Koronakis Group
Our Research
The Koronakis Laboratory investigates how bacterial pathogens interact with host cells and how bacteria export toxins and resist antimicrobial treatments. By combining structural biology, microbiology, biochemistry and cell biology, we aim to understand the molecular mechanisms that drive infection, antibiotic resistance and cellular signalling.
Our research spans four interconnected areas.
Bacterial Toxin Export and Multidrug Efflux
Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine. Many Gram-negative bacteria survive by exporting antibacterial drugs and toxins through specialised transport systems that span both the inner and outer bacterial membranes.
Our research focuses on the structure and function of these export systems, including the TolC channel and associated membrane transport proteins. Using structural biology, biochemistry and biophysical approaches, we investigate how these molecular machines assemble, function and adapt.
By understanding how bacteria export toxins and evade antibiotics, we aim to identify new therapeutic targets to combat antimicrobial resistance.
How Salmonella Manipulates Host Cells During Infection
Salmonella remains a significant cause of gastrointestinal disease worldwide. Successful infection depends on the bacterium's ability to invade host cells, where it can survive, replicate and spread.
To achieve this, Salmonella injects specialised effector proteins into host cells. These proteins hijack cellular signalling pathways and reorganise the host cell cytoskeleton, effectively persuading the cell to engulf the invading bacterium.
We use molecular and cellular biology approaches to understand how Salmonella effectors interact with host proteins and how these interactions drive infection.
Using Pathogenic E. coli to Study Cell Signalling
Enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (E. coli) cause severe intestinal disease by attaching to the surface of intestinal cells and triggering dramatic changes to the host cell cytoskeleton.
These bacteria produce proteins that mimic key components of human signalling pathways, including receptors, ligands and adaptor proteins. This allows them to manipulate cellular behaviour and create characteristic actin-rich structures known as pedestals.
We exploit these bacterial proteins as powerful tools to investigate fundamental mechanisms of transmembrane receptor signalling and cellular communication.
Deciphering Cellular Signalling and Cell Movement
Cell migration underpins many biological processes, including development, wound healing and immune responses. Understanding how cells move requires detailed knowledge of how signalling pathways coordinate changes in the cytoskeleton and cell membrane.
Our laboratory develops innovative experimental systems to investigate how proteins and membrane lipids work together to direct cellular movement. Using biomimetic systems and in vitro reconstitution approaches, we recreate complex cellular processes to uncover their underlying molecular mechanisms.
This work provides fundamental insights into cell biology while informing our understanding of infection, immunity and disease.
Research Approach
The Koronakis Laboratory combines structural biology, molecular microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics and cell biology to investigate fundamental questions in host–pathogen interactions and cellular signalling.
Our goal is to reveal the molecular mechanisms that underpin bacterial infection, antibiotic resistance and cell behaviour, providing new opportunities for therapeutic intervention and advancing our understanding of both microbial pathogenesis and human cell biology.
Recent Publications
2026
Liganded LolCDE structures reveal a common substrate–LolE interaction guiding bacterial lipoprotein transport
P. Szewczyk, N.P. Greene, M.F. Symmons, S.W. Hardwick and V. Koronakis
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123(4), e2520579123 (2026)
2025
A role for class I p21-activated kinases in the regulation of the excitability of the actin cytoskeleton
J.J. Tyler, A. Davidson, M.E. Poxon, M. Llanses Martinez, P. Hume, J.S. King et al.
Journal of Cell Science 138(12), jcs263763 (2025)
2023
Salmonella invasion of a cell is self-limiting due to effector-driven activation of N-WASP
A. Davidson, P.J. Hume, N.P. Greene and V. Koronakis
iScience 26(5) (2023)
2022
Structural basis of lipoprotein recognition by the bacterial Lol trafficking chaperone LolA
E. Kaplan, N.P. Greene, A.E. Jepson and V. Koronakis
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(36), e2208662119 (2022)
2021
A kinase-independent function of PAK is crucial for pathogen-mediated actin remodelling
A. Davidson, J. Tyler, P. Hume, V. Singh and V. Koronakis
PLoS Pathogens 17(8), e1009902 (2021)