Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
My laboratory is interested in understanding how bacteria, especially the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are able to regulate their activities under conditions that prevent active growth. Often in natural environments, including infections, bacteria encounter resource limitation that prevents them from being able to grow and divide. However, sensitive measurements have shown that they are still able to produce proteins at low rates under these conditions. The regulatory mechanisms that are involved are not well understood. Gaining insight into this regulatory context is important because non-growing bacteria are highly tolerant of antibiotics, and can contribute to chronic infections. Understanding how these non-growing, antibiotic-tolerant bacteria are regulating their low levels of biosynthetic activity could give us new insight into strategies to treat chronic infection and combat the rise of antibiotic resistance.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, The regulation of pre-mRNA splicing in response to environmental stress in budding yeast, University of California at San Francisco
Award Date: 31 Dec 2010
Master in Science, Effects of the Hepatitis B virus X protein on cellular mRNA stability, University of Otago
Award Date: 9 May 2004
Bachelor of Science, A genetic and biochemical analysis of the role of TSG8 in the DNA damage response of budding yeast, Pennsylvania State University
Award Date: 5 May 2001
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
-
SDG 4 Quality Education
-
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Development Of A Co-Culture Model For Secondary Screening Of Candidate Anti Microbial Compounds Targeting Persistent Lung Infections In Cystic Fibrosis - Joint with Uni of Minnesota
Bergkessel, M. (Investigator) & Gilbert, I. (Investigator)
15/01/24 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
-
Optimisation of hits against persisters
Bergkessel, M. (Investigator), Gilbert, I. (Investigator), Read, K. (Investigator) & Wyllie, S. (Investigator)
Project: Research
-
Development Of A Drug Discovery Platform Targeting Salmonella Typhimurium PersisterCells
Bergkessel, M. (Investigator), Coulthurst, S. (Investigator), Gilbert, I. (Investigator) & Read, K. (Investigator)
14/10/21 → 1/09/24
Project: Research
-
Slow Growth and Dormancy in Bacteria
Bergkessel, M. (Investigator)
1/02/21 → 31/01/25
Project: Research
-
Measuring Activity Dynamics in Non-growing Populations of Bacteria.
Bergkessel, M. (Investigator)
15/06/20 → 14/08/23
Project: Research
-
Activation of the antibiotic resistance factor WhiB7 can stimulate aggregate biofilm formation in stationary phase Mycobacterium smegmatis by reinitiating translation
Meyer, M. D., Bergkessel, M. & DePas, W. H. (Lead / Corresponding author), 23 Jul 2026, In: Journal of Bacteriology. 208, 7, p. e0007626 e00076-26.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Pseudomonas aeruginosa dynamically prioritizes motility and resource recycling during prolonged starvation
Munro, F. D., Ambulte, E., Hemsley, C. & Bergkessel, M. (Lead / Corresponding author), 21 Apr 2026, In: mSystems. 11, 4, 22 p., e01439-25.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile31 Downloads (Pure) -
A widely-occurring family of pore-forming effectors broadens the impact of the Serratia Type VI secretion system
Reglinski, M., Hurst, Q. W., Williams, D. J., Gierlinski, M., Şahin, A. T., Mathers, K., Ostrowski, A., Bergkessel, M., Zachariae, U., Pitt, S. J. & Coulthurst, S. J. (Lead / Corresponding author), 1 Dec 2025, In: EMBO Journal. 44, 23, p. 6892-6918 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)33 Downloads (Pure) -
Combining antibiotics to tackle antimicrobial resistance
Hope, W. (Lead / Corresponding author), Nambiar, S., O'Brien, S., Sharland, M., Paterson, D. L., Yin, M., Gilbert, I. H., Ferguson, M., Peacock, S. J., Buchan, I., Reza, N., Dubey, V., Darlow, C. A., Gerada, A., Howard, A. & Pre-X Investigators, Apr 2025, In: Nature Microbiology. 10, 4, p. 813-816 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
13 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Images of Microbiology 2
Goddard, P., Lawson, T., Stanley-Wall, N., Rathie, G. (Designer), Papakyriacou , P. (Contributing member), Wood, A. (Contributing member), Da Silva Pacheco, J. (Contributing member), Garcia Sanchez, M. (Contributing member), Escudero-Martinez, C. (Contributing member), Munro, F. (Contributing member), Mansoor, S. (Contributing member), Escrivani, D. O. (Contributing member), Stevens, S. (Contributing member), Ferguson, M. (Contributing member), Elcombe, C. (Contributing member), De Rycker, M. (Contributing member), Ndeh, D. (Contributing member), Balahmar, A. (Contributing member), Keddy , C. (Contributing member) & Singh, V. (Contributing member) & 20 others, , Apr 2025, 30 p. Dundee : University of Dundee.Research output: Other contribution
Open AccessFile399 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
-
Effects of different concentrations of PYO on the expression of the P. aeruginosa oxidative stress response genes ahpB and katB
Meirelles, L. A. (Creator), Perry, E. K. (Creator), Bergkessel, M. (Creator) & Newman, D. K. (Creator), figshare, 10 Mar 2021
Dataset
Prizes
-
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Learning and Teaching Awards
Stanley-Wall, N. (Recipient), Bergkessel, M. (Recipient), Dorfmueller, H. (Recipient) & Coulthurst, S. (Recipient), 10 May 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Gold award Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Learning and Teaching Awards
Dorfmueller, H. (Recipient), Stanley-Wall, N. (Recipient), Coulthurst, S. (Recipient) & Bergkessel, M. (Recipient), May 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
-
Magnificent Microbes 2026
Hardee, E. (Member), Bergkessel, M. (Member), Arnaouteli, S. (Member), Tan, K. (Member), Singh, V. (Member), Rathod, S. (Member), Mansoor, S. (Member), Griffin, J. (Member), Mol Avelar Tamaki, G. (Member), Mcbride, P. (Member), Vats, A. (Member), Wood, A. (Member), Hawkins, A. (Member) & Stevenson, E. (Member)
14 Mar 2026Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - festival/exhibition
File -
Magnificent Microbes 2024
Hardee, E. (Organiser), Floyd, A. (Organiser), Mackintosh, A. (Organiser), Stanley-Wall, N. (Organiser), Arnaouteli, S. (Participant), Bergkessel, M. (Participant), Bonsall, A. (Participant), Bulgarelli, D. (Participant), Coulthurst, S. (Participant), Dicker, A. (Participant), Dorfmueller, H. (Participant), Donnelly, H. (Participant), Ferguson, L. (Participant), Hemsley, C. (Participant), Hernandez, R. (Participant), Hull, R. (Participant), Keddy, C. (Participant), Mehta, N. (Participant), Mol Avelar Tamaki, G. (Participant), Neill, D. (Participant), Siddiqui, R. (Participant), Singh, V. (Participant), Tamaki, F. (Participant), Wood, A. (Participant), Prescott, A. (Contributor), Wasim, S. (Contributor) & Arnton, K. (Contributor)
9 Mar 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Festival/Exhibition
-
Regulation during bacterial growth arrest
Bergkessel, M. (Speaker)
23 Jan 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
-
Life Sciences Work Experience Week 2022
Hardee, E. (Organiser), Bergkessel, M. (Participant), Rosazza, T. (Participant), McSorley, H. (Participant), Rasmussen, K. (Participant), Kocaturk, N. (Participant), Crawley, P. (Participant), Agrotis, A. (Participant), Rousseau, A. (Participant), Sapkota, G. (Participant), Glennie, L. (Participant), Hannan, M. (Participant), Appleton, P. (Participant), Tamaki, F. (Participant) & Newton, I. (Participant)
25 Jul 2022 → 29 Jul 2022Activity: Other activity types › Schools engagement
-
Magnificent Microbes 2022
Hardee, E. (Organiser), Stanley-Wall, N. (Participant), Newport, J. (Participant), Hernandez, R. (Participant), Coulthurst, S. (Participant), Mol Avelar Tamaki, G. (Participant), Kalamara, M. (Participant), Eigentler, L. (Participant), Bulgarelli, D. (Participant), Robertson-Albertyn, S. (Participant), Bamford, N. (Participant), Escudero-Martinez, C. (Participant), Soh, J. (Participant), Watt, M. (Participant), Ward, B. (Participant), Rosazza, T. (Participant), Bayliss, T. (Participant), Bergkessel, M. (Participant), Dorfmueller, H. (Participant), Nagar, R. (Participant), Arnaouteli, S. (Participant), Tamaki, F. (Participant), Gadd , G. M. (Participant), Moreira, J. (Participant) & Turnbull, D. (Contributor)
25 Apr 2022 → 6 May 2022Activity: Other activity types › Schools engagement