Professor Phil Bremer
Ph.D. University of Otago (1988)
M.Sc. (Distinction) University of Otago (1984)
B.Sc. University of Otago (1982)
Tel 64 3 479 5469
Fax 64 3 479 7567
Email phil.bremer@otago.ac.nz
Major Research Interests
- Assessing the microbiological characteristics and shelf-life of foods.
- The development and enhancement of marine products (especially kina)
- Understanding the physical, chemical and biological factors involved in the attachment of micro-organisms to surfaces
- The development of antifouling films
- The development and the assessment of the effectiveness of microbial control processing regimes (thermal processing, washing, marinades)
- Enhancing the effectiveness of cleaning and sanitising regimes.
- Controlling Listeria in foods.
Course Co-ordinator
Thesis Topics Supervision
Industry Linkages
Seafood Industry, Vegetable processors, Dairy Industry, Copper Industry (corrosion, biofouling).
Total Referred Publications
Total peer-reviewed publications: 101
Representative Publications (last 10 years)
1. Shephard, J., McQuillan, A. J. and Bremer, P. J. 2008. Mechanisms of cation exchange by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and PAO1 wbpL, a strain with truncated lipopolysaccharide. Applied and Environmental Microbiology: 74(22): 6980-6986.
2. Heinrich, H. T. M, Bremer, P. J., McQuillan, A. J., Daughney, C. J., 2008. Modelling of the acid–base properties of two thermophilic bacteria at different growth times. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72:4185–4200.
3. Han, J., Silcock, P., McQuillan, A. J. and Bremer, P. 2008. Preparation and characterisation of Poly(Styrene-alt-Maleic acid)-b-Polystyrene block copolymer self-assembled nanoparticles. Colloid and Polymer Science, 286:1605-1612.
4. Seale, R. B., Flint, S. H., McQuillan, A. J. and Bremer, P. J., 2008 Recovery of spores from thermophilic dairy bacilli and effects of their surface characteristics on attachment to different surfaces, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 74(3):731–737.
5. Dufour, M., Manson, J. M., Bremer, P. J., Dufour, J-P., Cook, G. M., and Simmonds. R. S., 2007. Characterization of monolaurin resistance in Enterococcus faecalis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73(17): 5507-5515.
6. Upritchard, H. G., Yang, J., Bremer, P. J., Lamont, I. and McQuillan, A. J., 2007, Adsorption to metal oxides of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore pyoverdine and implications for bacterial biofilm formation on metals, Langmuir, 23: 7189 – 7195.
7. Heinrich, H., Bremer, P. J., McQuillan, A. J., Daughney, C. J. 2007. Acid base titrations of functional groups on the surface of the thermophilic bacterium Anoxybacillus flavithermus – Comparing a chemical equilibrium model with ATR-IR spectroscopy, Langmuir 23: 2731 – 2740.
8. Gao, Z., Bremer, P. J., Barker, M. F., Tan, E. U. and McQuillan, A. J., 2007. Adhesive secretions of live mussels observed in situ by ATR-IR spectroscopy, Applied Spectroscopy 61(1): 55 – 59.
9. Yang, J., Bremer, P. J., Lamont, I. L and McQuillan, A. J. 2006. Infrared spectroscopic studies of siderophore-related hydroxamic acid ligands adsorbed on titanium dioxide, Langmuir , 22:10109-10117.
10. Muirhead, R. W., Collins, R. P. and Bremer, P. J. 2006. The Association of E. coli and soil particles in overland flow, Water Science and Technology 54 (3): 153-159.
11. Burnett, P. G., Heinrich, H., Peak, D., Bremer, P. J., McQuillan, A. J., Daughney, C. J. 2006. The effect of pH and ionic strength on proton adsorption the thermophilic bacterium Anoxybacillus flavithermus, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70:1914-1927.
12. Muirhead, R. Collins, R. Bremer, P. J. 2006. The interaction of Escherichia coli and soil particles in runoff. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72(5):3406-3411.
13. Muirhead, R. Collins, R. Bremer, P. J. 2006. Numbers and transported state of Escherichia coli in runoff direct from fresh cowpats under simulated rainfall. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 42:83-87.
14. Bremer, P. J. Fillery, S. and McQuillan, A. J. 2006. Laboratory Scale Clean-In Place (CIP) Studies on the Effectiveness of Different Caustic and Acid Wash Steps on the Removal of Dairy Biofilms. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 106:254-262.
15. Kang, S-Y, Bremer, P. J. Kim, K-W., McQuillan, A. J. 2006. Monitoring metal ion binding in single layer Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms using ATR-IR spectroscopy Langmuir, 22(1):286-291.
16. Tannock, G. W., Ghazally, S., Walter, J., Loach, D., Brooks, H., Cook, G., Surette, M., Simmers, C., Bremer, P. Dal Bello, F. and Hertel, C., 2005. Ecological behaviour of Lactobacillus reuteri 100-23 is affected by mutation of the luxS gene Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71(12): 8419-8425.
17. van Klink, J. W., Larsen, L., Perry, N. B., Weavers, R. T., Cook, G. C., Bremer, P. J., MacKenzie, A. D., and Kirikae, T. 2005. Triketones active against antibiotic-resistant bacteria: Synthesis, structure-activity relationships and mode of action. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 13:6651-6662.
18. Schallenberg, M., Bremer, P. J., Henkel, S., Launhardt, A. and Burns, C. W. 2005. Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in water: effect of grazing by the freshwater crustacean Daphnia carinata (Cladocera). Applied and Environmental Microbiology,71(9):1680-1684.
19. Muirhead, R. W., Collins, R. P. and Bremer, P. J. 2005. Erosion and subsequent transport state of Escherichia coli from cowpats. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71:2875-2879.
20. Muirhead, R and Bremer, P. J. 2004. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a commercially available defined substrate medium and enumeration system for measuring Escherichia coli numbers in faeces and soil samples. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 39:383-387.
21. Monk I. R., Cook, G. M., Monk B. C. and and Bremer, P. J. 2004. Morphotypic conversion in Listeria monocytogenes biofilm formation: the biological significance of rough colony isolates. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70:6686-6694.
22. Dufour, M., Simmonds, R. S., and Bremer, P. J. 2004. Development of a laboratory scale clean-in-place (CIP) system to test the effectiveness of “natural” antimicrobials against dairy biofilms. Journal of Food Protection. 67:1438–1443.
23. Dufour, M., Simmonds, R. S., Bremer, P.J. 2003. Development of a method to quantify the synergistic activity of natural antimicrobials. International Journal of Food Microbiology 85(3):249-258.
24. McWhirter, M.J., Bremer, P. J., Lamont, I. L. and McQuillan, A. J. 2003. Siderophore-mediated covalent bonding to metal (oxide) surfaces during biofilm initiation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Langmuir 19:1575-1577.
25. Cressy, H. K., Jerrett, A. R., Osborne, C. M., Bremer, P. J. 2003. A novel method for the reduction of cell numbers of Listeria monocytogenes by freezing in combination with an essential oil in bacteriological media. Journal of Food Protection, 66(3):390-395.
26. Bremer, P. J., Monk, I and Butler R. 2002. Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes /Flavobacterium spp Biofilms using Chlorine: Impact of Substrate, pH, Time and Concentration. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 35(4):321-325.
27. Bremer P. J., Monk I., Osborne C. M., Hills, S., and Butler R. 2002. Development of a steam treatment to eliminate Listeria monocytogenes from King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Journal of Food Science, 67 (6):2282-2287.
28. Osborne, C. M. and Bremer, P. J. 2002. Development of a technique to quantify the effectiveness of enrichment regimes in recovering stressed Listeria cells. Journal of Food Protection 65(7):1122-1128.
29. Bremer, P. J., Monk, I. and Osborne, C. M. 2001. Survival of Listeria monocytogenes attached to stainless steel surfaces in the presence or absence of Flavobacterium spp. Journal of Food Protection 64(9): 1369- 1376.
30. Bremer, P. J., Webster, B. J., Wells, D. B. 2001. Biocorrosion of copper in potable water. American Water Works Association Journal 93(8):82-91.
31. Osborne, C. M. and Bremer, P. J. 2000, Application of the Bigelow (z-value) model and histamine detection to determine the time and temperature required to eliminate Morganella Morganii from seafood. Journal of Food Protection, 63:227-280.
32. Tide, C., Harkin, S.R., Geesey, G.G., Bremer, P.J., Scholz, W. 1999. The influence of welding procedures on bacterial colonisation of stainless steel weldments. Journal of Food Engineering, 42: 85-96.
33. Bremer, P. J., Osborne, C. M., Kemp, R. A. and Smith J. J., 1998, Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in seawater and affect of seawater exposure on thermal resistance. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 85(3):545-553.
34. Bremer, P. J. and Osborne, C. M., 1998, Efficacy of chlorine in reducing total aerobic counts and in eliminating Listeria monocytogenes inoculated onto the surface of King Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Journal of Food Protection, 61(7):849-854.
Membership of Scientific and Professional Organizations
Member, New Zealand Microbiological Society (President 2007 – 2009)
Fellow, New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology
Member, American Society for Microbiology
Recent Research Grants
2005 – 2008. P. J. Bremer, J. McQuillan, S. Flint, Technology New Zealand Application 04-TIF-14809 Scholarship for Control of Spore Attachment to Surfaces. $ 93,000
2004 – 2010. J. McQuillan, P. J. Bremer, M. Barker, P. Silcock, New Economy Research Fund, Multiscale Modelling and Control of Material Structure, Properties and Performance (CO8X0409). $ 2,100,000 (sub-contract from IRL)
2004-2008. P. J. Bremer P. Silcock, M. Barker, Foundation for Research Science and Technology, Innovative Foods, Maximising value from the New Zealand Sea Urchin (Evechinus chloroticus) Resource: Enhancement of roe quality through diet and development of processing strategies, $ 2,776,000.
2003-2007. J McQuillan and P. J. Bremer, New Economy Research Fund, Extremophilic Micro-organisms for Metal Sequestration from Aqueous Solutions, $180,000 (subcontract from IGNS).
2003 – 2006. I. Lamont, P. J. Bremer and J. McQuillan. Marsden Fund, How Do Bacteria Stick to Metals? 02-UOO-048 BMS, PSE. $617,000.
Professional Positions Held
1992 - 2002 Microbiology Programme Manager, New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research, Nelson, New Zealand.
1991 - 1992 Post-doctoral fellow, Center for Interfacial Microbial Process Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, (now called Center for Biofilm Engineering, CBE).
1989 - 1991 Post doctoral fellow, Microbiology Department, California State University, Long Beach.
Professional Specialties
- Consultant on microbiology in seafood, dairy and vegetable processing industries.
- Consultant on Microbiology Induced Corrosion in potable water systems.
- Consultant on cleaning and sanitising regimes.
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