My research journey started from my PhD study in the field of glycobiology under supervision of Prof. Josef Voglmeir and Prof. Li Liu in China.

During my PhD studies I was involved in characterisation of various types of carbohydrate-active enzymes, providing me with comprehensive training in molecular biology and protein chemistry.

Following the completion of my PhD, I worked as a postdoc in Prof. Martin Welch’s group at University of Cambridge. My work focused on fatty acid metabolism in P. aeruginosa. From our proteomics data we discovered the main fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenases (FadE) with different substrate specificities in P. aeruginosa. The molecular basis of different substrate specificity was investigated by X-ray crystallography and biochemical techniques. Through this project I was fascinated by the biology of P. aeruginosa.

Then I joined Whitchurch group to continue exploring this fascinating microorganism. My current research focused on the mechanism of extracellular DNA release from the autolytic programmed cell death pathway in P. aeruginosa.

Key Publications

Abdelhamid Y, Wang M, Parkhill SL, Brear P, Chee X, Rahman T, Welch M. Structure, Function and Regulation of a Second Pyruvate Kinase Isozyme in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Front Microbiol. 2021

Wang, M.; Zheng, F.; Wang, T.; Lyu, Y.-M.; Alteen, M.G.; Cai, Z.-P.; Cui, Z.-L.; Liu, L.; Voglmeir, J. Characterization of Stackebrandtia nassauensis GH20 Beta-Hexosaminidase, a Versatile Biocatalyst for Chitobiose Degradation. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 1243.