Sheila Nathan

I initially trained in the field of transcription-coupled DNA repair but switched to bacterial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction in 1995. My research focuses on the pathogenesis of the tropical pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei and the host defence mechanism against the infection. Major research collaborations with Stanford University (USA), University of Sheffield (UK) and KAUST (Republic of Saudi Arabia) have contributed to significant new knowledge on the bacterium’s virulence and pathogenic mechanisms, as well as the failure of the host immune response. The research findings have led to >100 research papers, review articles, and book chapters, as well as invitations to speak at national and international conferences and review grant applications for funders from Malaysia, UK, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. I have successfully trained >50 graduate students, many of whom are now leading their own research in local and international universities and industries. I was also an Associate Editor (Prokaryote & Eukaryotic Genomics) for BMC Genomics and a regular peer reviewer for international journals in the field. I have been invited to various national and international conferences to talk about my research on B. pseudomallei pathogenesis and its interaction with model hosts (mouse and Caenorhabditis elegans infection models). My group’s research findings have been published in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Scientific Reports, BMC Genomics, Virulence, Microbiology Spectrum etc.

Key Publications:

• Ahmad-Kamal Ghazali, Mohd Firdaus-Raih, Asqwin Uthaya Kumar, Wei-Kang Lee, Chee-Choong Hoh and Sheila Nathan. 2023. Transitioning from soil to host: Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the Burkholderia pseudomallei response to different niches. Microbiology Spectrum 11(2): 1 – 21.
• Cin Kong, Rui-Rui Wong, Ahmad-Kamal Ghazali, Yuka Hara, Tengku Nurfarhana Tengku   Aziz and Sheila Nathan. 2023. Transcriptional landscape of Burkholderia pseudomallei                 cultured under environmental and clinical conditions. Microbial Genomics. 9:000982.
• Wong Y-C, Mohamed Ghazzali RN, Abd El Ghany M, Hoh C-C, Pain A and Sheila Nathan. 2022. Genome-wide transposon mutagenesis analysis of Burkholderia pseudomallei reveals essential genes for in vitro and in vivo survival. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 12:1062682. 
• Ahmad-Kamal Ghazali, Su-Anne Eng, Jia-Shiun Khoo, Seddon Teoh, Chee-Choong Hoh and Sheila Nathan. 2021. Whole genome comparative analysis of Malaysian Burkholderia pseudomallei clinical isolates. Microbial Genomics. 7(2):1-12.
• Revathy Arushothy, Fairuz Amran, Nazirah Samsuddin, Norazah Ahmad and Sheila Nathan. 2020. Multi locus sequence typing of clinical Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates from Malaysia. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 14(12): e0008979.
• Chee-Hoo Yip, Ahmad-Kamal Ghazali and Sheila Nathan. 2020. Burkholderia pseudomallei pathogenesis and survival in different niches. Biochemical Society Transactions. 48:569–579.
• Sheila Nathan, Sylvia Chieng , Paul Vijay Kingsley, Anand Mohan, Yuwana Podin, Mong- How Ooi, Vanitha Mariappan, Kumutha Malar Vellasamy, Jamuna Vadivelu, Sylvia Daim and Soon-Hin How. 2018. Melioidosis in Malaysia: Incidence, clinical challenges, and advances in understanding pathogenesis. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 3: 25.
• Wong, R-R., Kong, C., Lee S-H., and Sheila Nathan. 2016. Detection of Burkholderia pseudomallei toxin-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis using a Caenorhabditis elegans ugt-29 biosensor. Scientific Reports 6:27475.
• Song-Hua Lee, Rui-Rui Wong, Chui-Yoke Chin, Tian-Yeh Lim, Su-Anne Eng, Cin Kong, Nur Afifah Ijap, Ming-Seong Lau, Mei-Perng Lim, Yunn-Hwen Gan, Fang-Lian He, Man-Wah Tan and Sheila Nathan. 2013. Burkholderia pseudomallei suppresses Caenorhabditis elegans immunity by specific degradation of a GATA transcription factor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110(37):15067 – 15072.
• Chui-Yoke Chin, Denise M Monack and Sheila Nathan. 2010. Genome wide transcriptome profiling of a murine acute melioidosis model reveals new insights into how Burkholderia pseudomallei overcome host innate immunity. BMC Genomics. 11:672.