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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 7722
Email
greg.cook@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor
Department
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Qualifications
MSc PhD(Waik) FRSNZ
Research summary
Microbial physiology and biochemistry, antimicrobial resistance, drug discovery, molecular microbiology, structural biology

Research

Research in my laboratory is focused on developing bacterial metabolism and energetics as a new target space for drug development to combat bacterial pathogens in humans (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and treat and prevent disease in food animals and plants. The goal of this work is to produce new and fast-acting drugs that will address the issues of antimicrobial resistance and persistence.

Cook leads a multidisciplinary science team: Cook Lab, Microbiology and Immunology

Awards

  • University of Otago Research Group Award 2017, Otago Bacterial Energetics and Antimicrobial Resistance Group
  • University of Otago Distinguished Research Medal, 2014 (University of Otago's highest distinction)
  • Fellow of the Royal Society New Zealand, 2013

Roles

Publications

Greening, C., Berney, M., Hards, K., Cook, G. M., & Conrad, R. (2014). A soil actinobacterium scavenges atmospheric H2 using two membrane-associated, oxygen-dependent [NiFe] hydrogenases. PNAS, 111(11), 4257-4261. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1320586111 Journal - Research Article

Berney, M., Greening, C., Conrad, R., Jacobs, Jr, W. R., & Cook, G. M. (2014). An obligately aerobic soil bacterium activates fermentative hydrogen production to survive reductive stress during hypoxia. PNAS, 111(31), 11479-11484. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1407034111 Journal - Research Article

Heikal, A., Nakatani, Y., Dunn, E., Weimar, M. R., Day, C. L., Baker, E. N., … Cook, G. M. (2014). Structure of the bacterial type II NADH dehydrogenase: A monotopic membrane protein with an essential role in energy generation. Molecular Microbiology, 91(5), 950-964. doi: 10.1111/mmi.12507 Journal - Research Article

Hards, K., Robson, J. R., Berney, M., Shaw, L., Bald, D., Koul, A., … Cook, G. M. (2015). Bactericidal mode of action of bedaquiline. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 70, 2028-2037. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkv054 Journal - Research Article

Berney, M., Greening, C., Hards, K., Collins, D., & Cook, G. M. (2014). Three different [NiFe] hydrogenases confer metabolic flexibility in the obligate aerobe Mycobacterium smegmatis. Environmental Microbiology, 16(1), 318-330. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.12320 Journal - Research Article

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