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Dr Thamarai Schneiders seminar

Seminar
26 February 2013, 11am
at the James Hutton Institute, Dundee
for scientists, researchers and other interested parties
2013 Seminar Programme logo

Dr Thamarai Schneiders, Centre for Infection and Immunity, Queen’s University Belfast, will give a seminar entitled "RamA Dependent regulation of Biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae 342" at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee.

Abstract

The focus of this presentation will be addressing the role of RamA in conferring pleiotropic phenotypes in the plant endophyte Kp342. Comparisons of RamA-mediated regulatory cascade in both the clinical and plant-associated Klebsiella will be addressed to suggest that niche-dependent pressures can remodel transcriptional pathways and the resultant phenotypes.

Biography

Tammara’s research largely focusses on establishing the role of intrinsic mechanisms that contribute to the evolution of antibiotic resistance, fitness and survival in gram-negative bacteria. Following her PhD studies at the University of Edinburgh, she moved to Boston, USA to work with Professor Stuart Levy at Tufts University. In Professor Levy’s laboratory her research focussed on the characterising the role of the MarA protein as a transcriptional repressor at different E. coli promoters.

Upon her’s return to the UK, she was awarded a New Investigator Research Award (NIRG) from the Medical Research Council to support research into the intrinsic drug resistance regulator, RamA in K. pneumoniae. She was subsequently appointed to a lectureship in molecular bacteriology in Queen’s University Belfast. Their research into the role of RamA indicates that its’ role is not limited to conferring a pan drug antimicrobial resistance phenotype but also contributes to biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae. Importantly, their recent work demonstrates that ramA overexpression is key to the multidrug resistance phenotype exhibited by the plant endophyte Kp342 which broadens the relevance of key intrinsic regulators such as RamA beyond the clinical context.


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The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.