, 2024)
- Microbiology Society External Travel Grant (Microbiology Society, 2024)
- Best ECR presentation (Eurobiofilms 2019 comittee, 2019)