Dr Timothy Wells
Senior Research Fellow
The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute
Senior Research Fellow in Huma
The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute
Researcher biography
Dr Timothy Wells joined the Diamantina Institute in 2016 as a Senior Research Fellow. His research focuses on the interactions between the host immune system and Gram negative bacteria during chronic lung infection. Dr Wells is passionate about making his research as clinically relevant as possible, with his work previously having led to novel treatment of critically ill patients. His research uses a mixture of molecular microbiology, immunology and genomic approaches.
Journal Articles
Browning, Douglas F., Bavro, Vassiliy N., Mason, Jessica L., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Rossiter, Amanda E., Jeeves, Mark, Wells, Timothy J., Knowles, Timothy J., Cunningham, Adam F., Donald, James W., Palmer, Tracy, Overduin, Michael and Henderson, Ian R. (2015) Cross-species chimeras reveal BamA POTRA and β-barrel domains must be fine-tuned for efficient OMP insertion. Molecular Microbiology, 97 4: 646-659. doi:10.1111/mmi.13052
Wells, Timothy J., Whitters, Deborah, Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Heath, Jennifer N., Pravin, John, Goodall, Margaret, Browning, Douglas F., O'Shea, Matthew K., Cranston, Amy, De Soyza, Anthony, Cunningham, Adam F., MacLennan, Calman A., Henderson, Ian R. and Stockley, Robert A. (2014) Increased severity of respiratory infections associated with elevated anti-LPS IgG2 which inhibits serum bactericidal killing. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 211 9: 1893-1904. doi:10.1084/jem.20132444
Browning, Douglas F., Matthews, Sophie A., Rossiter, Amanda E., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Jeeves, Mark, Mason, Jessica L., Wells, Timothy J., Wardius, Catherine A., Knowles, Timothy J., Cunningham, Adam F., Bavro, Vassiliy N., Overduin, Michael and Henderson, Ian R. (2013) Mutational and topological analysis of the Escherichia coli BamA protein. PLoS ONE, 8 12: . doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084512
Franca, Fernanda L. S., Wells, Timothy J., Browning, Douglas F., Nogueira, Raquel Tayar, Sarges, Felipe Silva, Pereira, Ana Claudia, Cunningham, Adam F., Lucheze, Kely, Paula Rosa, Ana Claudia, Henderson, Ian R. and de Luna, Maria das Gracas (2013) Genotypic and phenotypic characterisation of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli from children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PLoS ONE, 8 7: . doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069971
Browning, Douglas F., Wells, Timothy J., Franca, Fernanda L. S., Morris, Faye C., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Bryant, Jack A., Johnson, Matthew D., Lund, Peter A., Cunningham, Adam F., Hobman, Jon L., May, Robin C., Webber, Mark A. and Henderson, Ian R. (2013) Laboratory adapted Escherichia coli K-12 becomes a pathogen of Caenorhabditis elegans upon restoration of O antigen biosynthesis. Molecular Microbiology, 87 5: 939-950. doi:10.1111/mmi.12144
Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Leyton, Denisse L., Wells, Timothy J., Wardius, Catherine A., Tveen-Jensen, Karina, Morris, Faye C., Knowles, Timothy J., Cunningham, Adam F., Cole, Jeffrey A. and Henderson, Ian R. (2012) A generalised module for the selective extracellular accumulation of recombinant proteins. Microbial Cell Factories, 11 69: . doi:10.1186/1475-2859-11-69
Selkrig, Joel, Mosbahi, Khedidja, Webb, Chaille T., Belousoff, Matthew J., Perry, Andrew J., Wells, Timothy J., Morris, Faye, Leyton, Denisse L., Totsika, Makrina, Phan, Minh-Duy, Celik, Nermin, Kelly, Michelle, Oates, Clare, Hartland, Elizabeth L., Robins-Browne, Roy M., Ramarathinam, Sri Harsha, Purcell, Anthony W., Schembri, Mark A., Strugnell, Richard A., Henderson, Ian R., Walker, Daniel and Lithgow, Trevor (2012) Discovery of an archetypal protein transport system in bacterial outer membranes. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 19 5: 506-510. doi:10.1038/nsmb.2261
Totsika, Makrina, Wells, Timothy J., Beloin, Christophe, Valle, Jaione, Allsopp, Luke P., King, Nathan P., Ghigo, Jean-Marc and Schembri, Mark A. (2012) Molecular characterization of the EhaG and UpaG trimeric autotransporter proteins from pathogenic Escherichia coli. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78 7: 2179-2189. doi:10.1128/AEM.06680-11
Leyton, Denisse L., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Browning, Douglas F., Rossiter, Amanda E., Wells, Timothy J., Fitzpatrick, Rebecca E., Overduin, Michael, Cunningham, Adam F. and Henderson, Ian R. (2011) Size and conformation limits to secretion of disulfide-bonded loops in autotransporter proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286 49: 42283-42291. doi:10.1074/jbc.M111.306118
Raghunathan, Dhaarini, Wells, Timothy J., Morris, Faye C., Shaw, Robert K., Bobat, Saeeda, Peters, Sarah E., Paterson, Gavin K., Jensen, Karina Tveen, Leyton, Denisse L., Blair, Jessica M. A., Browning, Douglas F., Pravin, John, Flores-Langarica, Adriana, Hitchcock, Jessica R., Moraes, Claudia T. P., Piazza, Roxane M. F., Maskell, Duncan J., Webber, Mark A., May, Robin C., MacLennan, Calman A., Piddock, Laura J., Cunningham, Adam F. and Henderson, Ian R. (2011) SadA, a trimeric autotransporter from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, can promote biofilm formation and provides limited protection against infection. Infection and Immunity, 79 11: 4342-4352. doi:10.1128/IAI.05592-11
Crossman, L. C., Chaudhuri, R. R., Beatson, S. A., Wells, T. J., Desvaux, M., Cunningham, A. F., Petty, N. K., Mahon, V., Brinkley, C., Hobman, J. L., Savarino, S. J., Turner, S. M., Pallen, M. J., Penn, C. W., Parkhill, J., Turner, A. K., Johnson, T. J., Thomson, N. R., Smith, S. G. J. and Henderson, I. R. (2010) A commensal gone bad: Complete genome sequence of the prototypical enterotoxigenic escherichia coli strain H10407. Journal of Bacteriology, 192 21: 5822-5831. doi:10.1128/JB.00710-10
Wells, Timothy J., Totsika, Makrina and Schembri, Mark A. (2010) Autotransporters of Escherichia coli: A sequence-based characterization. Microbiology, 156 8: 2459-2469. doi:10.1099/mic.0.039024-0
Heras, B, Totsika, M, Jarrott, R, Shouldice, SR, Guncar, G, Achard, MES, Wells, TJ, Argente, MP, McEwan, AG and Schembri, MA (2010) Structural and functional characterization of three DsbA paralogues from Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285 24: 18423-18432. doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.101360
Allsopp, Luke P., Totsika, Makrina, Tree, Jai J., Ulett, Glen C., Mabbett, Amanda N., Wells, Timothy J., Kobe, Bostjan, Beatson, Scott A. and Schembri, Mark A. (2010) UpaH is a newly identified autotransporter protein that contributes to biofilm formation and bladder colonization by uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073. Infection and Immunity, 78 4: 1659-1669. doi:10.1128/IAI.01010-09
Wells, Timothy J., McNeilly, Tom N., Totsika, Makrina, Mahajan, Arvind, Gally, David L. and Schembri, Mark A. (2009) The Escherichia coli O157:H7 EhaB autotransporter protein binds to laminin and collagen I and induces a serum IgA response in O157:H7 challenged cattle. Environmental Microbiology, 11 7: 1803-1814. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01905.x
Wells, T.J., Sherlock, O., Rivas, L., Mahajan, A., Beatson, S.A., Torpdahl, M., Webb, R.I., Allsopp, L., Gobius, K., Gally, D.L. and Schembri, M.A. (2008) EhaA is a novel autotransporter protein of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 that contributes to adhesion and biofilm formation. Environmental Microbiology, 10 3: 589-604. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01479.x
Wells, T. J., Tree, J. J., Ulett, G. C. and Schembri, M. A. (2007) Autotransporter proteins: novel targets at the bacterial cell surface. Fems Microbiology Letters, 274 2: 163-172. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2007.00833.x
Conference Papers
Gresshoff, PM, Gualtieri, G, Laniya, T, Indrasumunar, A, Miyahara, A, Nontachaiyapoom, S, Wells, T, Biswas, B, Chan, PK, Scott, P, Kinkema, M, Djordjevic, M, Hoffmann, D, Pregelj, L, Buzas, DM, Li, DX, Men, A, Jiang, Q, Hwang, CH and Carroll, BJ (2005). Functional genomics of the regulation of nodule number in legumes. In: Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment. Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment Proceedings of the 14th International Nitrogen Fixation Congress. 14th International Nitrogen Fixation Congress, Beijing, China, (173-178). 27 October - 1 November 2004. doi:10.1007/1-4020-3570-5
Gresshoff, P. M., Carroll, B. J., Gualtieri Gonzalez, G. S., Vickers, C., Kuen, P., Huang, C., Scott, P. T., Kinkema, M. D., Men, A., Stiller, J., Jiang, Q., Laniya, T.S., Buzas, D. M., Miyahara, A., Indrasumunar, A., Nontachaiyapoom, S., Hoffmann, D., Biswas, B., Wells, T. J., So, H., Pregelj, L. and Dong, X. (2004). Functional genomic analysis of nodule development in soybean and Lotus Japonicus. In: ComBio 2004. Com Bio 2004, Intercontinental Burswood Resort, Perth, Australia, (36-36). 26-30 September, 2004.
Thesis
Timothy Wells (2008). Identification and Characterisation of Novel Autotransporters of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 PhD Thesis, School of Chemistry & Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland.