The Biosciences Research Group (BRG) carries out research in two main areas: Microbiology & Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine. The strength of the BRG’s approach is that it aims to understand the fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human disease with the ultimate goal to develop effective translational therapies. BRG uses a range of tools encompassing molecular, biochemical and computational approaches, such as gene editing, structural biology, molecular modelling, signal transduction, and certain animal models to understand human disease (bacterial/viral infection, cancer, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases). The BRG is actively involved, through its collaborations with industrial partners, in bringing about clinical applications and incorporating their cutting-edge research into teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students at the 91¿´Æ¬ as well as training the next generation of innovative and rigorous scientists.
Research areas
Microbiology of infectious diseases, e.g. Clostridium difficile infection, antimicrobial agent development, and modelling the gut microflora/antimicrobial interactions ()
Studying the molecular epidemiology and drug resistance detection in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Discovery and development of novel antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Gram negative bacteria ()
Development of alternative antimicrobial agents/strategies (e.g. phages, gene-silencers, membrane vesicles) against drug-resistant human and animal pathogens, such as Clostridioides difficile and Staphylococcus aureus ()
The role of Extracellular Vesicles in infectious disease; EV-mediated communication within the tumour microenvironment and in metastasis; therapeutic use of stem cell EVs in acute organ injury ()
Studying the role of Siglec-Sialic acid axis in health and disease; strategies to overcome immunosuppression and inflammation in the cancer microenvironment, role of innate and adaptive immune system in cancer progression ()
Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie human neurodegenerative diseases by using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ()
Genetics, molecular biology and bioinformatics of disease pathogen carrying mosquitoes in relation to their control ()
Cancer genetics and epigenetics; DNA methylation analysis, chromosomal aberrations and microRNA expression in different malignancies ()
Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) in tissue/organ morphogenesis and disease including of the neural tube and abdominal wall ()
Histology and cell biology; IHC staining; novel technologies such as the use of 3D organoids and artificial epithelial tissue (skin); the potential of fungi as a medicinal tool in neurodegenerative diseases (Laura Thomas)
Investigating the effects of senescence, specifically, the senescence response to the chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer ()
Mitigation strategies to tackle fungal contamination with the ultimate goal to reduce human exposure to mycotoxins, reinforce safety and reduce waste along the food chain. This involves mathematical models, biocontrol agents and natural antifungal compounds ()
Understanding the prevalence and population structure of existing and emerging foodborne pathogens, application of bacteriophage to control foodborne pathogens and combat antimicrobial resistant organisms and studying environmental reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance ()
Computational biochemistry and biophysics applied to viral infections and transmembrane protein-protein interactions ()
Application of computational techniques to investigate protein structure and biomolecular interactions, as well as drug target characterisation for novel anti-viral drug discovery ()
Protein structure determination via NMR spectroscopy; recombinant protein expression and purification in bacterial and yeast expression systems; recombinant protein purification; biophysical analysis of proteins and interactions ()
Enhancing plant stress resilience ()
Nutrition and clinical dietetics; nutritional assessment and screening especially in gastroenterology and hepatology; dietary management of gallstones; blended diets via enteral tube feeding; behaviour change relating to nutritional wellbeing; energy expenditure prediction in obesity ()
Research students
Ongoing PhD students
Student
Principal supervisor
Project title
Javier Espinosa Montiel
Genetic Control of Lemna growth rate and protein content.
Denis Mustafov
Circulating microRNAs in central nervous system malignancies; functional role and clinical relevance.
Paul Moran
Salivary microRNA signatures in Parkinson’s Disease.
Saman Rashid
Elucidation of the autophagy networks that are disturbed in spinal muscular atrophy; a pharmacological approach.
Paloma Pacheco Torres
Dissecting the role of oxidative stress in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
Fathama Mutaleb
How does protein cleavage of the adhesion-GPCR Celsr1 define its cellular function?
Emily Roberts
Senescence and cytoskeletal dynamics - the key to ageing and cancer?
Rita Lawson
Resilience and predicting the risk of Fusarium pathogens and mycotoxins, under existing and future climate-related abiotic factors.
Valerija Parthala
Membrane vesicles of Clostridioides difficile.
Claire Wheeler
Clostridioides difficle in UK pigs and risks to the food chain.
Jagbir Singh
Design, synthesis and testing of novel antibacterials, based on the 1,3-Diketone scaffold, to combat multidrug resistance.
Menaka Menikpurage
Identification and validation of potential inhibitors targeting enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA) in Mycobacterium species: a computational approach.
Purva Warde
The role of extracellular Vesicles (EVs) in viral infection and in coinfections with intracellular bacteria.
Srila Satoh
Evaluation of interventions for overweight and obese children and adolescents aged 5-15 years in UK and Thailand focusing on behaviour change techniques and participant-related outcomes.
Ellie Hurer
Identifying therapeutic compounds for S100P in pancreatic cancer therapy.
Mohammed Saqif Ahmad
MicroRNA mimic mediated cancer immunotherapy against Siglec-15; clinical implications in colorectal cancer progression.
MSc by Research students
Student
Principal supervisor
Project title
Lisa Blagg
Characterisation of linezolid resistance in clinical Clostridium difficile strains.
Nathaniel Hearfield
Genetic engineering of cannabinoids biosynthesis for therapeutic use.
Martyna Zajac
Understanding the role of BMP signalling in the formation of neural circuits which connect the CNS and PNS during embryogenesis.
Alina Oehlen
Origin and evolution of M5, an insertion-site specific transposable element in anopheline mosquitoes with potential as a genome editing tool.
Alumni students
Student
Principal Supervisor
Project title
Iye Linda Ameh
Characterisation of clinical Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 002 isolates from different time lineages (PhD).
Olufunmilayo Ayus Mohammed
Characterisation of reduced susceptibility to metronidazole in Clostridium difficile (PhD).
Etifa Perezimor
Assessment of the efficacy of probiotic and prebiotic interventions in modulating spore germination, growth and toxin production by Clostridium difficile (PhD).
Daniel Keighley
Phenotypic Characterisation of Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotype 078 and Comparison with PCR Ribotypes 027 and 002 (MSc by Research).
Macarena Sanchez Mellado
Understanding the Impact of Low Temperature on Seed Germination in Maize (MSc by Research).
Paul Moran
Combination of multimodal imaging and neurophysiology to improve targeting accuracy and outcome in Deep Brain Stimulation for movement disorders (MSc by Research).
Aikaterini Stafylidi
MicroRNA regulation and gene expression variability in glioblastomas (Summer 2022 placement).
Konstantinos Syrios
Identifying novel theranostic interventions for aggressive childhood tumours using functional magnetic nanoparticles (MSc by Research).
Sara Seriah
Development of smart polymeric nanocontainers for the therapy of pediatric embryonal brain malignancies (PhD).
Joss Murray
Tracking the metabolic signatures associated with spinal muscular atrophy (MSc by Research).
Michael Hodgson
Autophagy and spinal muscular atrophy: towards a pathway-centric therapy for a fatal childhood disorder (MSc by Research).
Patricia Barnes
Dissecting the role of oxidative stress in the motor neuron disorder Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Genetics Society summer 2022 studentship placement).
Fathama Mutaleb
The role of oxidative stress in the motor neuron disorder spinal muscular atrophy (MSc by Research).
Tony Randell
Perturbations of the autophagy pathway in spinal muscular atrophy; insights from the nematode C. elegans (MSc by Research).
Ana Moreno Arnas
Oxidative stress in spinal muscular atrophy: elucidating the role of sod genes in the C. elegans spinal muscular atrophy model (SRUK/CERU undergraduate student).
Coral Crespo Gómez
Assessment of pharmacological agents in the C. elegans spinal muscular atrophy model (SRUK/CERU undergraduate student).
Christopher JR Arnell
Understanding the origins of the DREZ: a new route in for spinal cord injury (MSc by Research).
Ladislav Klena
Understanding the opposing roles of the planar cell polarity proteins Celsr1 and Frizzled6 in breast cancer invasion (PhD).
Ross Kalarus
Prophage contribution to virulence, persistence, and transmission of Clostridioides difficile (MSc by Research).
Graham McLaughlin
Phage transduction in Clostridioides difficile (MSc by Research).
Annie Clark
Sensitization of Clostridioides difficile to phage infection by phage receptor transfer (Microbiology Society Harry Smith Studentship summer 2019 placement).
Pragya Agarwal
Characterisation of environmental Clostridioides difficile isolates (Summer 2019 placement).
Emily Savage
Comparative genome analysis of prophages of Clostridioides difficile LIBA2945 and LIBA5763 (Summer 2019 placement).
Charlotte Chan
Phage transduction of ermB in environmental C. difficile (Microbiology Society Harry Smith Studentship summer 2022 placement).
Seran Boyanapalli
Characterisation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus phages (Summer 2023 placement).
Umut Atik
Characterisation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus phages” (Summer 2023 placement).
Dominik Brotherton
Investigating the viability of outer membrane vesicle inhibition to sensitize bacteria to phage therapy (PhD).
Dona Mannaperuma
The role of myocyte microvesicles in cancer metastasis (PhD).
Gala Ramón Zamorano
Elucidation of AsM5 retroposon insertion site specificity for histone genes and evaluation as a gene drive tool for insect control strategies (PhD).
Robyn Rhule-Samuel
An evaluation of ready-meals and convenience foods as sources of nutritionally important phytochemicals and vitamins (PhD).
Deema Saifaldeen Najim Al-Azzawi
Regulation of microglial receptor Siglec-11 by microRNAs and overall effect on glioblastoma.
Research Staff
Post-doctoral Fellows
Post-doctoral Fellow
Principal Supervisor
Project title
Ladan Khodadoost
Bacteriophages against surgical site infections.
Research Assistants
Research Assistant
Principal Supervisor
Project title
Denis Mustafov
New predictive biomarkers in lung cancer.
Alumni Research Staff
Alumni Research Staff
Principal Supervisor
Project title
Dr Amer Nubgan
Phage genetic modification in Clostridioides difficile (Post-doctoral Fellow).
Dr Juliet Curry
Targeting intracellular dermatology pathogens by combining phage and nano-technologies (Post-doctoral Fellow).
Dr Emmanuella Enuwosa
Developing first-in-class RNAi therapeutics for hard-to-treat cancers (Post-doctoral Fellow).
Roozba Malik
Apafix fixation as a new option for morphologic analysis of animal tissues (Research Assistant).
Amy Yong
Spinal muscular atrophy: identification of pathways critical for SMN function (Research Assistant).
Laura Cox
Placental senescence, hypoxia, and metformin study (Research Assistant).
Funding
Research grants and granted consultancy income have recently been secured from the Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, MRC, Royal Society, Procarta Bioscience Ltd, UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI), PRODEP Mexico, Food Safety Research Network, Food Safety Agency, Perry Foundation, Innovate UK and the Industrial-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) ‘EVEStemInjury’.
Infrastructure
Research in the biosciences group is supported by the well-equipped state-of-the-art Science Building that houses cutting-edge research technologies: cell culture and histology facilities, molecular biology laboratories, fermentation equipment for medical microbiology and biotechnology research, anaerobic microbiology facilities, confocal imaging and C. elegans microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, NMR, access to the UH high performance computer cluster, MALDI-TOF MS and Nanosight Tracking Analysis (NTA, LM10) for Extracellular Vesicle characterisation.
Research degrees and post-doctoral fellowships
Applications are invited from candidates with good first degrees in biosciences, chemistry, bio-physics, genetics, neuroscience or other relevant disciplines to join projects as research students. Projects are available for PhD and MSc by Research students in the areas mentioned above (but not limited to). Candidates from low and middle income Commonwealth countries can apply annually to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for a Commonwealth PhD Scholarship with support from UH Bioscience researchers. In addition, we welcome Visiting Researchers and Postdoctoral Fellowships in the research areas above. We will gladly support and assist with fellowship applications to national and international research councils or charities.
We recommend that you discuss your proposed research with a member of academic staff of the Biosciences Research Group before submitting your application. Please name the staff member when submitting your application.
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The Biosciences Research Group (BRG) carries out research in two main areas: Microbiology & Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine. The strength of the BRG’s approach is that it aims to understand the fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human disease with the ultimate goal to develop effective translational therapies. BRG uses a range of tools encompassing molecular, biochemical and computational approaches, such as gene editing, structural biology, molecular modelling, signal transduction, and certain animal models to understand human disease (bacterial/viral infection, cancer, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases). The BRG is actively involved, through its collaborations with industrial partners, in bringing about clinical applications and incorporating their cutting-edge research into teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students at the 91¿´Æ¬ as well as training the next generation of innovative and rigorous scientists.
Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie human neurodegenerative diseases by using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ()
Research in the biosciences group is supported by the well-equipped state-of-the-art Science Building that houses cutting-edge research technologies: cell culture and histology facilities, molecular biology laboratories, fermentation equipment for medical microbiology and biotechnology research, anaerobic microbiology facilities, confocal imaging and C. elegans microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, NMR, access to the UH high performance computer cluster, MALDI-TOF MS and Nanosight Tracking Analysis (NTA, LM10) for Extracellular Vesicle characterisation.