Dr Esther Karunakaran
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Senior Lecturer
Admissions Director for Biomedical Engineering
Engineering Scientific Lead for Spironix
Director for SCARAB
e.karunakaran@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7166
+44 114 222 7166
Room G16, Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Full contact details
Dr Esther Karunakaran
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room G16
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room G16
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
-
My undergraduate degree is in microbiology from Bharathiar University in South India. I sought to apply my skills and knowledge in microbiology to overcome societal challenges and so I moved towards the applied sciences through a postgraduate degree in molecular genetics from the University of Leicester and a PhD in biochemical engineering from the University of Sheffield.
- Research interests
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I study community lifestyle in microorganisms called biofilms. Whilst the biofilm lifestyle offers microorganisms resilience against environmental changes, their societal impact can be unfavourable or favourable. For instance, tolerance of biofilms to antibiotics can result in life-threatening infections whilst their tolerance to chemicals can be harnessed to improve product titres during whole cell biocatalysis. My research interests are in finding ways to control biofilms to minimise their detrimental impact and maximise their benefits. My research integrates multidisciplinary methods, including molecular microbiology, proteomics and colloidal characterisation techniques.
Key research interests:
- Biofilms
- Molecular microbiology
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Industrial biotechnology
- Bioprocess engineering
- Environmental microbiology
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Evaluation of mrkD, pgaC and wcaJ as biomarkers for rapid identification of K. pneumoniae biofilm infections from endotracheal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage. Scientific Reports, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
- Increased tolerance to commonly used antibiotics in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ex vivo porcine keratitis model. Microbiology, 170(5), 001459.
- Bottom-up construction and screening of algae-bacteria consortia for pollutant biodegradation.. Front Microbiol, 15. View this article in WRRO
- Integrating molecular microbial methods to improve faecal pollution management in rivers with designated bathing waters. Science of The Total Environment, 912. View this article in WRRO
- Phage-based therapy against biofilm producers in gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens. Microbial Pathogenesis, 106064-106064.
- A novel high-throughput ex vivo ovine skin wound model for testing emerging antibiotics. Journal of Visualized Experiments(187).
- Editorial : biofilm-mediated nosocomial infections and its association with antimicrobial resistance : detection, prevention, and management. Frontiers in Medicine, 9.
- Absence of KpsM (Slr0977) impairs the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and impacts carbon fluxes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. mSphere, 6(1).
- The influence of biofilms on carbapenem susceptibility and patient outcome in device associated K. pneumoniae infections : insights Into phenotype vs genome-wide analysis and correlation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of phosphate dosing on biofilms development on lead in chlorinated drinking water bioreactors. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
- Adapting the algal microbiome for growth on domestic landfill leachate. Bioresource Technology, 319. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of phosphate dosing on biofilm development on Drinking Water Distribution Systems infrastructure surfaces. Access Microbiology, 2(7A).
- Establishing a porcine ex vivo cornea model for studying drug treatments against bacterial keratitis. Journal of Visualized Experiments. View this article in WRRO
- Metabolic insights into infochemicals induced colony formation and flocculation in scenedesmus subspicatus unraveled by quantitative proteomics. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. View this article in WRRO
- Characterization of ocular clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from non-contact lens related keratitis patients from south India. Microorganisms, 8(2). View this article in WRRO
- Publisher Correction: Deciphering the unique cellulose degradation mechanism of the ruminal bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes S85. Scientific Reports, 9(1).
- Deciphering the unique cellulose degradation mechanism of the ruminal bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes S85. Scientific Reports, 9(1). View this article in WRRO
- The alternative sigma factor SigF is a key player in the control of secretion mechanisms in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.. Environmental Microbiology. View this article in WRRO
- The importance of sewer biofilms. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 3(4), 487-494. View this article in WRRO
- Enumeration of sulphate-reducing bacteria for assessing potential for hydrogen sulphide production in urban drainage systems. Water Science and Technology, 73(12), 3087-3094. View this article in WRRO
- Physicochemical analysis of initial adhesion and biofilm formation of Methanosarcina barkeri on polymer support material. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 143, 518-525. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of Substrates on the Surface Characteristics and Membrane Proteome of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85. PLoS ONE, 10(10). View this article in WRRO
- Development of wastewater treatment system based on cascade dielectric barrier discharge plasma atomizers. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 50(12), 1249-1258.
- Biodesalination: an emerging technology for targeted removal of Na+and Cl−from seawater by cyanobacteria. Desalination and Water Treatment, 55(10), 2647-2668.
- ’Biodesalination’: a synthetic biology approach for the use of photosynthetic bacteria in water treatment. New Biotechnology, 31, S140-S141.
- Biodesalination: a case study for applications of photosynthetic bacteria in water treatment.. Plant Physiol, 164(4), 1661-1676.
- Harvesting and dewatering yeast by microflotation. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 82, 174-182.
- Influence of fermentation conditions on the surface properties and adhesion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.. Microb Cell Fact, 11, 116. View this article in WRRO
- An insight into iTRAQ: where do we stand now?. Anal Bioanal Chem, 404(4), 1011-1027.
- Using a multi-faceted approach to determine the changes in bacterial cell surface properties influenced by a biofilm lifestyle.. Biofouling, 28(1), 1-14.
- Macromolecular Fingerprinting of Sulfolobus Species in Biofilm: A Transcriptomic and Proteomic Approach Combined with Spectroscopic Analysis. J PROTEOME RES, 10(9), 4105-4119. View this article in WRRO
- "Biofilmology": a multidisciplinary review of the study of microbial biofilms.. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 90(6), 1869-1881.
- Mechanisms of Bacillus cereus biofilm formation: an investigation of the physicochemical characteristics of cell surfaces and extracellular proteins.. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 89(4), 1161-1175.
- A Novel High-Throughput <em>Ex Vivo</em> Ovine Skin Wound Model for Testing Emerging Antibiotics. Journal of Visualized Experiments(187).
- Label-free Quantitative Proteomics and Substrate Based Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Xenobiotic Metabolizing Enzymes in ex Vivo Human Skin and a Human Living Skin Equivalent Model. Drug Metabolism and Disposition.
- Establishing a Porcine Ex Vivo Cornea Model for Studying Drug Treatments against Bacterial Keratitis. Journal of Visualized Experiments(159).
- Designing synthetic bacterial consortia for landfill leachate treatment based on community matrices and regression tree analysis.
- Corneal Infection Models: Tools to Investigate the Role of Biofilms in Bacterial Keratitis. Cells, 9(11), 2450-2450.
Preprints
- Evaluation of genomic markers mrkD, pgaC and wcaJ involved in biofilm formation to aid in rapid screening of K. pneumoniae biofilms from endotracheal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage, Research Square Platform LLC.
- The effect of ciprofloxacin and gentamicin on wound healing inex vivosheep cornea model, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Design of an effective sgRNA for CRISPR/Cas9 knock-ins in polyploidSynechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Increased tolerance to commonly used antibiotics in aPseudomonas aeruginosa ex vivoporcine keratitis model, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Bottom-up Construction and Screening of Algae-bacteria Consortia for Bioremediation: A Case Study on Volatile Organic Compounds, Research Square Platform LLC.
- Re-sensitising XDR biofilms using a combination of bacteriophage cocktails and colistin: a natural approach, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- The influence of biofilm formation on carbapenem resistance in clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae infections: phenotype vs genome-wide analysis.
- Evaluation of mrkD, pgaC and wcaJ as biomarkers for rapid identification of K. pneumoniae biofilm infections from endotracheal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage. Scientific Reports, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
- Teaching activities
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CPE327/6027 - Advanced Bioprocess Design
CPE443/6023 Synthetic Biology
- Professional activities and memberships
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Member of Applied Microbiology International
Member of National Biofilm Innovation Centre