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Professor Charles James Dorman

Fellow Emeritus (Microbiology)

 


Charles J Dorman is a microbial geneticist and held the Established Chair of Microbiology at Trinity College Dublin from 1994 to 2024. Prior to that, he was a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Biochemistry at Dundee University in the United Kingdom. Professor Dorman was an elected Council Member and served three terms as a Trustee of the Microbiology Society. He was a Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator from 2003-2021, is a Founding Fellow of the European Academy of Microbiology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (Ireland's highest academic honour), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and was made a Chartered Biologist by the Institute of Biology in 2009. He is a recipient of the Fleming Prize of the Society for General Microbiology (SGM). Professor Dorman was the Ambassador to Western Europe and Israel of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), has been a member of the ASM Committee on Global Engagement (2014-17) and held a visiting professorship in microbiology and cell biology at the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore (2014-17). Dorman has delivered more than 200 invited lectures at conferences, universities and research institutes around the world over the past forty years. From 2005 to 2010, he was the Editor-in-Chief of 'Microbiology' (published by the SGM) and from 2014 to 2017 chaired the Microbiology Society's Publishing committee with responsibility for its six scientific journals. He has served on the editorial boards of fifteen scientific journals and has been an advisor to national and international research funding agencies worldwide. For many years he was an international (i.e. non-UK) member of the committees of the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and has chaired an influential review of all microbial science in the UK on behalf of the BBSRC. He has also served on the International Scientific Committee of the Institute of Bioengineering (IBEC) in Barcelona, advising IBEC on its scientific strategy. Charles Dorman's research focuses on the global regulation of gene expression in bacteria of medical importance, with an emphasis on the regulatory roles of DNA topology and nucleoid-associated proteins.
  BACTERIA   BACTERIAL   BACTERIAL GENE   BACTERIUM   BINDING-PROTEINS   BINDING-SITE   BINDING-SITES   BIOCHEMICAL   BIOCHEMICAL APPROACH   BIOCHEMISTRY   BIOLOGY   CURVED DNA   DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC-ACID GYRASE   DNA   DNA ARRAY   DNA BENDING   DNA BINDING   DNA GYRASE   DNA INVERSION   DNA MICROARRAYS   DNA RECOGNITION DOMAINS   DNA SUPERCOILING   DNA SUPERHELICITY   DNA TOPOLOGY   DNA-BINDING   DNA-BINDING ACTIVITY   DNA-BINDING DOMAIN   DNA-BINDING DOMAINS   DNA-BINDING PROTEIN   DNA-BINDING PROTEINS   DNA-BINDING SUBUNIT   ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION   ENVIRONMENTAL-REGULATION   ESCHERICHIA-COLI K-12   FIMBRIAE   FIMBRIAL PHASE VARIATION   FIS PROTEIN   GENE REARRANGEMENTS   GENE REGULATION   GENE-EXPRESSION   GENES   GENETIC   GENETIC MANIPULATION   GENETIC STRUCTURE   GENETIC-ANALYSIS   GENETICS   GENOME   GENOME COMPACTION   GENOME EVOLUTION   GENOME EXPRESSION ANALYSIS   GENOMES   GENOMIC ORGANIZATION   GENOMICS   GLOBAL REGULATOR   GROWTH-PHASE CONTROL   GROWTH-PHASE REGULATION   HISTONE-LIKE PROTEINS   HNS   H-NS   INTEGRATION HOST FACTOR   MESSENGER-RNA   MICROARRAY   MICROARRAY DATA   MICROBIAL ACTIVITY   MICROBIOLOGY   MICROORGANISM   MICROORGANISMS   MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY   MOLECULAR-CLONING   MOLECULAR-GENETICS   MOLECULAR-STRUCTURE   SALMONELLA-TYPHIMURIUM   SHIGELLA-FLEXNERI   SITE-SPECIFIC RECOMBINASES   TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION   TYPE-1 FIMBRIAE
 Bacterial gene regulation by DNA supercoiling.
 Bacterial DNA supercoiling and gene regulation.
 DNA supercoiling, gene expression and bacterial pathogenicity.
 Contribution of DNA topology to the control of virulence gene expression in Shigella flexneri.
 Environmental stress, DNA supercoiling and the regulation of virulence in Salmonella typhimurium.

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Details Date
Holder of Established Chair of Microbiology (formerly the Chair of Bacteriology and Preventive Medicine, established 1919), Trinity College Dublin 1994-2024
Head of Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin 1994-2001; 2013-2014; 2020-2021
Head, School of Genetics and Microbiology, TCD 2008-2011; 2014-2017; 2017-2018
Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator 2003-2021
Elected member of Council and Trustee, Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2019-2020
Chair, State of Microbiology in the UK and Ireland Review Panel, Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2018-2020
Council representative on Impact and Influence committee, Microbiology Society, London, UK 2020-2020
Council representative on the Policy committee of the Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2019-2020
Guest editor, Current Opinion in Microbiology, published by Elsevier, Park Avenue, New York, USA 2019-2020
Member, Evaluation Commission of CERCA (Research Centres Institution of Catalonia) Spain 2018
International member, Serra Hunter academic appointments committee, University of Barcelona, Spain. 2024
Ireland representative, Management Committee of European Topology Interdisciplinary COST Action (EUTOPIA) 2018-2022
Trustee and Member of Council (governing body) of the Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2015-2017
Visiting Professor, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India 2014-2017
Chair, Publications Committee, Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2015-2018
Member, European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant genomics panel LS2, Brussels, Belgium. 2015-2016
Member, Committee on Global Engagement, American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, USA 2012-2017
Member, International Scientific Committee, IBEC Foundation (Bio-engineering Institute of Catalonia), Barcelona University, Spain 2014-2020
International supervisor, Masters degree in Life Sciences and Technology, Leiden University, The Netherlands 2016-2017
European Ambassador of the American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, USA 2010-2013
Chair, AERES/HCERES (French Higher Education Authority agency) research assessment visiting group, INSERM UMR 5240, University Claude Bernard, Lyon, France 2014-2015
International Working Group, Microbiology Society, London, UK 2015
Equality and Diversity Ambassador, Microbiology Society, London, UK 2015-2017
Representative of the American Society for Microbiology at the 5th Congress of European Microbiology Societies, Leipzig, Germany 2013
Nomination Committee, American Academy of Microbiology's Moselio Schaechter Distinguished Service Award, Washington DC, USA 2010-2011
Assessment Committee, Heatley-Payne Exchange Program for Early Career Scientists (American Society for Microbiology and the Microbiology Society) 2010-2014
Selection Committee, American Academy of Microbiology, GSK International Member of the Year Award, Washington DC, USA 2011-2015
Award Committee, American Society for Microbiology and Federation of European Microbiology Mäkelä - Cassell Award 2012-2015
Chairman, BBSRC Strategic Review of United Kingdom (UK) Microbial Science 2005-2006
Editor-in-Chief, Microbiology (Published by the Society for General Microbiology) 2005-2010
H1 Connect expert Since 2023
International Advisory Committee, International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) Congress 2011, Sapporo, Japan 2011
Faculty Opinions (Faculty member) 2020-2023
Faculty of 1000 (Faculty Prime member) 2006-2020
Editorial Advisory Board, Molecular Microbiology, published by Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK Since 2005
Editorial Board, Journal of Bacteriology, published by the American Society of Microbiology, Washington DC, USA 2007-2018
Editorial Board, microLife, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Academy of Microbiology since 2020
Editorial Board, Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, published by Karger, Basel, Switzerland 1998-2020
Editorial Board, International Journal of Medical Microbiology, published by Elsevier, Park Avenue, New York, USA 1999-2007
Editorial Advisory Board, Biochemical Journal (Biochemical Society Journal), published by Portland Press, London, UK 1996-2008
Guest Editor, mBio various
Editorial Board, Pathogens and Disease, published by John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA Since 2013
Associate Editor, PLoS Pathogens, published by the Public Library of Science, Cambridge, UK 2013
Editorial Board, Microbial Physiology Since 2020
Editorial board, Biomedicine Hub 2016-2023
Associate Editor, PLoS Genetics, published by the Public Library of Science, Cambridge, UK 2013
Guest Editor, Current Opinion in Microbiology, published by Elsevier, Park Avenue, New York, USA 2008-2009
Associate Editor, Microbiology (Published by the Society for General Microbiology, Reading, UK) 1993-1998
Senior Editor, Microbiology (Published by the Society for General Microbiology, Reading, UK) 1998-2003
Co-organiser, 'Microbes in Medicine', a conference to mark one hundred years of microbiology at Trinity College Dublin. 2019
Organizer, American Society for Microbiology Symposium "Complex Genetic Switches" at the 4th Congress of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, Geneva, Switzerland 2010-2011
Vice-President, Euroconference series on Bacterial Neural Networks, Strasbourg, France 2002
President, Euroconference on Intracellular Signalling and Global Regulation, Killiney, Ireland 2000
Trustee and Council Member, Society for General Microbiology, Marlborough House, Reading, UK 2005-2009
SGM Journals Business Sub-Committee 2011-2012
SGM Policy Working Party 2011-2012
SGM Council Liaison Officer, SGM Irish Branch 2005-2009
Member, SGM Treasurer's Committee 2005-2010; 2011-2012
SGM Strategy Group 2006
Scientific Advisory Board international member, Veterinary Training and Research Initiative, Bristol University (DEFRA, HM Government, UK) 2005-2009
Academy of Finland, Research Council for Bioscience and Environment, Biosciences Panel, Helsinki, Finland 2004-2006
Co-organizer, American Society for Microbiology Colloquium on H-NS, Boston, USA 2008
Health Research Board of Ireland, Microbiology Committee 1995-98, 1998-00
BBSRC (UK) International member, Plant and Microbial Sciences Research Committee 1995-1997
BBSRC (UK) International member, Initiative on Investigating Gene Function - E. coli Bid: member of prefunding steering committee 1999
BBSRC/NERC (UK) International member, Joint Initiative on Gene Flow in Plants and Microorganisms - member of expert panel 2000
BBSRC (UK) Research Institutes Assessment Exercise: visiting group international member (Institute for Food Research [IFR] Norwich; Institute for Animal Health [IAH] Compton, Edinburgh, Pirbright) 2001, 2006
BBSRC funding initiative on Prokaryotic Responses to Environmental Stress - steering committee international member 1997-1998
Organizer, 2nd European Microbiology Congress: Systems Microbiology Symposium: Madrid, Spain 2006
Organizer, SGM Conference "Fifty Years of the Double Helix": Manchester, UK 2003
Organizer, Royal Irish Academy Seminar on Microbial Responses to Stress 1998
Organizer, Royal Irish Academy Seminar on Biotechnology 1999
Ireland representative at Scientia Europeae (French Academy of Science) 1997
Co-organizer (with Harry Smith FRS), Royal Society Discussion Meeting on Bacterial Pathogens In Vivo: Royal Society Hook Committee, Carlton House Terrace, London, UK 1999
Co-organizer (with Harry Smith FRS), Novartis Foundation Conference on Bacterial Pathogens In Vivo, Portland Place, London UK 1999
PhD examiner University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, University of Dublin, University of Dundee, University of East Anglia, University of Edinburgh, University of Leicester, Manipal University India, University of Nottingham, The National University of Ireland, The John Innes Centre, The Institute for Food Research UK, Imperial College London, University College London; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore;Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Since 1988
External advisor appointments and promotions committees at Institute Pasteur, France; University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Dundee, University of Edinburgh, University of Galway, University of Helsinki, Finland; National Centre for Biological Science, Bangalore, India; New York State Department of Health, USA; University of Sheffield; University of East Anglia; Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; University of Houston, Texas, USA; Indian Institute for Science, Bangalore, India; Harvard University, Boston, USA Since 1988
Ad hoc grant reviewer for: Agriculture and Food Research Council (UK), Austrian Science Fund, Biomedical Research Council (Singapore), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK), Crumlin Hospital Children's Research Centre (Ireland), Danish Council for Independent Research, DFF (Denmark), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (Portugal), Health and Medical Research Fund (Hong Kong), Health Research Board (Ireland), Human Frontier Science Program, Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti (Italy), Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Labex Jury, French National Research Agency ANR (France), Leverhulme Trust (UK), Medical Research Council (Canada), Medical Research Council (UK), National Science Foundation (USA), Natural Environment Research Council (UK), Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Since 1988
Ad hoc grant reviewer for (contd): Pasteur Institute Fundamental North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Nuffield Trust (UK), Research Programme (France), Royal Society (UK), Science and Engineering Research Council (UK), Science Foundation Ireland, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Third World Academy of Science (TWAS), United Nations (UNIDO/ICGEB), US-Israel Agricultural Research & Development Fund (USA-Israel), Wellcome Trust (UK), Wellcome DBT (India). Since 1988
Ad hoc journal referee for 107 international journals/publishers: Annual Review and Research in Biology, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Biochemical Society Transactions, Biochim Biophys Acta, Biochimie, BMC Genetics, BMC Genomics, BMC Microbiology, British Microbiology Research Journal, Cell Systems, Cell Reports, Cellular Microbiology, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, Computational Biology and Chemistry, Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, Current Biology, Current Genetics, DNA Repair, Electrophoresis, EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports, Endeavour, Environmental Microbiology, Essays in Biochemistry, FEBS Lett, FEMS Lett, Food Research International, Functional & Integrative Genomics, G3: Genes Genomes Genetics, Gene Regulation and Systems Biology, Genes and Development, Genes and Function, Genetics, Genetic Research, Heredity, Infection Genetics and Evolution, Infection and Immunity, International Journal of Evolutionary Biology, iScience Since 1988
Ad hoc journal referee for (continued): Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Basic Microbiology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Journal of Biosciences, Journal of Biotechnology, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Journal of General Microbiology, Journal of Medical Microbiology, Journal of Molecular Biology, Journal of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Journal of Molecular Evolution, Journal of Structural Biology, JoVE, mBio, Microbes and Infection, Microbial Drug Resistance, Microbial Pathogenesis, Molecular and General Genetics, Molecular Biosystems, Molecular Microbiology, Microbiology, Microbiology Today, mSphere, mSystems, Nature, Nature Methods, Nature Microbiology, Nature Reviews Microbiology, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Nucleic Acids Research, Open Life Sciences, Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci., Physica Scripta, Physical Biology, Plasmid, PLoS Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoS One, PLoS Pathogens. Since 1988
Ad hoc journal referee for (continued): Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Protein Science, Science, ScienceAdvances, Scientific Reports, Soft Matter, Toxins, Transcription, Trends in Genetics, Trends in Microbiology, Vaccine, Veterinary Microbiology, Virulence, Wiley-Blackwell book proposals. Since 1988
Details Date From Date To
European Academy of Microbiology (Founding Fellow) Since 2009
American Academy of Microbiology (Fellow) Since 2010
Royal Irish Academy (Member) Since 2005
Royal Society of Biology (Fellow) Since 2009
Institute of Biology (Chartered Biologist) 2009 2018
Dublin Academy of Pathogenomics and Infection, DAPI (Founding President) Since 2009 2020
H1 Connect (Expert) since 2023
Faculty Opinions (Faculty Member - Microbiology) 2020 2023
Faculty of 1000 (Faculty Member - Microbiology) 2020 2006
Member of the National Commission for Microbiology, Royal Irish Academy 1995 1999
Microbiology Society (formerly the Society for General Microbiology, SGM) 1982 2020
American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Since 1985
Royal Society Alumnus Group Since 2000
Stochastic modelling of gene regulation in prokaryotes (StoMP Group) Since 2007
Biochemical Society 1988 2008
Society for Experimental Biology 2013 2014
Gene regulatory networks and hierarchies in bacterial pathogens in, editor(s)Y-W Tang, M Hindiyeh, D Liu, A Sails, P Spearman, J Zhang , Molecular Medical Microbiology 3rd Edition, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2024, pp337 - 355, [Dorman CJ], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL  URL
Faulkner Rainford P, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Mogre A, Dorman CJ, Harris S, Kröger C, Stepney S., Parameterising a computational model of supercoiling in plasmid DNA, Alife-2024 (MIT Press), 64, 2024, p1 - 9, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL  URL
Faulkner Rainford P, Mogre A, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Dorman CJ, Harris S, Kroger C, Stepney S, A Pi-calculus model of supercoiling DNA circuits, ALIFE: Ghost in the Machine, Alife 2023, Sapporo, Japan, July 24-28, MIT Press, 2023, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Faulkner Rainford P, Mogre A, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Dorman CJ, Harris S, Kröger C, Stepney S, A Pi-calculus Model of Supercoiling DNA Circuits, ALIFE 2023: Ghost in the Machine: Proceedings of the 2023 Artificial Life Conference, MIT Press, 2023, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
H1Connect, New York, USA, H1 Inc, [Expert], 2023, Editorial Board, PUBLISHED  URL
Dorman CJ, Variable DNA topology is an epigenetic driver of diversity in bacteria and higher organisms, BTMO2023, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore India, 18-20 January, 2023, Invited Talk, PRESENTED  URL  URL  URL
Velasco-Berrelleza V, Mogre A, Faulkner Rainford P, Dorman CJ, Kröger C, Stepney S, Harris S, TORCphysics: A physical model of supercoiling mediated regulation in synthetic gene circuits, Society of Latinoamerican Biophysicists (SoBLA), Online, 11 October, 2023, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Velasco-Berrelleza V, Mogre A, Faulkner Rainford P, Dorman CJ, Kröger C, Stepney S, Harris S, TORCPhysics: a physical model of supercoiling mediated regulation in synthetic circuits., 9th Annual CCPBioSim Conference: Biomolecular Simulations for a Better World, Leeds University, 10-13 July, 2023, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Velasco-Berrelleza V, Mogre A, Faulkner Rainford P, Dorman CJ, Kröger C, Stepney S, Harris S, Physical model of supercoiling mediated regulation in synthetic circuits, 11th Visegrad symposium on biomolecular interactions, Sopron, Hungary, 20-23 June, 2023, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Dorman CJ, Mechanistic insights from molecular microbiology into the production of immunological and neuronal diversity, Molecular Microbiology, 120, (1), 2023, p1 - 7, Notes: [Published online 4 November 2022], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Mogre A, Dorman CJ, Kröger C, A first look at DNA supercoiling in Acinetobacter, DAPI 2024, Trinity College Dublin, 7 July, 2024, Poster, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, Faculty Opinions, post publication peer review of the biomedical literature: Localized modulation of DNA supercoiling, triggered by the Shigella anti-silencer VirB, is sufficient to relieve H-NS-mediated silencing., Faculty Opinions, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, H1Connect Recommendation of Rashid MA et al., Nature Communications. 2023 Nov 17; 14(1):7478, H, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Mogre A, Faulkner Rainford P, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Stepney S, Harris S, Dorman CJ, Kröger C., Construction of plasmid-borne DNA supercoiling modulated synthetic gene circuits., Microbiology Society Annual Meeting in Ireland., Athlone, Ireland., 24 October, 2023, Poster, PUBLISHED
Velasco-Berrelleza V, Mogre A, Faulkner Rainford P, Dorman CJ, Kröger C, Stepney S, Harris S, Physical model of supercoiling mediated regulation in synthetic gene circuits, Physics of Life 2023, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK, 27-30 March, 2023, Poster, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, H1Connect Recommendation of Li S et al., Nature Communications. 2023 Nov 18; 14(1):7502, Review of c-di-GMP inhibits the DNA binding activity of H-NS in Salmonella, by S Li, Q Liu, C Duan, J Li, H Sun, L Xu, Q Yang, Y Wang, X Shen and L Zhang , H1Connect, 2023, Review, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, CRISPR-Cas, bacterial acquired immunity, and horizontal gene transfer, Graduate programme invited lecture series, Institute of Molecular Biology and Medicine, University of Guadalajara, Mexico, December 1, 2022, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Conway C, Beckett MC, Dorman CJ, The DNA-relaxation-dependent Off-to-On biasing of the type 1 fimbrial genetic switch requires the Fis nucleoid-associated protein, BioRxiv, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, Faculty Opinions, post publication peer review of the biomedical literature: Psoralen mapping reveals a bacterial genome supercoiling landscape dominated by transcription. , Faculty Opinions, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Dorman CJ, Faculty Opinions, post publication peer review of the biomedical literature: Relationship between the Chromosome Structural Dynamics and Gene Expression-A Chicken and Egg Dilemma? , Faculty Opinions, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED

  

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Award Date
Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator 2003-2021
Trustee and member of the Governing Council of the Microbiology Society, Charles Darwin House, London, UK 2015-2020
Representative of the American Society for Microbiology at the European Congress of Microbiology, Leipzig, Germany 2013
Top performing editorial board member, Journal of Bacteriology American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, USA 2013
Outstanding Service Award, American Society for Microbiology International Ambassador Programme 2012
Outstanding Service Award, American Society for Microbiology International Board 2011
Appointed Ambassador to Europe of the American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC, USA 2010-2013
Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology 2010
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) 2009
Elected Member of the European Academy of Microbiology 2009
Chartered Biologist (C.Biol.) status conferred by the Institute of Biology (UK) 2009
Elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA) 2005
E.S. and R. Duthie Lecturer, TCD 2003
Lecture to Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (hosted by the Nobel Prize Committee for Chemistry) 2002
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD) 1997
Royal Irish Academy representative at Scientia Europaea, French Academy of Science 1997
MA (juri officii) Trinity College, Dublin 1995
Fleming Lecture, 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Society for General Microbiology, University of Bath, UK 1995
Fleming Prize of the Society for General Microbiology. 1994
Royal Society Fellowship Renewal 1992
Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Biochemistry Department, Medical Sciences Institute, Dundee University, UK 1988-1994
Elected to a Personal Research Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1988 (declined)
Searle/Monsanto Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, Medical Sciences Institute, University of Dundee 1984-1988
EMBO Fellowship (Biochemistry Department, Leicester University, UK) 1983-1984
Trinity Trust Postgraduate Award 1981-1984
College Prize (First place, degree exams; National University of Ireland) 1981
University Scholarship (First place, annual exams; UCD) 1980
University Scholarship (First place, annual exams; UCD) 1979
1. Gene regulatory mechanisms in Gram-negative bacteria of medical importance, with an emphasis on the roles of nucleoid-associated proteins and DNA topology in controlling transcription and site-specific recombination. 2. Horizontal transfer of gene regulatory elements and the evolution of gene control networks. 3. The dissection and interpretation of complex gene regulatory circuits using genomics methods. 4. Modulation of gene expression patterns in pathogenic bacteria during infection and intracellular growth.