Staff Profile

Research Interests

My current role within the i-sense EPSRC IRC in Early Warning Sensing Systems for Infectious Diseases involves the use of isothermal amplification platforms for the rapid detection of infectious organisms such as C. difficile and MRSA as well as the development of capture reagents against novel bacterial biomarkers. Earlier Postdoctoral positions involved investigating the translocation of toxins produced by E. coli, through the Gram negative outer membrane with a view to use these molecules as novel antibiotics. A biophysics based approach was used to study the mechanism of toxin translocation through the bacterial membrane, spanning techniques including small angle neutron scattering/X-ray scattering, circular dichroism, surface plasmon resonance and isothermal titration calorimetry. 

Current and Recent Funding 

Researcher Co-investigator:   i-sense2, IRC in Agile Early Warning Sensing Systems for Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance: EPSRC IRC (£3.9M, October 2018 -September 2022).

Postdoctoral Researcher:   Ultra-Sensitive Enhanced NanoSensing of Anti-Microbial Resistance (u-Sense): EPSRC IRC Next Steps Plus award (£1.39M October 2018 - August 2022).

Postdoctoral Researcher: Early-Warning Sensing Systems for Infectious Diseases: EPSRC IRC (£11.1M, Oct 2013 - Sept 2019) 

• Articles

  • Hassanain WA, Spoors J, Johnson CL, Faulds K, Keegan N, Graham D. Rapid ultra-sensitive diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection using a SERS-based lateral flow assay. Analyst 2021, 146(14), 4495-4505.
  • Huang Y, Soliakov A, Le Brun AP, Macdonald C, Johnson CL, Solovyova AS, Waller H, Moore GR, Lakey JH. Helix N-Cap Residues Drive the Acid Unfolding That Is Essential in the Action of the Toxin Colicin A. Biochemistry 2019, 58(48), 4882-4892.
  • Lawry BM, Johnson CL, Flanagan K, Spoors JA, McNeil CJ, Wipat A, Keegan N. Species-specific detection of C. difficile using targeted antibody design. Analytical Chemistry 2018, 90(22), 13475-13482.
  • Johnson CL, Solovyova AS, Hecht O, Macdonald C, Waller H, Grossmann JG, Moore GR, Lakey JH. The Two-State Prehensile Tail of the Antibacterial Toxin Colicin N. Biophysical Journal 2017, 113(8), 1673-1684.
  • Johnson CL, Ridley H, Marchetti R, Silipo A, Griffin DC, Crawford L, Bonev B, Molinaro A, Lakey JH. The antibacterial toxin colicin N binds to the inner core of lipopolysaccharide and close to its translocator protein. Molecular Microbiology 2014, 92(3), 440-452.
  • Johnson CL, Ridley H, Pengelly RJ, Salleh MZ, Lakey JH. The unstructured domain of colicin N kills Escherichia coli. Molecular Microbiology 2013, 89(1), 84-95.
  • Clifton LA, Johnson CL, Solovyova AS, Callow P, Weiss KL, Ridley H, Le Brun AP, Kinane CJ, Webster JRP, Holt SA, Lakey JH. Low Resolution Structure and Dynamics of a Colicin-Receptor Complex Determined by Neutron Scattering. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2012, 287(1), 337-346.
  • Zhao XA, Hume SL, Johnson C, Thompson P, Huang JY, Gray J, Lamb HK, Hawkins AR. The transcription repressor NmrA is subject to proteolysis by three Aspergillus nidulans proteases. Protein Science 2010, 19(7), 1405-1419.
  • Kotaka M, Johnson C, Lamb HK, Hawkins AR, Ren J, Stammers DK. Structural Analysis of the Recognition of the Negative Regulator NmrA and DNA by the Zinc Finger from the GATA-Type Transcription Factor AreA. Journal of Molecular Biology 2008, 381(2), 373-382.
  • Nichols CE, Johnson C, Lockyer M, Charles IG, Lamb HK, Hawkins AR, Stammers DK. Structural characterization of Salmonella typhimurium YeaZ, an M22 O-sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase homolog. Proteins: Structure, Function and Genetics 2006, 64(1), 111-123.
  • Lamb HK, Ren J, Park A, Johnson C, Leslie K, Cocklin S, Thompson P, Mee C, Cooper A, Stammers DK, Hawkins AR. Modulation of the ligand binding properties of the transcription repressor NmrA by GATA-containing DNA and site-directed mutagenesis. Protein Science 2004, 13(12), 3127-3138.
  • Lamb HK, Leslie K, Dodds AL, Nutley M, Cooper A, Johnson C, Thompson P, Stammers DK, Hawkins AR. The negative transcriptional regulator NmrA discriminates between oxidized and reduced dinucleotides. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2003, 278(34), 32107-32114.

• Book Chapter

  • Ridley H, Johnson CL, Lakey JH. Interfacial Interactions of Pore-Forming Colicins. In: Proteins: Membrane Binding and Pore Formation. Berlin: Springer, 2010, pp.81-90.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Arunmanee W, Solovyova A, Johnson CL, Heenan RK, Lakey JH. Understanding Colicin N Import into Gram Negative Bacterial Cells using Small Angle Neutron Scattering. In: 58th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical-Society. 2014, San Francisco, CA: Cell Press.
  • Johnson CL, Pengelly RJ, Ridley H, Lakey JH. Targeted Killing of Escherichia coli by an Unfolded Protein. In: 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society. 2012, San Diego, CA: Cell Press.
  • Johnson CL, Clifton LA, Solovyova A, Callow P, Weiss KL, Ridley H, Le Brun AP, Holt SA, Lakey JH. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Reveals Colicin N Inserts into Clefts on the Outside of the OmpF Trimer. In: 55th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society. 2011, Baltimore, MD: Cell Press.

• Review

  • Hassanain WA, Johnson CL, Faulds K, Graham D, Keegan N. Recent Advances in Antibiotic Resistance Diagnosis Using SERS: Focus on the “Big 5” Challenges. Analyst 2022, 21(147), 4674-4700.