Dr Ruth Thornton (BSc, PhD) is a Passe and Williams Mid-Career Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and the Co-Lead of the Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group at the Telethon Kids Institute. Her research interests lie in understanding the interactions between bacteria and the host in chronic and recurrent respiratory infections including ear, nose and throat infections, and chronic lung disease. Dr Thornton’s research into the role of bacterial biofilms, intracellular persistence, and host immunity in recurrent otitis media has changed paradigms in understanding and treating otitis media, and has led to 2 clinical trials to improve otitis media treatment.