Dr Sian Frosini
Department: Pathobiology and Population Sciences
Campus: Hawkshead
Sian's role as Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Microbiology is split between undergraduate teaching on the Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Nursing curriculae, and acting as the clinical liaison between the RVC's clinical services and the microbiology diagnostic laboratory. Her research interests focus on Antimicrobial Resistance in companion animals.
Sian graduated from the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø in 2013, and proceeded to straight away undertake a PhD in veterinary microbiology, focusing on the treatment of multidrug-resistant staphylococci, funded by the BBSRC and Dechra Veterinary Products Ltd. She followed this as a Post-Doctoral researcher on a JPI-AMR grant funded by the MRC investigating the transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria between pets and owners. Since 2020 she has been working as a Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Microbiology at the RVC, working as the clinical liaison between the diagnostic microbiology laboratory and clinical colleagues, in teaching and research
Sian's main research interest is antimicrobial resistance in companion animals, with a particular focus on methicillin-resistant staphylococci and other ESKAPE pathogens of importance to both veterinary and human medicine. She has previously collaborated with multidisciplinary groups including Dr Jodi Lindsay's molecular microbiology group at St. George's Medical School, London, and Dr Jo Larner within the dermatotoxicology group at University of Hertfordshire. She has strong collaborative links with a number of veterinary microbiology groups worldwide.
Frosini SM, Loeffler A. Treating canine pyoderma with topical antibacterial therapy. In Practice 2020; 42: 323-330.
Frosini S-M, Bond R, Rantala M, Grönthal T, Rankin SC, O’Shea K, Timofte D, Schmidt V, Lindsay J, Loeffler A. Genetic resistance determinants to fusidic acid and chlorhexidine in variably susceptible staphylococci from dogs. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19: 81.
Fountain K, Roberts L, Young V, Barbon A, Frosini S-M, Lloyd DH, Loeffler A. Diversity of staphylococcal species cultured from captive Livingstone’s fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) and their environment. J Zoo Wild Med 2019; 50(1): 266-269.
Frosini SM, Bond R, Loeffler A, Larner J. Opportunities for topical antimicrobial therapy: permeation of canine skin by fusidic acid. BMC Vet Res 2017; 13(1): 345.
Frosini SM, Bond R. Activity in vitro of clotrimazole against canine methicillin-resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.Antibiotics (Basel) 2017; 6(4): E29.
Clark SM, Loeffler A, Schmidt VM, Chang Y-M, Wilson A, Timofte D, Bond R. Interaction of chlorhexidine with trisEDTA or miconazole in vitro against canine meticillin-resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from two UK regions. Vet Dermatol 2016; 27(5):340-e84.
Clark SM, Loeffler A, Bond R. Susceptibility in vitro of canine methicillin-resistant and -susceptible staphylococcal isolates to fusidic acid, chlorhexidine and miconazole: opportunities for topical therapy of canine superficial pyoderma. J Antimicrob Chemoth 2015; 70(7): 2048-52.
Conference papers
Frosini SM, Gallow G, Menezes J, Belas A, Marques C, Aboim C, Pomba C, The PETRisk Consortium, Loeffler A. qPCR to detect mecA in faecal samples: a tool for assessing resistance burden amongst pets and their owners in the microbiological ‘fast age’? 30th ECCMID, April 2020
Frosini SM, Scott C, Loeffler A. Effect of phenol and formalin on mecA in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) as part of autogenous bacterin formulation. 31st ESVD-ECVD Annual Congress, September 2019
Feudi C, Menezes J, Marques C, Belas A, Perreten V, Frosini SM, Loeffler A, Weese S, Pomba C, Schwarz S. Analysis of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli from pets and their owners – faecal carriage of different CTX-M-producing E. coli in a dog and a human in Portugal. 8th Symposium on Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals and the Environment, July 2019
Frosini SM, Loeffler A, Bond R, McCarthy A, Lindsay JA. Horizontal gene transfer in vitro in staphylococci: Transduction of tet(M) but not fusB and fusC from MRSP into MSSP. ICOHAR April 2019
Menezes J, Perreten V, Collaud A, Belas A, Marques C, Aboim C, Vicente G, Frosini SM, Feudi C, Schwarz S, Weese S, Loeffler A, Pomba C. First report of a OXA-181 producing Escherichia coli from a dog in Portugal. 29th ECCMID, April 2019
Frosini SM, Loeffler A, O’Shea K, Schmidt V, Timofte D, Wilson A, Bond R Geographical differences in in vitro susceptibilities of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius to fusidic acid and chlorhexidine and the prevalence of associated resistance genes. 29th ESVD – ECVD Annual Congress September 2017
Clark SM, Loeffler A, Bond R, Larner, J. Penetration of fusidic acid into canine skin: an opportunity for topical treatment of canine superficial pyoderma in the era of methicillin-resistant staphylococci. 17th ISSSI August 2016
Clark SM, Loeffler A, Wilson A, Chang YM, Schmidt V, Bond R. Activity in vitro of chlorhexidine alone and in combination with miconazole or tromethamine-EDTA against canine meticillin-resistant and susceptible staphylococci. 28th ESVD – ECVD Annual Congress September 2015; p117 of proceedings
Sian teaches within the Principles of Science course for the Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Nursing courses, as well as supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate student research projects.
Sian is involved as liaison between the clinical services and the diagnostic microbiology laboratory. She has a keen interest in developing diagnostic testing and antimicrobial stewardship concepts to support good clinical use of antimicrobials and infection control.
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Improved Stewardship to Protect Veterinary Antimicrobial Usage in UK Cats and Dogs (In Progress)
People: David Brodbelt, Dan O'Neill, Sian Frosini, Noel Kennedy, David Church
Vet Compass Project Type: Dog, Cat, Small Animal
Funded by the Petplan Charitable Trust, this project aims to identify and promote effective and practical antimicrobial stewardship interventions for widespread adoption in veterinary practice.
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The in-vivo effect of photoactivated chromophore for keratitis cross-linking (PACK-CXL) on bacterial growth in canine patients with infectious keratitis
This study will investigate the effect of cross-linking using photoactivated riboflavin on the bacterial population present on the corneas and conjunctiva of canine patients with infectious ulcerative keratitis.
This study will determine if PACK-CXL can reduce the bacterial load at the ulcer site in vivo regardless of the antimicrobial resistance pattern.