Dr Timothy Wells
Senior Research Fellow & Senior Research Fellow in HMR
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.
Book Chapter
Wells, Timothy J. and Henderson, Ian R. (2013). Type 1 and 5 secretion systems and associated toxins. Escherichia coli: pathotypes and principles of pathogenesis. (pp. 499-532) edited by Michael S. Donnenberg. Cambridge, MA, United States: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-397048-0.00016-4
Journal Articles
McCulloch, Timothy R., Wells, Timothy J. and Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes, Fernando (2021). Towards efficient immunotherapy for bacterial infection. Trends in Microbiology. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.05.005
Romand, Xavier, Liu, Xiao, Rahman, M. Arifur, Bhuyan, Zaied Ahmed, Douillard, Claire, Arora Kedia, Reena, Stone, Nathan, Roest, Dominique, Chew, Zi Huai, Cameron, Amy J., Rehaume, Linda M., Bozon, Aurélie, Habib, Mohammed, Armitage, Charles W., Nguyen, Minh Vu Chuong, Favier, Bertrand, Beagley, Kenneth, Maurin, Max, Gaudin, Philippe, Thomas, Ranjeny, Wells, Timothy J. and Baillet, Athan (2021). Mediation of interleukin-23 and tumor necrosis factor–driven reactive arthritis by Chlamydia-infected macrophages in SKG mice. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 73 (7) art.41653, 1200-1210. doi: 10.1002/art.41653
Divithotawela, Chandima, Pham, Amy, Bell, Peter T., Ledger, Emma L., Tan, Maxine, Yerkovich, Stephanie, Grant, Michelle, Hopkins, Peter M., Wells, Timothy J. and Chambers, Daniel C. (2021). Inferior outcomes in lung transplant recipients with serum Pseudomonas aeruginosa specific cloaking antibodies. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2021.05.016
Rooke, Jessica L., Icke, Christopher, Wells, Timothy J, Rossiter, Amanda E., Browning, Douglas F., Morris, Faye C., Leo, Jack C., Schütz, Monika S., Autenrieth, Ingo B., Cunningham, Adam F., Linke, Dirk and Henderson, Ian R. (2021). BamA and BamD are essential for the secretion of trimeric autotransporter adhesins. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12 628879, 1-10. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.628879
Torres, Von Vergel L., Coggon, Carrie F. and Wells, Timothy J. (2021). Antibody-dependent enhancement of bacterial disease: prevalence, mechanisms and treatment. Infection and Immunity, 89 (4) e00054-21, 1-15. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00054-21
Moentadj, Rabia, Wang, Yiwen, Bowerman, Kate, Rehaume, Linda, Nel, Hendrik, O Cuiv, Paraic, Stephens, Juliette, Baharom, Amalina, Maradana, Muralidhara, Lakis, Vanessa, Morrison, Mark, Wells, Timothy, Hugenholtz, Philip, Benham, Helen, Le Cao, Kim-Anh and Thomas, Ranjeny (2021). Streptococcus species enriched in the oral cavity of patients with RA are a source of peptidoglycan-polysaccharide polymers that can induce arthritis in mice. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 80 (5) annrheumdis-2020-219009, annrheumdis-2020. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-219009
Bryant, Jack Alfred, Morris, Faye C., Knowles, Timothy J., Maderbocus, Riyaz, Heinz, Eva, Boelter, Gabriela, Alodaini, Dema, Colyer, Adam, Wotherspoon, Peter J., Staunton, Kara A., Jeeves, Mark, Browning, Douglas F., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Wells, Timothy J., Rossiter, Amanda E., Bavro, Vassiliy N., Sridhar, Pooja, Ward, Douglas G., Chong, Zhi-Soon, Goodall, Emily C. A., Icke, Christopher, Teo, Alvin, Chng, Shu-Sin, Roper, David I., Lithgow, Trevor, Cunningham, Adam F., Banzhaf, Manuel, Overduin, Michael and Henderson, Ian R. (2020). Structure of dual-BON domain protein DolP identifies phospholipid binding as a new mechanism for protein localization. eLife, 9 e62614, 1-61. doi: 10.7554/elife.62614
Divithotawela, Chandima, Pham, Amy, Ledger, Emma L., Hopkins, Peter, Wells, Timothy J. and Chambers, Daniel (2020). Treatment of life-threatening Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection by pheresis of inhibitory antibodies. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 39 (1), 87-89. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2019.10.001
Benedikz, Elizabeth K., Bailey, Dalan, Cook, Charlotte N. L., Gonçalves-Carneiro, Daniel, Buckner, Michelle M. C., Blair, Jessica M. A., Wells, Timothy J., Fletcher, Nicola F., Goodall, Margaret, Flores-Langarica, Adriana, Kingsley, Robert A., Madsen, Jens, Teeling, Jessica, Johnston, Sebastian L., MacLennan, Calman A., Balfe, Peter, Henderson, Ian R., Piddock, Laura J. V., Cunningham, Adam F. and McKeating, Jane A. (2019). Bacterial flagellin promotes viral entry via an NF-kB and Toll Like Receptor 5 dependent pathway. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 7903. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44263-7
Morris, Faye C., Wells, Timothy J., Bryant, Jack A., Schager, Anna E., Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Squire, Derrick J. P., Marshall, Jennifer, Isom, Georgia L., Rooke, Jessica, Maderbocus, Riyaz, Knowles, Timothy J., Overduin, Michael, Rossiter, Amanda E., Cunningham, Adam F. and Henderson, Ian R. (2018). YraP Contributes to Cell Envelope Integrity and Virulence of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium. Infection and Immunity, 86 (11) e00829-17. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00829-17
Coggon, Carrie F., Jiang, Andrew, Goh, Kelvin G. K., Henderson, Ian R., Schembri, Mark A. and Wells, Timothy J. (2018). A novel method of serum resistance by Escherichia coli that causes urosepsis. mBio, 9 (3) e00920-18, e00920-18. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00920-18
Hammarlof, Disa L., Kroger, Carsten, Owen, Sian V., Canals, Rocio, Lacharme-Lora, Lizeth, Wenner, Nicolas, Schager, Anna E., Wells, Timothy J., Henderson, Ian R., Wigley, Paul, Hokamp, Karsten, Feasey, Nicholas A., Gordon, Melita A. and Hinton, Jay C. D. (2018). Role of a single noncoding nucleotide in the evolution of an epidemic African clade of Salmonella. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115 (11), E2614-E2623. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1714718115
Sevastsyanovich, Yanina R., Withers, David R., Marriott, Claire L., Morris, Faye C., Wells, Timothy J., Browning, Douglas F., Beriotto, Irene, Ross, Ewan, Ali, Hossam Omar, Wardius, Catherine A., Cunningham, Adam F., Henderson, Ian R. and Rossiter, Amanda E. (2017). Antigen localization influences the magnitude and kinetics of endogenous adaptive immune response to recombinant Salmonella vaccines. Infection and Immunity, 85 (12) e00593-17, e00593-17. doi: 10.1128/iai.00593-17
Wells, Timothy J., Davison, John, Sheehan, Emma, Kanagasundaram, Suren, Spickett, Gavin, MacLennan, Calman A., Stockley, Robert A., Cunningham, Adam F., Henderson, Ian R. and De Soyza, Anthony (2017). The Use of Plasmapheresis in Patients with Bronchiectasis with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection and Inhibitory Antibodies. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 195 (7), 955-958. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201603-0599LE
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) e84512, e84512. 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) e69971, e69971. 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) 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
Divithotawela, C., Pham, A., Ledger, E. L., Hopkins, P., Tan, M., Yerkovich, S., Wells, T. J. and Chambers, D. C. (2020). A Novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence Factor Predicts CLAD and Death after Lung Transplantation. International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, Online, 22 - 25 April 2020. Philadelphia, PA United States: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.01.1265
Divithotawela, C., Pham, A., Ledger, E. L., Hopkins, P., Tan, M., Yerkovich, S., Wells, T. J. and Chambers, D. C. (2020). A Novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence Factor Predicts CLAD and Death after Lung Transplantation. 40th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), Montreal, Canada, 22-25 April 2020. New York, NY United States: Elsevier.
Baillet, Athan, Bhuyan, Zaied Ahmed, Douillard, Claire, Bozon, Aurelie, Armitage, Charles, Romand, Xavier, Minh Vu Chuong Nguyen,, Favier, Bertrand, Wells, Timothy, Beagley, Kenneth and Thomas, Ranjeny (2017). Chlamydia-Infected Macrophages: "Trojan Horses" for Dissemination of IL-23 and TNF-Mediated Inflammation in SKG Mouse Reactive Arthritis. 2017 ACR/ARHP Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium, San Diego, California, 3-8 November 2017. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons.
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. 14th International Nitrogen Fixation Congress, Beijing, China, 27 October - 1 November 2004. The Netherlands: Springer. 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. Com Bio 2004, Intercontinental Burswood Resort, Perth, Australia, 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.