School of Life Sciences
 

Simon Avery

Professor of Eukaryotic Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

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Biography

BSc University of Dundee1988; PhD University of Dundee 1992; Research Associate, Dublin 1991-1992; Research Associate, Cardiff 1992-1994; Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University, 1994; Assistant Professor (1996), Georgia State University; Lecturer (2000), Senior Lecturer (2004), Associate Professor and Reader (2006), Professor (2015) University of Nottingham. President, British Mycological Society, 2019-2020.

Research Summary

The interests of the Avery group lie in the effects of stress on organisms, with one focus being on fungal control. We use yeasts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enable characterization of… read more

Selected Publications

Current Research

The interests of the Avery group lie in the effects of stress on organisms, with one focus being on fungal control. We use yeasts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enable characterization of stress-effects at the single cell and molecular levels. To apply the findings, we extend studies to fungal pathogens of plants and humans and spoilage fungi. Our research is supported by UKRI (e.g. BBSRC), industry partnerships, and academic collaborators in the UK and overseas. Current research projects in the Avery lab are focused on:

  • Food security and pathogen control - development of novel approaches to inhibit colonization or growth of undesirable fungi.
  • Phenotypic heterogeneity - population heterogeneity of phenotypes like stress resistance, between genetically-uniform cells or spores. Relevance to yeast/fungal populations in the natural environment, food spoilage and pathogenesis.
  • Mode of action - the mechanistic basis for the actions of drugs and environmental toxicants on cells.

Left. Variable expression of a GFP tagged EPA1 adhesin gene, between individual cells of the pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata.

Right. Synergistic inhibition of the plant pathogen Rhizoctonia solani with combination of agents (bottom right) or single agents.

Below. Stop codon (ade1-14) read-through during chromate stress in S.cerevisiae. Cr-induced mRNA mistranslation is a major mechanism of oxidative Cr toxicity.

School of Life Sciences

University of Nottingham
Medical School
Queen's Medical Centre
Nottingham NG7 2UH

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