Rhys White
Rhys White is a scientist with PHF Science's Health Security team
Qualifications
Rhys earned his BSc (Hons) in Biology from Cardiff University and PhD in Microbial Genomics from The University of Queensland.
About
Dr Rhys White is a microbial genomics scientist working at the interface of clinical microbiology, genomics, and public health. His work focuses on applying whole-genome sequencing to understand how pathogens emerge, adapt, and spread, particularly in healthcare settings. Rhys is a key contributor to the development of decentralised bacterial pathogen sequencing in New Zealand, working in partnership with diagnostic laboratories implementing nanopore sequencing locally. His role centres on ensuring that locally generated genomic data are not siloed, but connected across laboratories. This enables integration into broader analytical and surveillance frameworks that support infection prevention and control, inform public health decision-making, and build a national picture of pathogen transmission. His research places mobile genetic elements (i.e., plasmids, transposons, and insertion sequences) at the centre of bacterial evolution and antibiotic resistance. By examining how these elements move between strains and species, his work shows that resistance and virulence are often driven by the transfer of genetic elements rather than the spread of a single bacterial strain. Rhys has led and contributed to genomic investigations of healthcare-associated pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. These studies integrate high-quality genome assembly, comparative genomics, and epidemiological data to resolve transmission pathways and identify the mechanisms underpinning antibiotic resistance. He has also contributed to the application of genomics in hospital infection prevention and control, particularly through work on real-time genomic surveillance of pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridioides difficile, and Klebsiella variicola. This work has helped demonstrate how rapid, decentralised sequencing can support early outbreak detection, delineate transmission pathways, and inform infection control responses. His work is focused on building the foundations to scale these capabilities beyond individual sites, linking bacterial genomic data generated across laboratories and supporting the development of a more coordinated national approach to pathogen surveillance.