News

Our review and bioinformatic analysis of copper handling mechanisms in oral Streptococcus and Neisseria species is online: “Copper homeostasis in Streptococcus and Neisseria: Known knowns and unknown knowns.“

Our bioinformatics analyses of copper homeostasis mechanisms in oral Streptococcus and Neisseria species have been accepted for publication in Advances in Microbial Physiology. We look forward to seeing it in press! Here’s a picture from our chocolate-fueled, final manuscript read-through session.

Five weeks have flown by quickly. Before we know it, Martha has completed her project time in the lab. We wish her all the very best in her last year at Durham Biosciences.

Martha Simmonds has joined the group as a Level 3 Undergraduate Research Project student in Durham Biosciences. Martha will work with Safa and Archie to identify a mysterious oral bacterium.

Ben Kelly has joined us as an MRes student. He will work on the Cu-dependent nitrite reductase AniA from N. gonorrhoeae.

We are so pleased to welcome back Will Earl to the lab, now as a PhD student. Will is funded by an EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership. He will continue his MRes project on the biochemical and structural characterisation of the Cu-dependent nitrite reductase from pathogenic Neisseria.

It is Oscar’s last day with us. We enjoyed working with him and we hope the feeling is mutual! We are sorry to see him leave and we wish him all the best in his final year at Durham.

We are very excited to receive a Durham University Seedcorn Award. This funding will help us establish a new collaboration with Dr Denis Patterson and Dr Andrew Krause, both at Durham Mathematical Sciences. This work will fund preliminary development of a novel theory in mathematical ecology that can explain how metal ions influence coexistence of bacteria in complex bacterial communities.

Congratulations to Dr (de facto) Jack Bolton for passing his PhD viva. Many thanks to examiners Prof. Paul Denny (Durham) and Prof. James Moir (York). The group did a mini celebration on Zoom. Jack will soon start as a Lecturer at Sterling College, Kansas, USA. We wish him all the best in this exciting next step of his career.

We are delighted to welcome Oscar Goodwill to the group. Oscar is a Level 2 Biosciences undegraduate student. He will spend 6 weeks with us, funded by a Durham Biosciences Summer Studentship, to study the Cu-dependent nitrite reductase from pathogenic Neisseria.