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Biological and Chemical Sciences

Dr Merve Zeden

BSc, MRes, PhD

Contact Details

Post Doctoral Researcher
E: merve.zeden@universityofgalway.ie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/merve-zeden-aa756884/
Post Doctoral Researcher
School Of Biological and Chemical Sciences
University of Galway
E: merve.zeden@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

I am a Cypriot scientist and my passion for microbiology brought me to Imperial College London for my BSc Microbiology degree. I completed my Master of Research (MRes) in Bacterial Pathogenesis and Infection at Imperial, and continued to pursue my PhD with Prof. Angelika Grundling investigating the requirement of c-di-AMP for the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. I then moved to Ireland in 2020, for my 4-year postdoc at the O'Gara lab at the University of Galway as part of my career plan to integrate molecular microbiology with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research. I am now a Research Fellow, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, and my research group is investigating the molecular mechanisms of AMR and developing targeted therapeutics for ESKAPE pathogens. 
I am interested in Staphylococcus aureus biology, antibiotic resistance, and environmental stress responses, with focus on microbial genetics, bioinformatics, and high throughput methods.I have extensive knowledge of a range of molecular biology techniques, high throughput methods (flow cytometry, whole genome sequencing, etc.) and genetic manipulation of organisms including S. aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. During my career as a researcher, I have been able to perform high impact research with key achievements being my publications in peer-reviewed journals focusing on the requirement of cyclic di-AMP for the growth of S. aureus.

Research Interests

I am interested in Staphylococcus aureus biology, antibiotic resistance in ESKAPE pathogens, and environmental stress responses, with focus on microbial genetics, bioinformatics, and high throughput methods. I enjoy unraveling the mechanisms behind bacterial infections, and work towards developing strategies alleviating the burden of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Targeting essential genes with chimeric antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) as novel antibacterial agents and antibiotic adjuvants to overcome antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other AMR pathogens 01-OCT-23

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2024) 'mSphere of Influence: Targeting bacterial signaling and metabolism to overcome antimicrobial resistance'
Merve S Zeden (2024) 'mSphere of Influence: Targeting bacterial signaling and metabolism to overcome antimicrobial resistance'. mSphere (ASM), [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Metabolic reprogramming and altered cell envelope characteristics in a pentose phosphate pathway mutant increases MRSA resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics'
Zeden, M. S. #, Gallagher, L. A., Bueno, E., Nolan, A., Ahn, J., Shinde, D., Razvi, F., Sladek, M., Burke, O., O¿Neill, E., Fey, P. D., Cava, F., Thomas, V. C., and O¿Gara J. P.# (2023) 'Metabolic reprogramming and altered cell envelope characteristics in a pentose phosphate pathway mutant increases MRSA resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics'. Plos Pathogens, [DOI] [Details]
(2022) 'Purine nucleosides interfere with c-di-AMP levels and act as adjuvants to re-sensitise MRSA to ß-lactam antibiotics'
Nolan, A. C.*, Zeden M. S.*#, Campbell, C., Kviatkovski, I., Urwin, L., Corrigan, R. M., Gründling A., and O'Gara J. P.# (2022) 'Purine nucleosides interfere with c-di-AMP levels and act as adjuvants to re-sensitise MRSA to ß-lactam antibiotics'. Mbio, [DOI] [Details]
(2020) 'Identification of the main glutamine and glutamate transporters in Staphylococcus aureus and their impact on c¿di¿AMP production'
Zeden, M. S.*, Kviatkovski*, I., Chittezham, V. T., Fey, P. D., Grundling, A. (2020) 'Identification of the main glutamine and glutamate transporters in Staphylococcus aureus and their impact on c¿di¿AMP production'. Molecular Microbiology, [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is required for osmotic regulation in Staphylococcus aureus but dispensable for viability in anaerobic conditions'
Zeden MS;Schuster CF;Bowman L;Zhong Q;Williams HD;Gründling A; (2018) 'Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is required for osmotic regulation in Staphylococcus aureus but dispensable for viability in anaerobic conditions'. Journal Of Biological Chemistry, 293 (9) [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'New Insights into the Cyclic Di-adenosine Monophosphate (c-di-AMP) Degradation Pathway and the Requirement of the Cyclic Dinucleotide for Acid Stress Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus'
Bowman L;Zeden MS;Schuster CF;Kaever V;Gründling A; (2016) 'New Insights into the Cyclic Di-adenosine Monophosphate (c-di-AMP) Degradation Pathway and the Requirement of the Cyclic Dinucleotide for Acid Stress Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus'. Journal Of Biological Chemistry, 291 (53) [DOI] [Details]
(2020) 'Designer broad-spectrum polyimidazolium antibiotics'
Zhong, W., Shi Z., Mahadevegowda S. H., Liua B., Zhang K., Koh C. H., Ruan L., Chen Y., Zeden M. S., Pee C. J. E., Marimuthu J., De P. P., Ng O. T., Zhu Y. Yonggui Robin Chij, Hammond P. T., Yang L., Y. G., Pethe K., Greenberg P. E., Gru¿ndling, A. and Chan-Park M. B. (2020) 'Designer broad-spectrum polyimidazolium antibiotics'. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, [DOI] [Details]
(2021) 'Exploring amino acid and peptide transporters as therapeutic targets to attenuate virulence and antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus'
Zeden, M. S., Burke O., Vallely M., Fingleton C., O¿Gara J. P. (2021) 'Exploring amino acid and peptide transporters as therapeutic targets to attenuate virulence and antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus'. Plos Pathogens, [DOI] [Details]
(2021) 'Accumulation of Succinyl Coenzyme A Perturbs the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Succinylome and Is Associated with Increased Susceptibility to Beta-Lactam Antibiotics'
Campbell C., Fingleton C., Zeden M. S., Bueno E., Gallagher L. A., Shinde D., Ahn J., Olson H. M., Fillmore T. L., Adkins J. N., Razvi F., Bayles K. W., Fey P. D., Thomas V. C., Cava F., Clair G. C., O¿Gara, J. P. (2021) 'Accumulation of Succinyl Coenzyme A Perturbs the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Succinylome and Is Associated with Increased Susceptibility to Beta-Lactam Antibiotics'. Mbio, [DOI] [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2023) Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland 2023
James P. O'Gara, Merve S Zeden (2023) Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland 2023 (StaphGBI 2023) Conference Report Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland 2023 [DOI] [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2023) 'Construction of a Staphylococcus aureus Gene-Deletion Allelic-Exchange Plasmid by Gibson Assembly and Recovery in Escherichia coli'
Merve S Zeden, Christopher F Schuster, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Construction of a Staphylococcus aureus Gene-Deletion Allelic-Exchange Plasmid by Gibson Assembly and Recovery in Escherichia coli' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Preparation of Staphylococcus aureus Genomic DNA Using a Chloroform Extraction and Ethanol Precipitation Method, Followed by Additional Cleanup and Quantification Steps'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Preparation of Staphylococcus aureus Genomic DNA Using a Chloroform Extraction and Ethanol Precipitation Method, Followed by Additional Cleanup and Quantification Steps' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Agar Plate-Based Method for the Selection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Strains'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Agar Plate-Based Method for the Selection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Strains' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Preparation of Staphylococcus aureus Genomic DNA Using Promega Nuclei Lysis and Protein Precipitation Solutions, Followed by Additional Cleanup and Quantification Steps'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Preparation of Staphylococcus aureus Genomic DNA Using Promega Nuclei Lysis and Protein Precipitation Solutions, Followed by Additional Cleanup and Quantification Steps' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Selection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Strains and Identification of Genomic Alterations by Whole-Genome Sequencing: Using Staphylococcus aureus and Oxacillin Resistance as an Example'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Selection of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Strains and Identification of Genomic Alterations by Whole-Genome Sequencing: Using Staphylococcus aureus and Oxacillin Resistance as an Example' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Staphylococcus aureus Colony Polymerase Chain Reaction'
Merve S Zeden, Christopher F Schuster, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Staphylococcus aureus Colony Polymerase Chain Reaction' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Bacterial Whole-Genome-Resequencing Analysis: Basic Steps Using the CLC Genomics Workbench Software'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Bacterial Whole-Genome-Resequencing Analysis: Basic Steps Using the CLC Genomics Workbench Software' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Preparation of Electrocompetent Staphylococcus aureus Cells and Plasmid Transformation'
Merve S Zeden, Christopher F Schuster, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Preparation of Electrocompetent Staphylococcus aureus Cells and Plasmid Transformation' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Allelic-Exchange Procedure in Staphylococcus aureus'
Merve S Zeden, Christopher F Schuster, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Allelic-Exchange Procedure in Staphylococcus aureus' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]
(2023) 'Small-Scale Illumina Library Preparation Using the Illumina Nextera XT DNA Library Preparation Kit'
Merve S Zeden, Angelika Gründling (2023) 'Small-Scale Illumina Library Preparation Using the Illumina Nextera XT DNA Library Preparation Kit' Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, . [DOI] [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2017) 5th Mol Micro and 4th M4 Meeting,
Merve S Zeden (2017) The requirement of c-di-AMP in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. [Oral Presentation], 5th Mol Micro and 4th M4 Meeting, Birmingham, UK , 12-SEP-17 - 13-SEP-17. [Details]
(2018) SPP1879 International Symposium on Nucleotide Second Messenger Signalling in Bacteria,
Merve S Zeden (2018) The requirement of c-di-AMP in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. [Poster Presentation], SPP1879 International Symposium on Nucleotide Second Messenger Signalling in Bacteria, Berlin, Germany , 30-SEP-18 - 03-OCT-18. [Details]
(2023) Gordon Research Seminar, Staphylococcal Diseases,,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Metabolic reprogramming in a pentose phosphate pathway mutant increases MRSA resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics. [Poster Presentation], Gordon Research Seminar, Staphylococcal Diseases,, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, USA , 30-JUL-23 - 31-JUL-23. [Details]
(2023) Gordon Research Conference, Staphylococcal Diseases,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Manipulation of purine homeostasis to exploit an Achilles heel in MRSA ß-lactam resistance. [Poster Presentation], Gordon Research Conference, Staphylococcal Diseases, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, USA , 01-AUG-23 - 05-AUG-23. [Details]
(2023) Inaugural Research and Innovation Day, College of Science and EngineeringInaugural Research and Innovation Day, College of Science and Engineering,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Manipulation of purine homeostasis to exploit an Achilles heel in MRSA ß-lactam resistance. [Oral Presentation], Inaugural Research and Innovation Day, College of Science and EngineeringInaugural Research and Innovation Day, College of Science and Engineering, The Galmont Hotel , 04-MAY-23 - 04-MAY-23. [Details]
(2023) Pathogen Biology Irish Symposium, Infectious Disease Section, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Metabolic reprogramming and altered cell envelope characteristics in a pentose phosphate pathway mutant increases MRSA resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics. [Oral Presentation], Pathogen Biology Irish Symposium, Infectious Disease Section, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Galway , 09-JUN-23 - 09-JUN-23. [Details]
(2023) Centre for OneHealth and the SDGs Annual Conference 2023,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Manipulation of MRSA metabolism to exploit an Achilles heel in ß-lactam resistance. [Invited Oral Presentation], Centre for OneHealth and the SDGs Annual Conference 2023, University of Galway , 13-OCT-23 - 13-OCT-23. [Details]
(2023) Microbiology Society Annual Meeting in Ireland 2023,
Merve S Zeden (2023) Metabolic reprogramming and altered cell envelope characteristics in a pentose phosphate pathway mutant increases MRSA resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics. [Oral Presentation], Microbiology Society Annual Meeting in Ireland 2023, Athlone, Ireland , 24-OCT-23 - 25-OCT-23. [Details]
(2023) Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland Conference 2023,
James P. O'Gara, Merve S Zeden (2023) Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland Conference 2023. [Conference Organising Committee Chairperson], Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland Conference 2023, University of Galway , 22-JUN-23 - 23-FEB-24. [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2023 Health Research Board CES-2023-003 Conference and Event Sponsorship Health Research Board
2023 National University of Ireland Grant Scheme Award for Early Career Academics National University of Ireland
2023 SFI Research Fellow Science Foundation Ireland
2023 Infectious Disease Section Summer Studentship School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
2023 CSE Research Seed Fund College of Science and Engineering
2022 Health Research Board SS-2022-074 Summer Student Grant Health Research Board
2015 MRC PhD Studentship Medical Research Council

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Research and Innovation Committee Early Career Researcher Representative 27-SEP-23 /
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Student Recruitment, Public Engagement and Internationalisation Committee Postdoctoral Researcher Representative 01-MAY-23 /
College of Science and Engineering Research and Innovation Committee Postdoctoral Researcher Representative 22-DEC-22 /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
NUI Galway Postdoctoral Researcher 01-JAN-20 / 30-SEP-23
University of Galway SFI Research Fellow 01-OCT-23 /

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2015 Imperial College London Masters of Research (MRes) Biomedical Research (Bacterial Pathogenesis and Infection)
2014 Imperial College London Honours Bachelor Degree (BSc Hons) Microbiology
2020 Imperial College London PhD Clinical Microbiology

Languages

  Language
Turkish
English
French
Italian

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Imperial Fringe Festival (Bacterial Fingerprinting) /
Outreach Cell Explorers Little Cells demonstrator in the University of Galway Science Festival 2022 /
Outreach Cell Explorers Fantastic DNA demonstrator at the START competition 2023 /
Outreach Imperial Festival Superbug Zone /

Reviews

  Journal Role
Microbiology Spectrum Reviewer
Mbio Editoral Board
Access Microbiology Reviewer
mSystems (ASM) Reviewer
mSphere (ASM) Reviewer
Antimicrobial Agents And Chemotherapy Reviewer

Other Activities

  Description

Panel member (Early Career representative), Microbiology Society Irish Division meeting 2023

Organising Committee, Researcher Staff Network, University of Galway.

Feedback into "Public Consultation on a Higher Education Research Policy Engagement Framework": A consultation launched by Ireland's Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) on their policy engagement framework. (coordinated response feedback by Microbiology Society)

Co-Chair for the Staphylococcus Great Britain and Ireland Conference 2023, held in University of Galway 22-23 June 2023.

Teaching Interests

I have great enthusiasm in guiding new researchers, supervising students, and teaching the future generations in science. I have studied and done extensive research in the field of Microbiology and enjoy teaching all levels of students in Microbiology.

During my PhD, I have had the amazing opportunity to teach two years in a row (2018 and 2019) at the Advanced Bacterial Genetics course in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA.

To date, I have supervised 6 final-year BSc Microbiology students, 2 third-year BSc summer students, 2 Masters of Research students, and 2 PhD students (1 as a primary supervisor, 1 as a co-supervisor). 

Current Postgraduate Students (Research)

  Student Degree Type Type
Jessica Kelly Doctorate - Structured PhD (Science) Supervisor
Aaron Nolan Doctorate - Structured PhD (Science) Co-supervisor (1)

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
2023 Applications of Biomedical Science BM406 Journal Club
2021 Host Microbe Interactions MI4101 Signalling lecture
2020 Final Year Project MI405
2021 Final Year Project MI405
2022 Final Year Project MI405
2021 Applications of Biomedical Science BM406 Journal Club tutorial

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Prof. Paul Murphy
Prof. James P. O'Gara

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Prof. Marc Devocelle Royal College of Surgeons Ireland IRELAND
Prof. Paul D. Fey University of Nebraska Medical Centre U.S.A.
Dr. Rebecca Corrigan University of Sheffield UNITED KINGDOM
Prof. Angelika Gründling Imperial College London UNITED KINGDOM
Prof. Vinai C. Thomas University of Nebraska Medical Centre U.S.A.