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Biography
Dr Laura Hobley is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology within the Food Sciences Division in the School of Biosciences. She graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Nottingham in 2003, and then completed a PhD joint between the University of Nottingham's School of Mathematical Sciences and the Institute of Genetics under the supervision of Profs John King and Liz Sockett, working on the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio. She continued working in the lab of Prof Sockett as a postdoc, working on various aspects of Bdellovibrio biology, including the first in vivo animal trials of Bdellovibrio therapy, and was involved in several studies looking at the molecular basis of predation. In 2012 she moved to work as a postdoc in the group of Prof Nicola Stanley-Wall at the University of Dundee, working on biofilm formation by Gram-positive bacteria, primarily studying the function of the biofilm matrix protein BslA during biofilm formation by Bacillus subtilis. In addition she studied the roles of polyamines in regulating biofilm formation in Bacillus. In 2015 she took up a Queens University Research Fellowship to set up her own research group at Queens University Belfast, working on biofilm formation by Klebsiella pneumoniae. In 2018, she moved her research to the University of Nottingham, where her research includes biofilm formation by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens, particularly Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, and the role of biofilm formation in antibiotic resistance and virulence. A growing area of interest of her research group is on bacterial predation by Bdellovibrio, including investigating the molecular processes involved in predation, therapeutic applications and environmental bioremediation.
Research Summary
Research in the Hobley lab focuses on cell:cell interactions between bacteria, between bacteria and viruses, and between bacteria and host cells. A primary area that we are investigating is the… read more
Recent Publications
ARNAOUTELI, S., BAMFORD, N. C., BRANDANI, G. B., MORRIS, R. J., SCHOR, M., CARRINGTON, J. T., HOBLEY, L., VAN AALTEN, D. M. F., STANLEY-WALL, N. R. and MACPHEE, C. E., 2023. Lateral interactions govern self-assembly of the bacterial biofilm matrix protein BslA Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 120(45), e2312022120 HOBLEY, LAURA, SUMMERS, J KIMBERLEY, TILL, ROB, MILNER, DAVID S, ATTERBURY, ROBERT J, STROUD, AMY, CAPENESS, MICHAEL J, GRAY, STEPHANIE, LEIDENROTH, ANDREAS, LAMBERT, CAREY, CONNERTON, IAN, TWYCROSS, JAMIE, BAKER, MICHELLE, TYSON, JESS, KREFT, JAN-ULRICH and SOCKETT, R ELIZABETH, 2020. Dual Predation by Bacteriophage and Bdellovibrio Can Eradicate E. coli Prey in Situations Where Single Predation Cannot. Journal of Bacteriology. 202(6), e00629-19 STOREY, D., MCNALLY, A., ASTRAND, M., SA-PESSOA GRACA SANTOS, J., RODRIGUEZ-ESCUDERO, I., ELMORE, B., PALACIOS, L., MARSHALL, H., HOBLEY, L., MOLINA, M., CID, V. J., SALMINEN, T. A. and BENGOECHEA, J. A., 2020. Klebsiella pneumoniae type VI secretion system-mediated microbial competition is PhoPQ controlled and reactive oxygen species dependent PLoS Pathog. 16(3), e1007969 SA-PESSOA, J., PRZYBYSZEWSKA, K., VASCONCELOS, F. N., DUMIGAN, A., FRANK, C. G., HOBLEY, L. and BENGOECHEA, J. A., 2020. Klebsiella pneumoniae Reduces SUMOylation To Limit Host Defense Responses MBio. 11(5),
Current Research
Research in the Hobley lab focuses on cell:cell interactions between bacteria, between bacteria and viruses, and between bacteria and host cells. A primary area that we are investigating is the bacteria predator Bdellovibrio, which eats other bacteria from the inside. We are interested in the molecular processes that allow predation, to understand how Bdellovibrio has evolved to live a predatory lifecycle. Our research also includes therapeutic applications of Bdellovibrio to control bacterial pathogens, and potential environmental bioremediation uses of Bdellovibrio. We are also working to understand the molecular basis underlying biofilm formation by Gram-negative, multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. The labs primary focus is on the pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii. An interdisciplinary approach is used to study biofilm formation, involving bacterial genetics, biochemistry, mathematical modelling and biophysics as appropriate. We also have interests in the uses of bacteriophage, both as independent biological control agents, and also from the perspective of combinatorial uses alongside predatory bacteria.