Staff Profile

I am a Research Associate in Professor Henrik Strahl's lab and my work focuses on microbiology, microscopy and antibiotic mode of action. Currently, I am part of a wider BBSRC sLoLa consortium, headed by Professor Gavin Thomas at the University of York, investigating the biological function of an ancient universal membrane effector system. I use a combination of bacterial genetics, fluorescence microscopy, and biochemistry on the Gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis to decipher the mechanism by which these widely conserved IM30 proteins respond to and protect against cell envelope-targeting antibiotics.

Education

• PhD in Microbiology, "Membrane-targeting antimicrobials as promising resistance-breaking antibiotic candidates", Newcastle University (2018-2022)
• BSc in Pharmacology with Industry, University of Leeds (2014-2018)

• Teaching in the undergraduate module Professional and Practical Skills for Bioscientists - CMB1011
• Supervision of BSc, MRes, Erasmus, and PhD research projects

Past students:

Chris Duringer (MRes)

Alisa Mondry (Erasmus)

Neha Ramchandani Ramchandani (BSc)

Edmond Kelly (BSc)

Current students:

Neha Ramchandani Ramchandani (PhD)

• Articles

  • Buttress JA, Schäfer A-B, Koh A, Wheatley J, Mickiewicz K, Wenzel M, Strahl H. The last resort antibiotic daptomycin exhibits two independent antibacterial mechanisms of action. Nature Communications 2025, 16, 10320.
  • Mets T, Kurata T, Ernits K, Johansson MJO, Craig SZ, Evora GM, Buttress JA, Odai R, Coppieters't Wallant K, Nakamoto JA, Shyrokova L, Egorov AA, Doering CR, Brodiazhenko T, Laub MT, Tenson T, Strahl H, Martens C, Harms A, Garcia-Pino A, Atkinson GC, Hauryliuk V. Mechanism of phage sensing and restriction by toxin-antitoxin-chaperone systems. Cell Host and Microbe 2024, 32(7), 1059-1073.e8.
  • Ernits,K,Saha,CK,Brodiazhenko,T,Chouhan,B,Shenoy,A,Buttress,JA,Duque-Pedraza,JJ,Bojar,V,Nakamoto,JA,Kurata,T,Egorov,AA,Shyrokova,L,Johansson,MJO,Mets,T,Rustamova,A, Dzigurski,J,Tenson,T,Garcia-Pino,A,Strahl,H,Elofsson,A,Hauryliuk,V,Atkinson,GC. The structural basis of hyperpromiscuity in a core combinatorial network of type II toxin–antitoxin and related phage defense systems. PNAS 2023, 120(33), 2305393120.
  • Gohrbandt M, Lipski A, Grimshaw JW, Buttress JA, Baig Z, Herkenhoff B, Walter S, Kurre R, Deckers-Hebestreit G, Strahl H. Low membrane fluidity triggers lipid phase separation and protein segregation in living bacteria. EMBO Journal 2022, 41, e109800.
  • Malanovic N, Buttress JA, Vejzovic D, Ön A, Piller P, Kolb D, Lohner K, Strahl H. Disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane structure and barrier function underlies the potent antiseptic activity of octenidine in Gram-positive bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2022, 88(10), e00180-22.
  • Kurata T, Saha CK, Buttress JA, Mets T, Brodiazhenko T, Turnbull KJ, Awoyomi OF, Alves Oliveira SR, Jimmy S, Ernits K, Delannoy M, Persson K, Tenson T, Strahl H, Hauryliuk V, Atkinson GC. A hyperpromiscuous antitoxin protein domain for the neutralization of diverse toxin domains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2022, 119(6), e2102212119.
  • Buttress JA, Halte M, te Winkel JD, Erhardt M, Popp PF, Strahl H. A guide for membrane potential measurements in Gram-negative bacteria using voltage-sensitive dyes. Microbiology 2022, 168(9), 001227.

• Book Chapter

  • Humphrey M, Abdelmesseh Nekhala I, Scheinpflug K, Krylova O, Schäfer A-B, Buttress JA, Wenzel M, Strahl H. Tracking Global and Local Changes in Membrane Fluidity Through Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Microscopy. In: Peter Sass, ed. Antibiotics. New York: Humana, New York, NY, 2022, pp.203-229.