New Oriel Fellow a £1.3 million Wellcome Trust award recipient

In 2020, Ghilarov was awarded the five-year Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, which accompanied a £1.3 million grant to establish a research group, which he did in 2021, at the John Innes Centre, near Norwich.

The group uses cryogenic electron microscopy to discover how bacteria use enzymatic “molecular machines” to manipulate the structure of peptides and nucleic acids. This research, says Ghilarov, has potential applications for the development of new antibiotics and combatting antimicrobial drug resistance.

The research group will now move from the John Innes Centre to the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford.

Ghilarov succeeds Dr Maike Bublitz as the Ron Bancroft Fellow. Bublitz left Oriel College after eight years of service in 2023, and Dr Dominic Alonzi has been serving as a temporary fellow since her departure.

Among Ghilarov and his group’s most significant research contributions is establishing how natural and synthetic drugs target a specific set of bacterial enzymes called topoisomerases.

Topoisomerases, Ghilarov explains, are used by all living organisms on Earth to disentangle DNA, which is a vital part of cell division. They are prime targets for anticancer and antimicrobial therapies, he adds.

His research group also investigates the biosynthesis of peptides with antimicrobial properties. In nature, bacteria use these natural antibiotics to compete for resources, but Ghilarov believes they could be harnessed for new medicinal purposes.

Ghilarov has also started to research the interactions of bacteria with the viruses that infect them, called bacteriophages.

Ghilarov says that Oxford’s Biochemistry Department is “well-equipped” for continuing his research after the group’s move is complete.

He adds that he is looking forward to mentoring “new generations of students” as a tutor and passing on the ideas and experiences that shaped his education when he was a student in Moscow.