Background

I am a Research Associate in Henrik Strahl's lab and my work focuses on microbiology, microscopy and antibiotic mode of action. Currently, I am part of a BBSRC sLoLa consortium investigating the role of the widely conserved IM30 proteins in bacterial membrane repair.

Education

• PhD in Microbiology, "Membrane-targeting antimicrobials as promising resistance-breaking antibiotic candidates", Newcastle University (2018-2022)
• BSc in Pharmacology with Industry, University of Leeds (2014-2018)

Publications

• Articles

  • Mets T, Kurata T, Ernits K, Johansson MJO, Craig SZ, Medina Evora S, Buttress JA, Odai R, Coppieters 't Wallant K, Nakamoto JA, Shyrokova L, Egorov AA, Doering CR, Brodiazhenko T, Laub MT, Tenson T, Strahl H, Martens C, Harms A, Garcia-Pino A, Atkinson GC, Hauryliuk V. Mechanism of phage sensing and restriction by toxin-antitoxin-chaperone systems. Cell Host & Microbe 2024. In Press.
  • Ernits,K,Saha,CK,Brodiazhenko,T,Chouhan,B,Shenoy,A,Buttress,JA,Duque-Pedraza,JJ,Bojar,V,Nakamoto,JA,Kurata,T,Egorov,AA,Shyrokova,L,Johansson,MJO,Mets,T,Rustamova,A, Dzigurski,J,Tenson,T,Garcia-Pino,A,Strahl,H,Elofsson,A,Hauryliuk,V,Atkinson,GC. The structural basis of hyperpromiscuity in a core combinatorial network of type II toxin–antitoxin and related phage defense systems. PNAS 2023, 120(33), 2305393120.
  • Gohrbandt M, Lipski A, Grimshaw JW, Buttress JA, Baig Z, Herkenhoff B, Walter S, Kurre R, Deckers-Hebestreit G, Strahl H. Low membrane fluidity triggers lipid phase separation and protein segregation in living bacteria. EMBO Journal 2022, 41, e109800.
  • Malanovic N, Buttress JA, Vejzovic D, Ön A, Piller P, Kolb D, Lohner K, Strahl H. Disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane structure and barrier function underlies the potent antiseptic activity of octenidine in Gram-positive bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2022, 88(10), e00180-22.
  • Kurata T, Saha CK, Buttress JA, Mets T, Brodiazhenko T, Turnbull KJ, Awoyomi OF, Alves Oliveira SR, Jimmy S, Ernits K, Delannoy M, Persson K, Tenson T, Strahl H, Hauryliuk V, Atkinson GC. A hyperpromiscuous antitoxin protein domain for the neutralization of diverse toxin domains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2022, 119(6), e2102212119.
  • Buttress JA, Halte M, te Winkel JD, Erhardt M, Popp PF, Strahl H. A guide for membrane potential measurements in Gram-negative bacteria using voltage-sensitive dyes. Microbiology 2022, 168(9), 001227.

• Book Chapter

  • Humphrey M, Abdelmesseh Nekhala I, Scheinpflug K, Krylova O, Schäfer A-B, Buttress JA, Wenzel M, Strahl H. Tracking Global and Local Changes in Membrane Fluidity Through Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Microscopy. In: Peter Sass, ed. Antibiotics. New York: Humana, New York, NY, 2022, pp.203-229.