Microbiology and Virology

1.  Identification and characterization of the signals and process that govern bacterial biofilm formation
2. Development of novel antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents
3. Identification and characterization of novel virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
4. Metabolic engineering of bacteria for production of biofuels from algae

The group studies the ecology and biogeochemistry of marine phytoplankton.

The research combines laboratory work with cultures and field studies of natural populations, incorporating molecular, biochemical, physiological, and geochemical approaches.

Research topics include:

• Dynamics of phytoplankton blooms in the ocean

• Host–virus interactions in diatoms

• Ecology of Marnaviridae viruses

• Biogeochemistry of infected cells

1. Profile post-translational modifications in gut bacteria and study their effects on bacterial activity and host health.
2. Study the proteome of gut bacteria in relation to dietary changes and diseases.
3. Characterize the effects of bacteria on modulating host colon epithelial cells proteome. 

1. The role of non-coding RNA in regulating RNA processing
2. The role of RNA modification in controlling ribosome function
3. How rRNA modification affects cancer
4. The role of RNA modification in mRNA biogenesis
5. The mechanism and machinery of trans-splicing
6. Programmed cell death in trypanosomes
7. Nano-drugs against Leishmania
8. Nano-biology and cancer

1. Study of viruses in the human microbiome
2. Disease prediction using the human microbiome
3. How diet and medications induce dormant bacteriophages in our gut
4. Changes in the population of bacteriophages in the human gut across the lifespan
5. Metagenomics and metaviromics
6. Building networks to study virus–bacteria–human interactions

1. Metabolite discovery using state-of-the-art HPLC and high-resolution LC-MS platforms coupled with advanced computational pipelines
2. Identifying bioactive metabolites formed at the diet–gut microbiota–host interface, with a focus on metabolites found in plant-based foods (phytochemicals)
3. Understanding how diet and the microbiome shape liver function
4. Revealing mechanisms by which diet–microbiome interactions modulate cancer development and therapeutic response

1. Functional characterization of selected Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) gene products (e.g. vBcl-2)
2. Tracking KSHV infection by using recombinant viruses that express fluorescent proteins
3. Nucleolar stress, nucleolar alterations and KSHV infection
4. Production of KSHV virions which lack viral genome

1. Biofilms of cyanobacteria
2. Regulated proteolysis of light pigment complexes
3. Tailoring cyanobacteria for biofuel

1. Mechanisms of host-microbiome communications
2. Intestinal neuro-immune-microbiome interactions
3. Effects of the gut microbiota on autoimmunity and cancer
4. Computational biology / bioinformatics – analysis of host and microbiome transcriptomics