FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY

Jim Prosser - Short Resume

Professor Jim Prosser moved to the University of Aberdeen in 1978, following a BSc in Microbiology at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London and postgraduate and postdoctoral studies at the University of Liverpool. At Aberdeen his major research interests have been in the ecology of nitrifying bacteria. These interests focused initially on ecophysiology and more recently on the factors driving nitrifier diversity, the relationship between diversity and ecosystem function and the relative roles of ammonia oxidising bacteria and archaea. His studies encompass both terrestrial and aquatic environments and extend into use of molecular techniques to determine diversity-ecosystem function relationships in other bacterial and archaeal groups in rhizosphere soils. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Director of NCIMB Ltd and a Governor of the Macaulay Institute.

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS

Jeff Cole - Short Resume

Education.  MA in Chemistry and D Phil in Biochemistry at Oxford University (1961-1967), Fulbright Scholar and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with Professor S C Rittenburg at the University of California, Los Angeles (1967-1969) investigating the biochemical basis of oxygen toxicity in microaerophilic bacteria. Subsequently Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor in Microbial Physiology at the University of Birmingham.

Research interests. Over 180 primary publications, more than 100 concerned with the regulation of anaerobic bacterial metabolism, especially the dissimilatory reduction of nitrate and nitrite to ammonia by enteric bacteria. Fifty PhD students have already gained, or will soon gain, PhD degrees from my laboratory. Current projects are concerned with the genetic and biochemical basis of Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome; adaptation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to oxygen-limited growth; how gonococci and enteric bacteria defend themselves against reactive nitrogen species; electron transfer pathways of the gonococcus; mechanism and regulation of nitrate reduction by sulphate-reducing bacteria; and physiological aspects of the production of difficult recombinant proteins in a bacterial host.

International responsibilities include serving as President of the European Federation of Biotechnology (2005), currently Vice-President of the EFB, Chairman of the Microbial Physiology Section of the European Federation of Biotechnology; Editor-in-Chief of FEMS Microbiology Letters since 2003.

Administrative responsibilities include Head of Academic Programmes for the School of Biosciences.

Recent publications include:

Constantinidou, C. C., Hobman, J. L., Patel, M. D., Penn, C. W., Cole, J. A. and Overton, T. W. (2006) A reassessment of the fumarate and nitrate reduction regulon and transcriptomic analysis of the effects of nitrate, nitrite, NarXL and NarQP as Escherichia coli adapts from aerobic to anaerobic growth.  Journal of Biological Chemistry 281: 4802-4808.

Overton, T., Whitehead, R., Li, Y., Snyder, L. A. S., Saunders, N. J., Smith, H. and Cole, J. A. (2006). Coordinated regulation of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae truncated denitrification pathway by the oxygen-sensitive repressor, NsrR, and nitrite-insensitive NarQ-NarP.  Journal of Biological Chemistry 281: 33115-33126.

Jepson, B. J. N., Mohan, S., Clarke, T. A., Gates, A. J., Cole, J. A., Butler, C. S., Butt, J. N., Hemmings, A. M. and Richardson, D. J. (2007) Spectrophotometric and structural analysis of the periplasmic nitrate reductase from Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry. In press.

Desvaux, M., Cooper, L. M., Filenko, N. A., Scott-Tucker, A., Turner, S. M., Cole, J. A. and Henderson, I. R. (2006). The unusual extended signal peptide region of the type V secretion system is phylogenetically restricted.  FEMS Microbiology Letters 264: 22-30.

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FEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Patrik Bavoil - Short Resume

Education

1972 Diplôme Universitaire d'Etudes Supérieures (DUES) en Chimie-Biologie, Université de Grenoble, France

1975-1976 Maîtrise et Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (DEA) en Biochimie, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
Advisor : Prof. George Michel
Thesis: Analyse structurelle du lipopolysaccharide de Escherichia coli CR34

1982 Ph.D. in Microbiology, Dept of Microbiology & Immunology, UC Berkeley
Advisor: Prof. Hiroshi Nikaido
Thesis: Proteins of the maltose transport system of Escherichia coli

1982-1984 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dept of Laboratory Medicine, UC San Francisco
Advisor: Prof. Julius Schachter
Project: Porin function of the chlamydial Major Outer Membrane Protein (MOMP)

1984-1987       Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dept of Medical Microbiology, Stanford University
Advisor: Prof. Stanley Falkow
Project: Molecular Pathogenesis of Chlamydia and entero-invasive E. coli

Current position

1987-1993 Assistant Professor, Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, New York, USA

1994-1995 Invited Professor, Unité de Biologie des Intéractions Cellulaires, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France (sabbatical leave in the laboratory of Dr. Alice Dautry)

1993-1996 Associate Professor, Dept of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, New York, USA

1996-1999 Senior Lecturer, Dept of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK

1999-2002 Reader in Molecular Microbiology, Dept of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK

2002-present   Associate Professor, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore, Dental School

2003-present   Director, Infectious Diseases & Immunology Track, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore, Dental School

2007-present   Director (interim), Electron Microscopy Facility, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore, Dental School

Recent publications

Tan, C., J.F. Spitznagel, R.-c. Hsia, and P.M. Bavoil. 2006. The Polymorphic Membrane Protein Gene Family of the Chlamydiaceae. In Chlamydia: Genomics, Pathogenesis and Implications for Control, P.M. Bavoil and P.B. Wyrick (eds.), Horizon Press, London, pp. 195-218.

Wilson, D.P., P. Timms, D.L.S. McElwain, & P.M. Bavoil.  2006. Type Three Secretion, contact-dependent model for the intracellular development of Chlamydia, Bull. Math. Biol. 68:1-18.

Crane, D.D., J.H. Carlson, P.M. Bavoil, R.-c. Hsia, C. Tan, C.-c. Kuo, and H.D. Caldwell.  2006. Chlamydia trachomatis polymorphic membrane protein D is a species common pan neutralizing antigen, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103:1894-1899.

Liu, Z., Rank, R., Kaltenboek, B., Magnino, S., Dean, D., Burall, L., Plaut, R., Read, T.D., Myers, G., and Bavoil, P.M. 2007. Genomic plasticity of the rrn-nqrF intergenic segment in the Chlamydiaceae, J. Bact. 189:2128-2132.

Burall, L., Liu, Z., Rank, R.G. and P.M. Bavoil. 2007. The conundrum of the invasin-like protein gene of the Chlamydiaceae. Micr. & Infect., 9: 873-880.

Peters, J., D. Wilson, G.S.A.. Myers, P. Timms and P.M. Bavoil.  2007. Type III secretion à la Chlamydia. Trends Microbiol. 15:241-251.

BOOK

Bavoil, P.M. 1982. Proteins involved in maltose transport in Escherichia coli. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley.

Clark, V.L., & P.M. Bavoil (editors). 1995. Methods in Enzymology: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Part A, Volume 235, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

Clark, V.L., & P.M. Bavoil (editors). 1995. Methods in Enzymology: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Part B, Volume 236, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

Clark, V.L., & P.M. Bavoil (editors). 1997. Bacterial Pathogenesis - Selected Methods in Enzymology, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

Clark, V.L., & P.M. Bavoil (editors). 2002. Methods in Enzymology: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Part C, Volume 358, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

Bavoil, P.M. & P. Wyrick (editors). 2006. Chlamydia: Genomics and Pathogenesis, Horizon Press, Inc. Norwich, UK.

if you want to read more about Patrik bavoil please click here

Summary of research over the past five years

Alex van Belkum has been involved in a variety of diagnostic, epidemiological and fundamental research project in the field of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. He has been responsible for the development, evaluation and clinical application of molecular techniques in infectious disease diagnostics. In addition, molecular identification tools suited for the molecular tracing of infectious bacteria and their epidemics have been developed and applied. Major fundamental research projects concern investigations into (1) determinants, risks and dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage, (2) the role of bacterial genetic polymorphism in the development of neurologic complications after Campylobacter jejuni infection and (3) molecular and biological studies on Madurella mycetomatis infections in tropical endemic regions.

AWARDS

1999 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Young investigator Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 

2003 Astra Zeneca Award in Infectious Disease Research

KEY REFERENCES

Bogaert Debbie, Belkum Alex van, Sluijter Marcel, Luijendijk Ad, Groot Ronald de, Rumke Hans, Verbrugh Henri, Hermans Peter (2004) "Colonisation by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus in healthy children”. Lancet 363, 1871-1872. (IF 23.8).

Wertheim Heiman, Vos Margreet, Ott Alewijn, Belkum Alex van, Voss Andreas, Kluytmans Jan, Keulen Peter van, Vandenbroucke-Grauls Christina, Meester Marlene, Verbrugh Henri (2004) "Risk and outcome of nosocomial Stapohylococcus aureus bacteremia in nasal carriers versus non-carriers". Lancet 364, 703-705. (IF 23.8).

Ahmed Abdalla, Leeuwen Willem van, Fahal Ahmed, Sande Wendy van de, Verbrugh Henri, Belkum Alex van (2004) "Mycetoma caused by Madurella mycetomatis: a neglected infectious burden. Lancet Infectious Diseases" 4, 566-574. (IF 10.0).

Godschalk Peggy, Heikema Astrid, Gilbert Michel, Komagamine Tomoko, Ang Wim, Glerum Jobine, Brochu Denis, Li Jiangjun, Yuki Nobuhiro, Jacobs Bart, Belkum Alex van, Endtz Hubert (2004) "The crucial role of Campylobacter jejuni genes in anti-ganglioside antibody induction in Guillain-Barre Syndrome". Journal of Clinical Investigation 114, 1659-1665. (15.1).

Melles Damian, Gorkink Raymond, Boelens Helene, Snijders Susan, Peeters Justine, Moorhouse Michael, Spek Peter van der, Leeuwen Willem van, Simons Guus, Verbrugh Henri, Belkum Alex van (2004) "Natural population dynamics and expansion of pathogenic clones of Staphylococcus aureus". Journal of Clinical Investigation 114, 1732-1740. (15.1).

Houliston Scott, Endtz Hubert, Yuki Nobuhiro, Li Jianjun, Jarrell Harold, Koga Michiaki, Belkum Alex van, Karwaski Marie-France, Wakarchuk Warren, Gilbert Michel (2006) "Identification of a sialate O-acetyltransferase from Campylobacter jejuni: demonstration of direct transfer to the C-9 position of terminal alpha-2,8-linked sialic acid". Journal of Biological Chemistry 281, 11480-11486. (IF 5.8).

Sande Wendy van de, Janse Dirk Jan, Hira Vishal, Goedhart Heidy, Zee Ruurd van der, Ahmed Abdalla, Ott A, Verbrugh H, Belkum Alex van (2006) "Translationally controlled tumor protein from Madurella mycetomatis, a marker for tumorous mycetoma progression". Journal of Immunology 177, 1997-2005. (IF 6.4).

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

Belkum Alex van and Alphen Loek van (2002) "Diagnosing Haemophilus influenzae". In "Methods in Molecular Medicine". Eds. Herbert, Hood and Moxon. The Humana Press Inc, New Jersey, pp. 71-92.

Belkum Alex van (2002) "Molecular tools for epidemiological investigations into Legionella pneumophila infections". In: Legionella: Proceedings of the Fifth International Meeting on Legionellosis. Eds. Marre, Kwaik, Bartlett, Cianciotto, Fields, Frosch, Hacker and Lück, American Society for Microbiology, pp. 227-236.

Belkum Alex van (2003) "Molecular epidemiology of pathogenic fungi involved in outbreaks". In: The Mycota, A Comprehensive Treatise on Human Fungal Pathogens. Eds. J. Domer and G. Kobayashi, pp. 3-24.

Hermans Peter, Bogaert Debby, Sluijter Marcel, Belkum Alex van (2003) "Restriction fragment end labelling analysis: high-resolution genomic typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates". In: Experimental Approaches for Assessing Genetic Diversity among Microbial Pathogens. Eds. Van Belkum, Duim and Hays, Ponsen & Looyen BV, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 33-46.

Belkum Alex van, Hermans Peter (2003) "BOX PCR fingerprinting for molecular typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae". In "Experimental Approaches for Assessing Genetic Diversity among Microbial Pathogens". Eds. Van Belkum, Duim and Hays, Ponsen & Looyen BV, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 47-56.

Belkum Alex van (2004) "Assessing bacterial virulence with the help of genetic typing technology". In: Nascholingscursus Infectieziekten, Boerhave Commissie, Post Academisch Onderwijs in de Geneeskunde, Ed. J.T. van Dissel, pp.232-327.

Belkum Alex van, Niesters Bert (2005) "New Diagnostic modalities in respiratory tract disease" In "The Microbe Host Interface in Respiratory Tract Infections", Eds. Jan Kimpen and Octavio Ramilo, Horizon Bioscience, Norfolk UK, pp. 15-27, ISBN : 0-8493-3646-5.

Belkum Alex van (2006) "Molecular diagnostics and comparative genomics in clinical microbiology" In "Molecular Diagnostics", Eds. Patrinos and Ansorge, Elsevier Inc, pp.281-295.

Belkum Alex van, Verduin Cees (2006) "Moraxella catarrhalis and Kingella kingae".In "Principles and Practice of Clinical Bacteriology", Eds. Gillespie and Hawkey, pp. 191-204.

EDITING OF BOOKS

Belkum Alex van, Duim Birgitta and Hays John (2003) (Eds) "Experimental Approaches for Assessing Genetic Diversity among Microbial Pathogens", Ponsen & Looyen BV, Wageningen, The Netherlands; ISBN 90-9016462-6.

Belkum Alex van (2004) "Moleculaire filatelie in de medische microbiologie". Optima Grafische Communicatie, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, ISBN 90-90176683-7

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FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS

Ramón Días Orejas - Short Resume

Ramón Díaz Orejas, was born in La Robla (León, Spain) in 1944, and is an expert in bacterial plasmid replication and maintenance functions. He obtained his first degree and PhD in Biochemistry from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. For his PhD he worked at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB) of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) on the transport and degradation of carbohydrates in Pseudomonas putida under the supervision of Profs. J.L. Cánovas and G. de Torrontegui. He held posdoctoral positions at the University of Leicester, UK (Prof. R.H. Pritchard), University of Odense, Denmark (Prof. K. Nordstrom and S. Molin), and the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany (Prof. W.L. Staudenbauer) he studied DNA replication and its control in bacteria and plasmids. Main contributions during this period include early isolation and characterization of origins of replication of Escherichia coli, the development of an in vitro replication system for plasmid R1 dependent on protein systhesis, the first report of a functional coupling of the three fundamental reactions of genetic information transfer in a cell free system, and the development of the in vitro system for plasmid RSF1010 that allowed for the first time the biochemical analysis of the broad host range replication character of this plasmid. In 1979 he was appointed staff scientist of the CSIC at the CIB where he is now Profesor de Investigación. Research contributions during this new period include the characterization of protein-DNA complexes involved in the interaction of plasmid initiator proteins with origins of replication using plasmid pPS10 of Pseudomonas and plasmid R1 of Enterobacteria as model systems. Studies with plasmid R1 revealed the involvement of DNA looping induced by the replication protein in the activation of an origin without direct repetitions (iterons). Studies with plasmid pPS10, the origin of which contains interons, contributed i) to understanding at the structural and functional level, the dual character of its initiator protein as activator of DNA replication or as transcriptional repressor of its own gene; ii) to establish the potential of this replication protein to adjust plasmid replication to the replication machinery of different hosts; iii) to establish the existence of a common module for initiator of DNA replication in Gram-negative bacterial plasmids, archaea and eukaryotes. An additional contribution of the group was the identification and characterization of parD/kis-kid, the second toxin-antitoxin system of plasmid R1 and one of the first type II bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems described. Early studies on this system established its activation in response to failures in plasmid replication and its contribution to the recovery of this faulty replication. His actual interest in this system is focused on the combination of structural and functional approaches to study novel aspects of its regulation, mechanism of action, biotechnological applications as well as its relationships with other toxin-antitoxin systems. He has published over 70 primary articles, several of them in collaboration with important national and/or international groups; supervised 13 PhD theses; he is the main responsible or main partner of multiple projects and networks financed by Spanish or European agencies. He was a member of the editorial board of FEMS Microbiology Reviews for five years before being appointed as Chief Editor of this Journal.   

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FEMS YEAST RESEARCH

Teun Boekhout - Short Resume

After graduation at Utrecht University Teun Boekhout spent some time in traditional mycology (especially mushrooms). Soon he was appointed as yeast researcher at the Yeast Division of CBS Fungal Diversity Centre, which is now located in Utrecht, The Netherlands. 

His research interest is to understand Fungal (including Yeasts) Biodiversity, including functional aspects, in an evolutionary framework, with emphasis on human pathogenic yeasts, in particular Cryptococcus neoformans and Malassezia species.

He is also interested in cell biological aspects of a particular organelle present in the hyphae of many basidiomycetes, namely the septal pore cap complex. In fungal ecology he initiated some research projects to study fungal diversity in relation to deforestation and reforestation of tropical lowland forests in Colombian Amazonia and he currently participates in studies on yeast biodiversity and their role in the fermentation of masau (Zyziphus mauritania) fruits in Zimbabwe.

Since 2006 he is Editor in Chief of FEMSYR, and from 2000-2005 he was adjunct Editor in Chief of this journal. He edited a number of books and a CD-ROM on yeast diversity, and he is on the editorial board of Mycological Research as well. Teun is coeditor of the 5th edition of The Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study (Eds C.P. Kurtzman, T. Boekhout & J.W. Fell) planned to be published in 2008. He lectures regularly on various aspects of yeast diversity and evolution in various graduate schools, both in The Netherlands and abroad (e.g. Portugal, Brazil, Indonesia). His work is presented at major international mycological and microbiological meetings. He is cofounder of the section Mycology of the Netherlands Society for Microbiology. In October 2007, he coorganizes an ESF-EMBO supported congress on Comparative Genomics of Small Eukaryotes in Spain.

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