Faculty Member, School of Dental Sciences
Professor of Oral Biology
About
I am a graduate in Microbiology from Trinity College, Dublin and obtained my PhD degree in bacterial genetics in Melbourne. I then worked in a CSIRO Food Laboratory in Brisbane and the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa before joining the Dental Research Unit of the Royal College of Surgeons of England to lead a group investigating a vaccine against dental caries. I came to Newcastle in 1991 to take the chair of Oral Biology and continue my research on applying molecular genetic technques to the bacteria important in dental caries.
Research Interests
Application of molecular genetic techniques to the study of oral streptococci.
Pathways for sugar uptake and metabolism.
Structure-function relationships of glucosyltransferases which synthesize polymers from sucrose.
Genomic evolution of Streptococcus mutans.
Antibacterial dental materials.
Current Work
The main research interests of my group concern studies of the genome of Streptococcus mutans to explore mechanisms of chromosomal deletion and to identify surface proteins. With the recent completion of the genome sequence of Streptococcus mutans, we are applying microarray technology to examine variation in virulence traits within the species and to study the transmission and population biology of this important oral pathogen.
Glucosyltransferases of oral streptococci are responsible for formation of sticky polymers (glucans) from sucrose and so are of major importance in determining the properties of dental plaque and influencing the processes that can lead to dental caries. In collaboration with groups in the USA and France, we are exploring structure-function relationships of various glucosyltransferases. We are also carrying out studies of the glucan-binding domain and are exploiting information from the Streptococcus mutans genome sequence to identify novel proteins involved in adhesion.
Contact Information
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