Dr. Robert Nicholas Ph.D.

EMAIL: pnichola@email.unc.edu

PERSONAL WEBSITE: https://www.med.unc.edu/pharm/directory/robert-a-nicholas-phd/

PUBLICATIONS: Publications Link

I mostly focus on mechanisms of resistance in the pathogenic organism, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. At UNC, I have built a research group that has defined at the molecular level the mechanisms of chromosomally mediated resistance to -lactam antibiotics and tetracycline in N. gonorrhoeae. My laboratory utilizes a wide range of approaches, including genetics, molecular biology, bacteriology, structural biology, and biochemistry. We have established experimental systems that allow us to define the contributions of each determinant to antibiotic resistance, to identify the mutations in each determinant that confer resistance, and to quantify the synergism between these determinants in the acquisition of resistance. I am highly collaborative and enjoy working as a team with other like-minded researchers. I have active collaborations with Dr. Christopher Davies (Univ S Ala) on PBP2 structure and function, Drs. Ann Jerse (USUHS) and Yonatan Grad (Harvard) on identification and analysis of compensatory mutations that support evolution of antibiotic resistance in N. gonorrhoeae, and Dr. Alex Duncan (UNC) on the role of the outer membrane porin, PorB, for inhibition of antigen presentation and dendritic cell-mediated T cell proliferation, as part of a long-range goal to understand how N. gonorrhoeae evades the human immune system. I am a member of the Gonococcal Vaccine CRC U19 grant working on a vaccine against N. gonorrhoeae. I also have a collaboration with Dr. Wolfgang Bergmeier (UNC) on regulation of P2Y receptors in the context of ADP-promoted platelet aggregation.