School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences

Professor Nicholas West

BSc, Honours 1 (Wollongong), 1994. PhD (Wollongong) Molecular Microbiology, 2000
Associate Professor & Director, Teaching and Learning
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
+61 7 336 54093
Molecular Biosciences Building (76), Room 126B
View researcher profile

Primary research interest

Tuberculosis microbiology

About me

After completing my PhD, I began postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, UK, working as a part of a European collaboration towards the development of a vaccine for the causative pathogen of serious bacterial dysentery. This work was later continued and completed at the Imperial College London. During this time, I spent significant time collaborating and working at the Institute Pasteur in Paris. In 2004 I returned to Australia as a postdoctoral scientist at the Centenary Institute in Sydney where I began researching TB. I moved to The University of Queensland as an NHMRC Research Fellow in mid-2012. I now hold a continuing academic position as Assoc. Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.

Research focus and collaborations 

Lab: Tuberculosis Research

My laboratory is committed to understanding the mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes Tuberculosis (TB). One in four people in the world are infected with this bacterium, resulting in approximately 4,000 deaths every day. My lab utilises modern molecular genomic technologies to identify the genetic requirements for M. tuberculosis to cause TB. This information is being translated into the development of new therapies and control measures for TB. Research within the group will fall largely into one of the following four themes: Essential Gene Identification in M. tuberculosis, Understanding TB Latency, Targeted TB Drug Development and Improving TB Vaccination.

National research collaborations

  • University of Sydney, School of Chemistry and Sydney Medical School
  • Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
  • Centenary Institute, Mycobacterial Research Laboratory
  • Australian National University

International collaborations

  • Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
  • Southwest University, China
  • Stellenbosch Universtiy, South Africa
  • Colarado State University, USA

Funded projects (recent and current only)

  • 2021-2024: ARC Discovery Project - Mycobacterial Cholesterol Degradation: A Unique Metabolic Weakness? ($498,000)
  • 2019–2022 NHMRC Project Grant - Blocking TB Latency: The Key to Reducing Therapy Duration ($606,732)
  • 2018–2021 NHMRC Project Grant - Ketol-acid reductoisomerase: An important antituberculosis drug target ($680,585)
  • 2018–2021 NHMRC Project Grant - Killing infected cells as a mechanism to eradicate tuberculosis (led by Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) ($1,070,780)
  • 2018–2020 NHMRC Project Grant  - Novel TB Drug Candidates via the Inhibition of Lipid I Biosynthesis (led by University of Sydney) ($780,743)
  • 2018–2020 NHMRC Project Grant - Preventing the evolution of transmissible nitroimidazole resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (led by ANU) ($664,463)

Teaching interests

Undergraduate

  • MICR3003, Molecular Microbiology (Course Co-ordinator)
  • MICR3001, Microbes and Human Health
  • BIOL2202/BIOL2902, Genetics/Advanced Genetics

Postgraduate coursework

  • MICR7002, Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Student supervision

For many years now there has been a constant presence of undergraduate and postgraduate research students in the group. Currently, I supervise students at all levels, ie. undergraduate research, Hons, MSc. and PhD.

Enquiries from students regarding available positions are always welcome.  

Achievements and awards 

  • Dean’s Commendation for Excellent Teaching, Executive Dean, FoS (2021)
  • COVID19 – Above and Beyond Honour Roll, Office of the VC(A), UQ (2020)
  • Faculty of Science, Teaching Excellence Award. Finalist. FoS, UQ (2020)
  • Chair, Scientific Program; Australian Society of Microbiology National Conference, Brisbane (2018)
  • Research Excellence Award, Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre (2015)
  • NHMRC CDA2 Research Fellow (2011)
  • Australian Society of Microbiology NSW/ACT branch Executive (2010-2012)
  • Centenary Institute “Innovation Award” (2010)

Featured publications

Researcher biography

Associate Professor West is a molecular microbiologist, expert in bacterial pathogenesis. He is Head of "Tuberculosis Research" in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland. Nick has a particular interest in drug development for TB. His research utilises modern molecular technologies to identify the genetic requirements for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to cause Tuberculosis (TB) with these genetic discoveries translated into novel antibiotic therapies. Research within his group falls largely into one of the following four themes: Essential Gene Identification in M. tuberculosis, Understanding TB Latency, Targeted TB Drug Development and Improving TB Vaccination.

Nick conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London. Returning to Australia in 2004, he spent several years at Sydney's Centenary Institute as an Associate Faculty member before relocating to University of Queensland in 2012. In addition to drug development, Nick's research portfolio includes programmes of vaccine and diagnostic development and testing.

Publications

Book Chapter (1)
Journal Articles (75)
Conference Paper (1)

Book Chapter

Ng, Benjamin Y.C., Wee, Eugene J.H., West, Nicholas P. and Trau, Matt (2019). Nucleic Acid Detection of Tuberculosis Via Innovative Point-of-Care Nanotechnologies Targeted for Low Resource Settings. Revolutionizing Tropical Medicine. (pp. 584-599) Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781119282686.ch33

Journal Articles

Tran, Eric, Cheung, Chen‐Yi, Li, Lucy, Carter, Glen P., Gable, Robert W., West, Nicholas P., Kaur, Amandeep, Gee, Yi Sing, Cook, Gregory M., Baell, Jonathan B. and Jörg, Manuela (2024). Phenotypic‐Based Discovery and Exploration of a Resorufin Scaffold with Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ChemMedChem. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.202400482
Phillips-Rose, Louis S., Yu, Chendi K., West, Nicholas P. and Fraser, James A. (2024). A Chimeric ORF Fusion Phenotypic Reporter for Cryptococcus neoformans. Journal of Fungi, 10 (8) 567, 567. doi: 10.3390/jof10080567
Pidot, Sacha J., Klatt, Stephan, Ates, Louis S., Frigui, Wafa, Sayes, Fadel, Majlessi, Laleh, Izumi, Hiroshi, Monk, Ian R., Porter, Jessica L., Bennett-Wood, Vicki, Seemann, Torsten, Otter, Ashley, Taiaroa, George, Cook, Gregory M., West, Nicholas, Tobias, Nicholas J., Fuerst, John A., Stutz, Michael D., Pellegrini, Marc, McConville, Malcolm, Brosch, Roland and Stinear, Timothy P. (2024). Marine sponge microbe provides insights into evolution and virulence of the tubercle bacillus. PLoS Pathogens, 20 (8) e1012440, e1012440. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012440
Strong, Emily J., Tan, Lendl, Hayes, Sasha, Whyte, Hayden, Davis, Rohan A. and West, Nicholas P. (2024). Identification of Axinellamines A and B as Anti-Tubercular Agents. Marine Drugs, 22 (7) 298, 298. doi: 10.3390/md22070298
Churchman, Luke R., Beckett, James R., Tan, Lendl, Woods, Kyra, Doherty, Daniel Z., Ghith, Amna, Bernhardt, Paul V., Bell, Stephen G., West, Nicholas P. and De Voss, James J. (2024). Synthesis of steroidal inhibitors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 239 106479, 1-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106479
Stupar, Miljan, Tan, Lendl, Kerr, Edward D., De Voss, Christopher J., Forde, Brian M., Schulz, Benjamin L. and West, Nicholas P. (2024). TcrXY is an acid-sensing two-component transcriptional regulator of Mycobacterium tuberculosis required for persistent infection. Nature Communications, 15 (1) 1615, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45343-7
Farr, Dylan C., Haselhorst, Thomas, Tan, Lendl, Furness, Juanelle, Strong, Emily, Grice, I. Darren, West, Nicholas P. and Houston, Todd A. (2024). Reassessing the putative molecular Target(s) of potent antitubercular 2-(Alkylsulfonyl)acetamides. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 264 115983, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115983
Prendergast, Kelly A., Nagalingam, Gayathri, West, Nicholas P. and Triccas, James A. (2024). Mycobacterium tuberculosis Deficient in PdtaS Cytosolic Histidine Kinase Displays Attenuated Growth and Affords Protective Efficacy against Aerosol M. tuberculosis Infection in Mice. Vaccines, 12 (1) 50, 50. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12010050
Kong, Dehui, Fahrenhorst-Jones, Tyler, Kuo, Andy, Simmons, Jacinta L., Tan, Lendl, Burns, Jed M., Pierens, Gregory K., Li, Rui, West, Nicholas P., Boyle, Glen M., Smith, Maree T., Savage, G. Paul and Williams, Craig M. (2023). seco-1-Azacubane-2-carboxylic acid: derivative scope and comparative biological evaluation. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 89 (1), 798-803. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c02333
Farr, Dylan C., Tan, Lendl, Furness, Juanelle, Grice, I. Darren, West, Nicholas P. and Houston, Todd A. (2023). Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 6″-decanesulfonylacetamide-functionalised amphiphilic derivatives of amikacin and kanamycin. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 76 (11), 812-820. doi: 10.1071/ch23154
Mu, Andre, Klare, William P., Baines, Sarah L., Ignatius Pang, C. N., Guérillot, Romain, Harbison-Price, Nichaela, Keller, Nadia, Wilksch, Jonathan, Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Phan, Minh-Duy, Keller, Bernhard, Nijagal, Brunda, Tull, Dedreia, Dayalan, Saravanan, Chua, Hwa Huat Charlie, Skoneczny, Dominik, Koval, Jason, Hachani, Abderrahman, Shah, Anup D., Neha, Nitika, Jadhav, Snehal, Partridge, Sally R., Cork, Amanda J., Peters, Kate, Bertolla, Olivia, Brouwer, Stephan, Hancock, Steven J., Álvarez-Fraga, Laura, De Oliveira, David M. P. ... Walker, Mark J. (2023). Integrative omics identifies conserved and pathogen-specific responses of sepsis-causing bacteria. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 1530, 1-21. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37200-w
Barbaro, Lisa, Nagalingam, Gayathri, Triccas, James A., Tan, Lendl, West, Nicholas P., Priebbenow, Daniel and Baell, Jonathan B. (2023). Discovery of anti‐tubercular analogues of bedaquiline with modified A‐, B‐ and C‐ring subunits. ChemMedChem, 18 (1) e202200533, e202200533. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.202200533
Ang, Chee Wei, Lee, Brendon M., Jackson, Colin J., Wang, Yuehong, Franzblau, Scott G., Francisco, Amanda F., Kelly, John M., Bernhardt, Paul V., Tan, Lendl, West, Nicholas P., Sykes, Melissa L., Hinton, Alexandra O., Bolisetti, Raghu, Avery, Vicky M., Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A.T. (2022). Nitroimidazopyrazinones with oral activity against tuberculosis and Chagas disease in mouse models of infection. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65 (19), 13125-13142. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00972
Stupar, Miljan, Furness, Juanelle, De Voss, Christopher J., Tan, Lendl and West, Nicholas P. (2022). Two‐component sensor histidine kinases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: beacons for niche navigation. Molecular Microbiology, 117 (5), 973-985. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14899
Ang, Chee Wei, Tan, Lendl, Qu, Zhi, West, Nicholas P., Cooper, Matthew A., Popat, Amirali and Blaskovich, Mark A.T. (2021). Mesoporous silica nanoparticles improve oral delivery of antitubercular bicyclic nitroimidazoles. ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 8 (10) acsbiomaterials.1c00807, 4196-4206. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00807
Stutz, Michael Dominic, Allison, Cody Charles, Ojaimi, Samar, Preston, Simon Peter, Doerflinger, Marcel, Arandjelovic, Philip, Whitehead, Lachlan, Bader, Stefanie M., Batey, Daniel, Asselin-Labat, Marie-Liesse, Herold, Marco J., Strasser, Andreas, West, Nicholas P. and Pellegrini, Marc (2021). Macrophage and neutrophil death programs differentially confer resistance to tuberculosis. Immunity, 54 (8), 1758-1771.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.06.009
Lin, Xin, Kurz, Julia, Patel, Khushboo, Wun, Shun Jie, Hussein, Waleed, Lonhienne, Thierry, West, Nicholas P., McGeary, Ross P., Schenk, Gerhard and Guddat, Luke William (2021). Discovery of a pyrimidine-dione derivative with potent inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis ketol-acid reductoisomerase. Chemistry: A European Journal, 27 (9) chem.202004665, 3130-3141. doi: 10.1002/chem.202004665
Kandale, Ajit, Patel, Khushboo, Hussein, Waleed M., Wun, Shun Jie, Zheng, Shan, Tan, Lendl, West, Nicholas P., Schenk, Gerhard, Guddat, Luke W. and McGeary, Ross P. (2021). Analogues of the herbicide, N-hydroxy-N-isopropyloxamate, inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis ketol-acid reductoisomerase and their prodrugs are promising anti-TB drug leads. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64 (3) acs.jmedchem.0c01919, 1670-1684. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01919
Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Kavanagh, Angela M., Elliott, Alysha G., Zhang, Bing, Ramu, Soumya, Amado, Maite, Lowe, Gabrielle J., Hinton, Alexandra O., Pham, Do Minh Thu, Zuegg, Johannes, Beare, Neil, Quach, Diana, Sharp, Marc D., Pogliano, Joe, Rogers, Ashleigh P., Lyras, Dena, Tan, Lendl, West, Nicholas P., Crawford, David W., Peterson, Marnie L., Callahan, Matthew and Thurn, Michael (2021). The antimicrobial potential of cannabidiol. Communications Biology, 4 (1) 7, 1-18. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01530-y
Barbaro, Lisa, Nagalingam, Gayathri, Triccas, James A., Tan, Lendl, West, Nicholas P., Baell, Jonathan B. and Priebbenow, Daniel L. (2021). Synthesis and evaluation of pyridine-derived bedaquiline analogues containing modifications at the A-ring subunit. RSC Medicinal Chemistry, 12 (6), 943-959. doi: 10.1039/d1md00063b
Bartlett, Stacey, Gemiarto, Adrian Tandhyka, Ngo, Minh Dao, Sajiir, Haressh, Hailu, Semira, Sinha, Roma, Foo, Cheng Xiang, Kleynhans, Léanie, Tshivhula, Happy, Webber, Tariq, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, West, Nicholas P., Hiemstra, Andriette M., MacDonald, Candice E., Christensen, Liv von Voss, Schlesinger, Larry S., Walzl, Gerhard, Rosenkilde, Mette Marie, Mandrup-Poulsen, Thomas and Ronacher, Katharina (2020). GPR183 regulates interferons, autophagy, and bacterial growth during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and is associated with TB disease severity. Frontiers in Immunology, 11 601534, 601534. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.601534
Awad, Milena M., Hutton, Melanie L., Quek, Adam J., Klare, William P., Mileto, Steven J., Mackin, Kate, Ly, Diane, Oorschot, Viola, Bosnjak, Marijana, Jenkin, Grant, Conroy, Paul J., West, Nick, Fulcher, Alex, Costin, Adam, Day, Christopher J., Jennings, Michael P., Medcalf, Robert L., Sanderson-Smith, Martina, Cordwell, Stuart J., Law, Ruby H.P., Whisstock, James C. and Lyras, Dena (2020). Human plasminogen exacerbates Clostridioides difficile enteric disease and alters the spore surface. Gastroenterology, 159 (4), 1431-1443.e6. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.06.032
Lonhienne, Thierry, Low, Yu Shang, Garcia, Mario D., Croll, Tristan, Gao, Yan, Wang, Quan, Brillault, Lou, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., McGeary, Ross P., West, Nicholas P., Landsberg, Michael J., Rao, Zihe, Schenk, Gerhard and Guddat, Luke W. (2020). Structures of fungal and plant acetohydroxyacid synthases. Nature, 586 (7828), 317-321+. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2514-3
Bayaraa, Tenuun, Kurz, Julia L., Patel, Khushboo M., Hussein, Waleed M., Bilyj, Jessica K., West, Nicholas P., Schenk, Gerhard, McGeary, Ross P. and Guddat, Luke William (2020). Discovery, synthesis and evaluation of a novel ketol-acid reductoisomerase inhibitor. Chemistry - A European Journal, 26 (41), 8958-8968. doi: 10.1002/chem.202000899
Lee, Brendon M., Harold, Liam K., Almeida, Deepak V., Afriat-Jurnou, Livnat, Aung, Htin Lin, Forde, Brian M., Hards, Kiel, Pidot, Sacha J., Ahmed, F. Hafna, Mohamed, A. Elaaf, Taylor, Matthew C., West, Nicholas P., Stinear, Timothy P., Greening, Chris, Beatson, Scott A., Nuermberger, Eric L., Cook, Gregory M. and Jackson, Colin J. (2020). Predicting nitroimidazole antibiotic resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with protein engineering. PLoS Pathogens, 16 (2) e1008287, e1008287. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008287
Ang, Chee Wei, Tan, Lendl, Sykes, Melissa L., Abugharbiyeh, Neda, Debnath, Anjan, Reid, Janet C., West, Nicholas P., Avery, Vicky M., Cooper, Matthew A. and Blaskovich, Mark A. T. (2020). Antitubercular and Antiparasitic 2-Nitroimidazopyrazinones with Improved Potency and Solubility. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 63 (24), 15726-15751. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01372
Serafini, Agnese, Tan, Lendl, Horswell, Stuart, Howell, Steven, Greenwood, Daniel J., Hunt, Deborah M., Phan, Minh-Duy, Schembri, Mark, Monteleone, Mercedes, Montague, Christine R., Britton, Warwick, Garza-Garcia, Acely, Snijders, Ambrosius P., VanderVen, Brian, Gutierrez, Maximiliano G., West, Nicholas P. and de Carvalho, Luiz Pedro S. (2019). Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires glyoxylate shunt and reverse methylcitrate cycle for lactate and pyruvate metabolism. Molecular Microbiology, 112 (4) mmi.14362, 1284-1307. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14362
Pullella, Glenn A., Wdowiak, Adam P., Sykes, Melissa L., Lucantoni, Leonardo, Sukhoverkov, Kirill V., Zulfiqar, Bilal, Sobolev, Alexandre N., West, Nicholas P., Mylne, Joshua S., Avery, Vicky M. and Piggott, Matthew J. (2019). Total synthesis of the antimalarial ascidian natural product albopunctatone. Organic Letters, 21 (14), 5519-5523. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.9b01838
Jarrad, Angie M., Ang, Chee Wei, Debnath, Anjan, Hahn, Hye Jee, Woods, Kyra, Tan, Lendl, Sykes, Melissa L., Jones, Amy J., Pelingon, Ruby, Butler, Mark S., Avery, Vicky M., West, Nicholas P., Karoli, Tomislav, Blaskovich, Mark A. T. and Cooper, Matthew A. (2018). Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-nitroimidazopyrazin-one/-es with antitubercular and antiparasitic activity. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 61 (24) acs.jmedchem.8b01578, 11349-11371. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01578
Eng, Wai Soon, Rejman, Dominik, Pohl, Radek, West, Nicholas P., Woods, Kyra, Naesens, Lieve M.J., Keough, Dianne T. and Guddat, Luke W. (2018). Pyrrolidine nucleoside bisphosphonates as antituberculosis agents targeting hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 159, 10-22. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.09.039
Sun, Hsien-Kuo, Pang, Angel, Farr, Dylan C., Mosaiab, Tamim, Britton, Warwick J., Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra, Grice, I. Darren, Kiefel, Milton J., West, Nick P., Grant, Gary D. and Houston, Todd A. (2018). Thioamide derivative of the potent antitubercular 2-(decylsulfonyl) acetamide is less active against mycobacterium tuberculosis, but a more potent antistaphylococcal agent. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 71 (9), 716-719. doi: 10.1071/CH18206
Tan, Lendl, Strong, Emily J., Woods, Kyra and West, Nicholas P. (2018). Homologous alignment cloning: a rapid, flexible and highly efficient general molecular cloning method. PeerJ, 6 (6) e5146, e5146. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5146
Strong, Emily J. and West, Nicholas P. (2018). Use of soluble extracellular regions of MmpL (SERoM) as vaccines for tuberculosis. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 5604, 5604. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23893-3
Ashhurst, Anneliese S, Parumasivam, Thaigarajan, Chan, John Gar Yan, Lin, Leon C W, Flórido, Manuela, West, Nicholas P, Chan, Hak-Kim and Britton, Warwick J (2018). PLGA particulate subunit tuberculosis vaccines promote humoral and Th17 responses but do not enhance control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. PLoS One, 13 (3) e0194620, e0194620. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194620
Brouwer, Stephan, Cork, Amanda J., Ong, Cheryl-Lynn Y., Barnett, Timothy C., West, Nicholas P., McIver, Kevin S. and Walker, Mark J. (2018). The endopeptidase PepO regulates the SpeB cysteine protease and is essential for the virulence of invasive M1T1 Streptococcus pyogenes. Journal of Bacteriology, 200 (8) e00654-17, e00654-17. doi: 10.1128/JB.00654-17
Phan, Minh-Duy, Nhu, Nguyen Thi Khanh, Achard, Maud E. S., Forde, Brian M., Hong, Kar Wai, Chong, Teik Min, Yin, Wai-Fong, Chan, Kok-Gan, West, Nicholas P., Walker, Mark J., Paterson, David L., Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2017). Modifications in the pmrB gene are the primary mechanism for the development of chromosomally encoded resistance to polymyxins in uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 72 (10), 2729-2736. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkx204
Ng, Benjamin Y. C., Wee, Eugene J. H., Woods, Kyra, Anderson, Will, Antaw, Fiach, Tsang, Hennes Z. H., West, Nicholas P. and Trau, Matt (2017). Isothermal point mutation detection: toward a first-pass screening strategy for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Analytical Chemistry, 89 (17), 9017-9022. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b01685
Turner, Andrew G., Ong, Cheryl-lynn Y., Djoko, Karrera Y., West, Nicholas P., Davies, Mark R., McEwan, Alastair G. and Walker, Mark J. (2017). The PerR-regulated P1B-4 type ATPase (PmtA) acts as a ferrous iron efflux pump in Streptococcus pyogenes. Infection and Immunity, 85 (6) e00140-17, e00140-17.1-e00140-17.13. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00140-17
Tran, Anh T., Watson, Emma E., Pujari, Venugopal, Conroy, Trent, Dowman, Luke J., Giltrap, Andrew M., Pang, Angel, Wong, Weng Ruh, Linington, Roger G., Mahapatra, Sebabrata , Saunders, Jessica, Charman, Susan A., West, Nicholas P., Bugg, Timothy D. H., Tod, Julie, Dowson, Christopher G., Roper, David I., Crick, Dean C., Britton, Warwick J. and Payne, Richard J. (2017). Sansanmycin natural product analogues as potent and selective anti-mycobacterials that inhibit lipid I biosynthesis. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 14414, 14414. doi: 10.1038/ncomms14414
Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Pandey, Manisha, Henningham, Anna, Cole, Jason, Choudhury, Biswa, Cork, Amanda J., Gillen, Christine M., Ghaffar, Khairunnisa Abdul, West, Nicholas P., Silvestri, Guido, Good, Michael F., Moyle, Peter M., Toth, Istvan, Nizet, Victor, Batzloff, Michael R. and Walker, Mark J. (2016). Differing efficacies of lead Group A Streptococcal vaccine candidates and full-length M protein in cutaneous and invasive disease models. mBio, 7 (3) e00618-16, e00618-16.1-e00618-16.9. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00618-16
Lonhienne, Thierry, Nouwens, Amanda, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., Lee, Yu-Ting, West, Nicholas P. and Guddat, Luke W. (2016). Commercial herbicides can trigger the oxidative inactivation of acetohydroxyacid synthase. Angewandte Chemie, 128 (13), 4319-4323. doi: 10.1002/ange.201511985
Lonhienne, Thierry, Nouwens, Amanda, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., Lee, Yu-Ting, West, Nicholas P. and Guddat, Luke W. (2016). Commercial Herbicides Can Trigger the Oxidative Inactivation of Acetohydroxyacid Synthase. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 55 (13), 4247-4251. doi: 10.1002/anie.201511985
Ng, Benjamin Y. C., Wee, Eugene J. H., West, Nicholas P. and Trau, Matt (2015). Naked-eye colorimetric and electrochemical detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis—toward rapid screening for active case finding. ACS Sensors, 1 (2), 173-178. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.5b00171
Ng, Benjamin Y. C., Xiao, Wei, West, Nicholas P., Wee, Eugene J. H., Wang, Yuling and Trau, Matt (2015). Rapid, Single-Cell Electrochemical Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Using Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles. Analytical Chemistry, 87 (20), 10613-10618. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b03121
Ng, Benjamin Y.C., Wee, Eugene J. H., West, Nicholas P. and Trau, Matt (2015). Rapid DNA detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-towards single cell sensitivity in point-of-care diagnosis. Scientific Reports, 5 (1) 15027, 15027.1-15027.7. doi: 10.1038/srep15027
Barnett, Timothy C., Lim, Jin Yan, Soderholm, Amelia T., Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, West, Nicholas P. and Walker, Mark J. (2015). Host-pathogen interaction during bacterial vaccination. Current Opinion in Immunology, 36, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2015.04.002
Eng, Wai Soon, Hockova, Dana, Spacek, Petr, Janeba, Zlatko, West, Nicholas P., Woods, Kyra, Naesens, Lieve M. J., Keough, Dianne T. and Guddat, Luke W. (2015). First crystal structures of mycobacterium tuberculosis 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferase: complexes with GMP and pyrophosphate and with acyclic nucleoside phosphonates ehose prodrugs have antituberculosis activity. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 58 (11), 4822-4838. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00611
Turner, Andrew G., Ong, Cheryl-lynn, Gillen, Christine M., Davies, Mark R., West, Nicholas P., McEwan, Alastair G. and Walker, Mark J. (2015). Manganese homeostasis in group A Streptococcus is critical for resistance to oxidative stress and virulence. mBio, 6 (2) e00278-15, 1-10. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00278-15
Rivera-Hernandez, Tania, Carnathan, Diane G., Moyle, Peter M., Toth, Istvan, West, Nicholas P., Young, Paul L., Silvestri, Guido and Walker, Mark J. (2014). The contribution of non-human primate models to the development of human vaccines. Discovery Medicine, 18 (101), 313-322.
Marteyn, Benoit S., Karimova, Gouzel, Fenton, Andrew K., Gazi, Anastasia D., West, Nicholas, Touqui, Lhousseine, Prevost, Marie-Christine, Betton, Jean-Michel, Poyraz, Oemer, Ladant, Daniel, Gerdes, Kenn, Sansonetti, Philippe J. and Tang, Christoph M. (2014). ZapE is a novel cell division protein interacting with FtsZ and modulating the Z-ring dynamics. mBio, 5 (2) e00022-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00022-14
Ly, Diane, Taylor, Jude M., Tsatsaronis, James A., Monteleone, Mercedes M., Skora, Amanda S., Donald, Cortny A., Maddocks, Tracy, Nizet, Victor, West, Nicholas P., Ranson, Marie, Walker, Mark J., McArthur, Jason D. and Sanderson-Smith, Martina L. (2014). Plasmin(ogen) acquisition by group A Streptococcus protects against C3b-mediated neutrophil killing. Journal of Innate Immunity, 6 (2), 240-250. doi: 10.1159/000353754
Tran, A. T., Wen, D., West, N. P., Baker, E. N., Britton, W. J. and Payne, R. J. (2013). Inhibition studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis N-acetylglucosamine-1- phosphate uridyltransferase (GlmU). Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 11 (46), 8113-8126. doi: 10.1039/c3ob41896k
Tyne, Anneliese S., Chan, John Gar Yan, Shanahan, Erin R., Atmosukarto, Ines, Chan, Hak-Kim, Britton, Warwick J. and West, Nicholas P. (2013). TLR2-targeted secreted proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis are protective as powdered pulmonary vaccines. Vaccine, 31 (40), 4322-4329. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.07.022
Keough, Dianne T., Hocková, Dana, Rejman, Dominik, Spaček, Petr, Vrbková, Silvie, Krečmerová, Marcela, Eng, Wai Soon, Jans, Harmen, West, Nicholas P., Naesens, Lieve M. J., de Jersey, John and Guddat, Luke W. (2013). Inhibition of the Escherichia coli 6-oxopurine phosphoribosyltransferases by nucleoside phosphonates: potential for new antibacterial agents. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56 (17), 6967-6984. doi: 10.1021/jm400779n
Pinto, Rachel, Leotta, Lisa, Shanahan, Erin R., West, Nicholas P., Leyh, Thomas S., Britton, Warwick and Triccas, James A. (2013). Host cell-induced components of the sulfate assimilation pathway are major protective antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 207 (5), 778-785. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jis751
Anh Thu Tran, West, Nicholas P., Britton, Warwick J. and Payne, Richard J. (2012). Elucidation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Type II Dehydroquinase Inhibitors using a Fragment Elaboration Strategy. Chemmedchem, 7 (6), 1031-1043. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201100606
Kao, Fan F., Mahmuda, Sultana, Pinto, Rachel, Triccas, James A., West, Nicholas P. and Britton, Warwick J. (2012). The Secreted Lipoprotein, MPT83, of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is Recognized during Human Tuberculosis and Stimulates Protective Immunity in Mice. PLoS One, 7 (5) e34991, e34991. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034991
Manos-Turvey, Alexandra, Cergol, Katie M., Salam, Noeris K., Bulloch, Esther M. M., Chi, Gamma, Pang, Angel, Britton, Warwick J., West, Nicholas P., Baker, Edward N., Lott, J. Shaun and Payne, Richard J. (2012). Synthesis and evaluation of M. tuberculosis salicylate synthase (MbtI) inhibitors designed to probe plasticity in the active site. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 10 (46), 9223-9236. doi: 10.1039/c2ob26736e
West, Nicholas P., Thomson, Scott A., Triccas, James A., Medveczky, C. Jill, Ramshaw, Ian A. and Britton, Warwick J. (2011). Delivery of a multivalent scrambled antigen vaccine induces broad spectrum immunity and protection against tuberculosis. Vaccine, 29 (44), 7759-7765. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.07.109
Anh Thu Tran, Cergol, Katie M., West, Nicholas P., Randall, Elizabeth J., Britton, Warwick J., Bokhari, Syed Ali Imran, Ibrahim, Musadiq, Lapthorn, Adrian J. and Payne, Richard J. (2011). Synthesis and Evaluation of Potent Ene-yne Inhibitors of Type II Dehydroquinases as Tuberculosis Drug Leads. Chemmedchem, 6 (2), 262-265. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201000399
Triccas, James A., Winter, Nathalie, Feng, Carl G. and West, Nicholas P. (2011). Immunity to mycobacterium tuberculosis. Clinical & Developmental Immunology, 2011 (406549) 406549, 1-2. doi: 10.1155/2011/406549
West, Nicholas P., Cergol, Katie M., Xue, Millie, Randall, Elizabeth J., Britton, Warwick J. and Payne, Richard J. (2011). Inhibitors of an essential mycobacterial cell wall lipase (Rv3802c) as tuberculosis drug leads. Chemical Communications, 47 (18), 5166-5168. doi: 10.1039/c0cc05635a
Crellin, Paul K., Vivian, Julian P., Scoble, Judith, Chow, Frances M., West, Nicholas P., Brammananth, Rajini, Proellocks, Nicholas I., Shahine, Adam, Le Nours, Jerome, Wilce, Matthew C. J., Britton, Warwick J., Coppel, Ross L., Rossjohn, Jamie and Beddoe, Travis (2010). Tetrahydrolipstatin Inhibition, Functional Analyses, and Three-dimensional Structure of a Lipase Essential for Mycobacterial Viability. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285 (39), 30050-30060. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.150094
Marteyn, Benoit, West, Nicholas P., Browning, Douglas F., Cole, Jeffery A., Shaw, Jonathan G., Palm, Fredrik, Mounier, Joelle, Prevost, Marie-Christine, Sansonetti, Philippe and Tang, Christoph M. (2010). Modulation of Shigella virulence in response to available oxygen in vivo. Nature, 465 (7296), 355-358+2. doi: 10.1038/nature08970
Shanahan, Erin R., Pinto, Rachel, Triccas, James A., Britton, Warwick J. and West, Nicholas P. (2010). Cutinase-like protein-6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is recognised in tuberculosis patients and protects mice against pulmonary infection as a single and fusion protein vaccine. Vaccine, 28 (5), 1341-1346. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.11.010
West, Nicholas P., Chow, Frances M. E., Randall, Elizabeth J., Wu, Jing, Chen, Jian, Ribeiro, Jose M. C. and Britton, Warwick J. (2009). Cutinase-like proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: characterization of their variable enzymatic functions and active site identification. Faseb Journal, 23 (6), 1694-1704. doi: 10.1096/fj.08-114421
West, Nicholas P., Wozniak, Teresa M., Valenzuela, Jesus, Feng, Carl G., Sher, Alan, Ribeiro, Jose M. C. and Britton, Warwick J. (2008). Immunological diversity within a family of cutinase-like proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Vaccine, 26 (31), 3853-3859. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.05.007
Exley, RM, Shaw, J, Mowe, E, Sun, YH, West, NP, Williamson, M, Botto, M, Smith, H and Tang, CM (2005). Available carbon source influences the resistance of Neisseria meningitidis against complement. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 201 (10), 1637-1645. doi: 10.1084/jem.20041548
West, NP, Sansonetti, P, Mounier, J, Exley, RM, Parsot, C, Guadagnini, S, Prevost, MC, Prochnicka-Chalufour, A, Delepierre, M, Tanguy, M and Tang, CM (2005). Optimization of virulence functions through glucosylation of Shigella LPS. Science, 307 (5713), 1313-1317. doi: 10.1126/science.1108472
West, NP, Sansonetti, PJ, Frankel, G and Tang, CM (2003). Finding your niche: what has been learnt from STM studies on GI colonization. Trends in Microbiology, 11 (7), 338-344. doi: 10.1016/S0966-842X(03)00154-9
McArthur, JD, West, NP, Cole, JN, Jungnitz, H, Guzman, CA, Chin, J, Lehrbach, PR, Djordjevic, SP and Walker, MJ (2003). An aromatic amino acid auxotrophic mutant of Bordetella bronchiseptica is attenuated and immunogenic in a mouse model of infection. Fems Microbiology Letters, 221 (1), 7-16. doi: 10.1016/S0378-1097(03)00162-9
West, N, Sansonetti, P and Tang, CM (2002). High throughput in vivo screens: Signature-tagged mutagenesis. Functional Microbial Genomics, 33, 153-165.
West, Nicholas P., Jungnitz, Heidrun, Fitter, John T., McArthur, Jason D., Guzman, Carlos A. and Walker, Mark J. (2000). Role of phosphoglucomutase of Bordetella bronchiseptica in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and virulence. Infection and Immunity, 68 (8), 4673-4680. doi: 10.1128/IAI.68.8.4673-4680.2000
Jungnitz, Heidrun, West, Nicholas P., Walker, Mark J., Chhatwal, Gursharan S. and Guzman, Carlos A. (1998). A second two-component regulatory system of Bordetella bronchiseptica required for bacterial resistance to oxidative stress, production of acid phosphatase, and in vivo persistence. Infection and Immunity, 66 (10), 4640-4650.
West, NP, Fitter, JT, Jakubzik, U, Rodhe, M, Guzman, CA and Walker, MJ (1997). Non-motile mini-transposon mutants of Bordetella bronchiseptica exhibit altered abilities to invade and survive in eukaryotic cells. Fems Microbiology Letters, 146 (2), 263-269. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1997.tb10203.x

Conference Paper

Lee, Brendon, Almeida, Deepak, Afriat-Jurnou, Livnat, Aung, Htin, Forde, Brian, Harold, Liam, Hards, Kiel, Pidot, Sacha, Ahmed, Hafna, Mohamed, Elaaf, Taylor, Mathew, West, Nicholas, Stinear, Timothy, Greening, Chris, Beatson, Scott, Cook, Gregory, Nuermberger, Eric and Jackson, Colin (2020). Predicting nitroimidazole antibiotic resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with protein engineering. Annual Meeting on Experimental Biology, San Diego, CA, United States, 4-7 April 2020. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.04923

Areas of research

Biochemistry and molecular biology discipline
Infection and immunity theme
Microbiology discipline