Research Interests
Open to PhD applications in the field of the biology, characterisation and therapeutic targeting of mammalian and microbial proteases.
- USP17 as a therapeutic target in cancer
- Targeting bacterial proteases as an antimicrobial strategy
- Endocytosis and trafficking of nanoparticles
Current Research Opportunities
- Regulation of CaaX protein processing
- Does one size fit all for antimicrobial delivery via nanoparticles
Public outreach & key achievements
Optimising intracellular delivery of antibiotic loaded PLGA nanoparticles to macrophages (2024) Alsa'd, A. A., Greene, M. K., Tayyem, M., Elmore, B., Abed, A., Burden, R. E., Gilmore, B. F., Scott, C. J. & Burrows, J. F. International Journal of Pharmaceutics. 664, 124567.
USP17 is required for peripheral trafficking of lysosomes (2022) Lin, J., McCann, A., Sereesongsaeng, N., Burden, J., Alsa'd, A. A. M., Burden, R., Micu, I., Williams, R., Van Schaeybroeck, S., Evergren, E., Mullan, P., Scott, C. & Burrows, J., EMBO Reports. e51932.
USP17 is required for trafficking and oncogenic signaling of mutant EGFR in NSCLC cells (2018) McCann, A. P., Smyth, P., Cogo, F., McDaid, W. J., Jiang, L., Lin, J., Evergren, E., Burden, R. E., Van Schaeybroeck, S., Scott, C. J. & Burrows, J. F. Cell communication and signaling. 16, 77.
Research students
| PhD Title | Identifying drug targets to combat Acinetobacter baumannii infections. |
| Name | Bronagh Elmore |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Years of Study | 2019 - 2024 |
| PhD Title | USP17 as a potential cancer therapeutic target |
| Name | Jonathan Burden |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Years of Study | 2020 - 2024 |
| Name | Nezar Faya Al Faya |
| Country |
Saudi Arabia
|
| Years of Study |
2022 - 2025
|
Alumni: Where are they now
| PhD Title | Therapeutic evaluation of an immunomodulatory nanoparticle in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome |
| Name | Dr Michelle Greene |
| Years of Study | 2011 - 2015 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Current Position | Postdoctoral Fellow, Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen’s University Belfast, UK |
| PhD Title | The role of USP17 in EGFR signaling and as a potential novel target for therapy in colorectal cancer |
| Name | Dr Aidan McCann |
| Years of Study | 2015 - 2018 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Current Position | Senior Scientist, Almac Discovery, Belfast, UK |
| PhD Title | Manipulating PLGA nanoparticle cellular uptake and trafficking |
| Name | Dr Alhareth Alsa’d |
| Years of Study | 2019 - 2022 |
| Country | Jordan |
| Current Position | Assistant Professor, Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy Department, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Jordan |