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Dr Andrew Powell

Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences

Faculty of Science

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CURRENT RESEARCH: Probing ligand-receptor interactions & activities (e.g. in infection & immunity) involving assay/method development.

Ligand-receptor interactions are fundamental to biology, disease and drug discovery. They can also be exploited in drug monitoring or disease diagnostics. We are particularly interested in protein interactions and thus regulation, for example with/by negatively charged carbohydrates, in infection and immunity. Current projects include:

- Cytokine and microbial interactions and regulation by carbohydrates in epithelial barrier infection and immunity.
- Bacterial metabolism of carbohydrate variants and effects on epithelial biology.
- Analysis of surface proteins and carbohydrates of extracellular vesicles.

Andrew is interested in enquiries from Postdoctoral, PhD, MPhil candidates who have funding, or are interested in applying for funding together. Please email him at A.Powell@ljmu.ac.uk to enquire - further details of main research interests are below, but please feel free to discuss other projects.

We seek to:

1. Understand molecular interactions and activities (biochemical & cellular) at human/animal plasma membranes of proteins (cytokines/growth factors/chemokines & receptors, and within bacterial or vesicle surfaces) and negatively charged complex carbohydrates (e.g. heparins and other glycosaminoglycans, sialic acids etc).

2. Develop methods to probe interactions or activities, or detect/quantify (e.g. for proteins, carbohydrates, bacteria, vesicles).

3. Develop purification/analysis of negatively charged carbohydrates (e.g. chromatography, NMR etc).

Using:

- Molecular interaction assays (plate reader, thermocycler, SPR, NMR homo- or heterogeneous).
- Cell interaction assays (plate reader, flow cytometry, microscopy).

- Biochemical or Cell regulation assays (Plate reader protein activity, Q-PCR/ELISA/western blot/flow cytometry expression, microscopy morphology or MTT/cell count proliferation).

- Chromatography, NMR, FTIR & bioconjugation.


Involving collaborations with cell biologists, bacteriologists, synthetic chemists and biophysicists.



A summary of his research history, outside engagement and teaching is below and under other tabs or database icons on this website.


RESEARCH HISTORY

Andrew begun his research career at the Glycobiology Institute, University of Oxford, completing a 4 month MBiochem undergraduate degree honours project developing novel methods in mass spectrometric analysis of negatively-charged, sialylated N-glycans. He then spent a year learning protein expression and analysis to investigate the oligomeric structure of the asialoglycoprotein receptor lectin, which mediates glycoprotein endocytosis.

He left Oxford to begin an MRC funded PhD at the University of Birmingham, investigating the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling system, which is regulated by negatively-charged, O-glycosaminoglycans. This involved receptor/ligand protein expression and purification, bioconjugation to surfaces and labels, surface-based heterogeneous interaction assays (including affinity chromatography, direct and competition ELISA and optical biosensor assays (Biacore surface plasmon resonance and IAsys resonant mirror)) and cell line MTT plate reader assays to characterise receptor-glycan interaction cation-dependence, structural specificity, kinetics and ligand-receptor-heparan sulfate ternary complex assembly. He also critically reviewed FGFs, heparan sulfates and protein interaction methodology.

To improve progress in protein/carbohydrate structure-function studies, Andrew started developing a glass slide glycoarray heterogeneous fluorescence immunoassay as a multiplexed protein interaction screening platform, via a BBSRC grant. At the same time, he helped write a patent on a method for creating highly diverse heparin carbohydrate libraries for drug discovery. Heparins are members of the heparan sulfate family and are natural product pharmaceuticals used to prevent blood clotting ($8 billion market). They are also known bind/regulate 1000s of extracellular proteins linked to inflammation, infection, cancer, neurodegeneration and regenerative biology, hence are a rich resource for drug discovery. To exploit the technology, Andrew and others founded IntelliHep Ltd and reached the final of the 2001 BBSRC business plan competition. The team transferred to the University of Liverpool, where Andrew received the award for the 2005 BioNow Bioentrepreneur of the Year.

At the University of Liverpool, via a subsequent BBSRC grant, Andrew tested the first generation glycoarray technology, against competitive ELISA and optical biosensor assays for screening saccharide libraries for protein interactions with a panel of growth factors and single chain Fv HS-antibodies. He later joined the UK glycoarrays consortium, of research groups from Imperial, Oxford, Manchester, Dundee, East Anglia and Liverpool Universities, developing a second generation gold-surface-assembled monolayer glycoarray platform, compatible with different types of carbohydrate and fluorescence immunoassay, surface plasmon resonance biosensor and mass spectrometry read-outs.

Andrew also produced structurally-diverse heparan sulfate saccharide libraries (using chemical/enzymatic cleavage and sequential, orthogonal chromatographic methods) for use in protein interaction screening, or Slit-Robo receptor/ligand complex formation assays and developing mass spectrometry structural analysis with Imperial College, London. Then, as Director of IntelliHep Ltd, he raised NWDA funding and managed two heparin-based saccharide bioprocessing pilot projects at the National Biomanufacturing Centre (that latter became Allergan Biologics), for which he was awarded runner-up for the 2008 BioNow Emerging Technology of the year award.

Andrew secured a lectureship at Liverpool John Moores University and joined the UK glycoarrays consortium steering committee and supervised postdoctoral researchers at the University of Liverpool for an EPSRC consortium project led by the University of Manchester. He then continued collaborations with PDRAs at UoL, Dundee and Diamond Light source developing protein expression and glycoarray cellular assay methodology, analysing single chain Fv antibody interactions using ELISAs and investigating the specificity of interactions, ternary complex formation and neuron collapse activity for the Slit-Robo/heparan sulfate signalling system (using ELISAs, size exclusion chromatography, synchrotron radiation circular dichroism and ex vivo neuron collapse microscopy assays).

At LJMU, Andrew has assessed different methods for small scale heparan sulfate purification/quantification/analysis from complex patient plasma samples (with Oxford University in Vietnam, Imperial College London and M.I.T) and cell lines, stimulating development of fluorescent reversed phase-HPLC analysis of heparan sulfate disaccharide composition with Keele University and initial feasibility studies of direct detection of heparin/heparan sulfate in blood/serum. He has also investigated assays to study regulation of cellular cytokine response and bacterial adhesion, using Q-PCR transcript or ELISA protein expression analysis and bacteria adhesion plate reader assays and flow cytometry, as well as cytokine interactions using homogeneous plate reader or thermostability interaction assays. For these he acquired funding for masters or PhD students, research assistants and himself through the Rosetrees Trust, BBSRC IBCarb NIBB and Biochemical Society, as well as internal schemes. Recently, he has been involved in characterising cleavage of phenolic-glucuronides using NMR, joining a multi-site collaboration and analysis of extracellular vesicles surface molecules using flow cytometry and plate reader assays.


TEACHING & TRAINING

Andrew teaches protein and carbohydrate structure, purification, analysis, interactions and cell biology at undergraduate and postgraduate level with a focus on technical approaches, real-world context and employability. His teaching approach is heavily focussed on constructive alignment of learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment. As a result, he uses active learning to promote deeper learning to supplement live-annotation of powerpoints to deliver lecture material. He has received numerous nominations/shortlistings for university teaching, personal tutor, project supervisor and employability awards from students. He is a leader of modules, final year and industrial placements.

Andrew has trained undergraduate project students in extraction, purification and analytical chromatography methodology, as well as interaction assays and the use of protein bioinformatics, helping them gain graduate/doctoral study (e.g. at Imperial, Manchester or Liverpool Universities) and positions in analytical industry or NHS laboratories.

Degrees

2012, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, Postgraduate Certificate for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (High distinction)
2001, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, PhD (Biochemistry)
1996, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, MBiochem with honours (Biochemistry)

Academic appointments

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Pharmacy & Biomolecular Science, Liverpool John Moores University, 2008 - present
Honarary Fellow, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, 2008 - 2018

Postgraduate training

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, United Kingdom, University of Liverpool, 2004 - 2008
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, United Kingdom, University of Birmingham, 2001 - 2003
Postgraduate Research Assistant, United Kingdom, University of Birmingham, 2001 - 2001
Postgraduate Research Assistant, United Kingdom, University of Oxford, 1996 - 1997

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