Dr Roger Draheim
Biography
Roger completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maine (USA) and subsequently joined the research group of Michael D. Manson within the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University (USA). He completed his PhD in Microbiology in 2007 after studying the role of membrane-protein interaction in modulation of signalling by bacterial chemoreceptors. This served as the first example of tuning the baseline signal output of a membrane-spanning receptor in a predictable and incremental manner and became known as "aromatic tuning" within the field of bacterial chemotaxis.
In July 2007, Roger joined the group of Prof Gunnar von Heijne, Director of the Center for Biomembrane Research at Stockholm University (Sweden). Here, with postdoctoral funding from the National Institutes of Health (USA) he demonstrated that aromatic tuning could be employed to "trigger" bacterial signalling pathways in the absence of stimulus perception.
Roger was invited to join the Institute of Biochemistry (Biozentrum) at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Germany) in April 2010. During this time, he established several key principles for engineering synthetic bacterial signalling pathways. In 2013, Roger extended these studies as a Lecturer within Division of Pharmacy at Durham University.
In 2015, Roger joined the University of Portsmouth with the explicit aim of applying his knowledge of synthetic bacterial signalling pathways in order to develop a next-generation biological platform for high-throughput detection of compounds with novel antimicrobial activity.
In his spare time, Roger enjoys cycling, backpacking and mushroom hunting.
Research interests
Employing synthetic microbiology, biochemistry and biophysics our research group pursues two narrative lines:
- Employing aromatic tuning to modulate signal output from two-component signalling circuits in a stimulus-independent manner.
- Molecular characterisation of the EnvZ-MzrA porin-regulatory complexes (PRCs)
Research outputs
2024
Schisandrin B suppresses colon cancer growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis: molecular mechanism and therapeutic potential
Co, V. A., El-Nezami, H., Liu, Y., Twum, B., Dey, P., Cox, P. A., Joseph, S., Agbodjan-Dossou, R., Sabzichi, M., Draheim, R., Wan, M. L. Y.
8 Mar 2024, In: ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science. 7, 3, p. 863-877
Research output: Article
2022
Enhancing the antibacterial effect of Chitosan to combat orthopaedic implant-associated infections
Rahayu, D. P., De Mori, A., Yusuf, R., Draheim, R., Lalatsa, A., Roldo, M.
1 Aug 2022, In: Carbohydrate Polymers. 289, 119385
Research output: Article
Antimicrobial compounds from an FDA‐approved drug library with activity against Streptococcus suis
Li, H., Li, T., Zhang, L., Hu, Q., Liao, X., Jiang, Q., Qiu, X., Li, L., Draheim, R. R., Huang, Q., Zhou, R.
1 Mar 2022, In: Journal of Applied Microbiology. 132, 3, p. 1877-1886, 10p.
Research output: Article
Harnessing the properties of fluoridated chitosan polymers against the formation of oral biofilms
Rahayu, D. P., De Mori, A., Draheim, R., Lalatsa, K., Roldo, M.
23 Feb 2022, In: Pharmaceutics. 14, 3, 15p., 488
Research output: Article
2021
Comparative phenotypic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic analysis reveals different roles of serine/threonine phosphatase and kinase in the growth, cell division, and pathogenicity of Streptococcus suis
Hu, Q., Yao, L., Liao, X., Zhang, L., Li, H., Li, T., Jiang, Q., Tan, M., Li, L., Draheim, R., Huang, Q., Zhou, R.
26 Nov 2021, In: Microorganisms. 9, 12, 21p., 2442
Research output: Article
2020
Evaluation of antibacterial and cytotoxicity properties of silver nanowires and their composites with carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications
De Mori, A., Jones, R. S., Cretella, M., Cerri, G., Draheim, R., Barbu, E., Tozzi, G., Roldo, M.
26 Mar 2020, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 21, 7, 22p., 2303
Research output: Article