I am interested in enzymes involved in novel DNA repair pathways in bacteria, and use a combination of bioinformatics, recombinant protein production, biochemical and biophysical assays and X-ray crystallography to characterize these systems.
I currently lead a Marsden Fast-Start project investigating DNA repair enzymes encoded in the metagenomes of Antarctic microbiota from the Antarctic Dry valleys: one of the harshest places on earth with little water, high UV intensities and, multiple daily cycles of freezing and thawing, all of which are extremely damaging to DNA.
Other research interests include the DNA repair pathways of cultivatable bacteria that use ATP-dependent DNA ligases, and in particular potential involvement of these pathways in uptake of extrinsic DNA or other routes to acquiring antibiotic resistance.
I am also involved in ongoing projects using psychrophilic DNA-modifying enzymes for biotechnological applications in collaboration with the University of Tromsø in northern Norway.
