Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology

Professor Nicholas Jakubovics

Professor of Oral Microbiology

Background

Introduction

After a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge (1994) and a PhD in Microbiology at the University of Warwick (1998), I moved into the field of Oral Microbiology as a Post-Doctoral researcher in Prof. Howard Jenkinson's group at the Bristol Dental School. I spent 6 years at Bristol working on adhesion, colonisation and sensing mechanisms of oral streptococci before joining Dr Paul Kolenbrander's lab at the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, MD, USA on an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellowship. The focus of my research centred on cell-cell interactions in oral biofilms.

I joined Newcastle Dental School as Lecturer in Oral Microbiology in 2007, became Senior Lecturer in 2014 and Professor in 2022. My current research explores adhesion, colonisation and cell-cell interactions, primarily in oral biofilms. Our group employs techniques from molecular genetics to microbiome profiling to understand how oral biofilms form and to investigate the impact of different treatments. We also have a number of projects on health-related biofilms at sites outside the mouth, including prosthetic joint and middle ear infections. The overall goal of our research is to find new approaches to control biofilms and to translate these into products that can improve oral and general health.

Roles and Responsibilities

External

Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dental Research

Member of Board of Directors, International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR)

Member of Board of Directors, American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR)

Newcastle University

Deputy Director of Research (Dental Sciences)

Translational Oral Biosciences Strand Lead (Dental Sciences)

Biological and GM Safety Supervisor (Dental Sciences) and Member of University Biosafety Committee

Areas of expertise

Translational oral microbiology, Microbial biofilms, Streptococcal genetics

Qualifications

1994 BSc in Biochemistry (Cambridge)

1998 PhD in Microbiology (Warwick)

Previous Positions

1998-2004 Post-Doctoral researcher, Bristol Dental School

2004-2007 Post-Doctoral Fellow, NIDCR, Bethesda, MD, USA

Memberships

International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (https://www.iadr.org)

Society for Applied Microbiology (http://www.sfam.org.uk/)

Microbiology Society UK (https://microbiologysociety.org)


Google scholar: Click here.

SCOPUS: Click here.