Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Mike completed at PhD in Evolutionary Genetics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Massy University in New Zealand in 2009. After that he took up a Distinguished Postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Molecular Biology at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. In 2012 Mike moved to the USA to take up a Postdoctoral fellow ship in the FAS Center for Systems Biology at Harvard University.
In 2016, Mike returned to Australia to establish his independent lab in the School of Biological Sciences. He joined the Centre to Impact AMR as a founding member in 2020 and currently leads the Training and Inclusion working group to develop the next generation of AMR experts.
Research interests
Mike is interested in the genetics of adaptation. To study this question, his lab propagates populations of yeast (and other microbes) for 1000's of generations in a variety of laboratory environments. Microbes grow and divide very quickly, providing a means for directly observing evolution as it happens. The goal is to understand how organisms adapt to better fit their environment. We do this by finding the mutations that cause adaptation, determining how these mutations change the genetic program of the cell and trying to predict how organisms will respond to environmental change. Mikes lab employs methods such as high throughput robotic liquid handling, whole genome sequencing and molecular genetic techniques.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Evolution
- Genetics
- Mutations
- Genome Evolution
- Genetics, microbial
- Antimicrobial resistance
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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MACSYS: ARC Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems
Stumpf, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Flegg, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McConville, M. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Read, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Shim, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Coster, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wilkins, M. R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zhang, W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Morris, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Beilharz, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lithgow, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McDonald, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nguyen, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Simpson, M. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Drovandi, C. C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Nayak, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Araujo, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wen, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Eyras, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Stone, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Baker, R. E. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Curach, N. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Harrington, H. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Hasenauer, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Read, E. L. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Schaerli, Y. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Schmidt, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Stelling, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Stülke, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Ziemert, N. (Partner Investigator (PI))
8/02/24 → 8/02/30
Project: Research
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Boosting C4 photosynthesis to climate proof crop yields
Sharwood, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Ermakova, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ghannoum, O. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Furbank, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & McDonald, M. (Sponsor)
Australian Research Council (ARC)
1/05/23 → 30/04/26
Project: Research
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Adaptation by DNA download: Experimental evolution of a pangenome
McDonald, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/03/22 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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NHMRC Equipment Grant - Speed vac- for the preparation of dehydrated DNA
1/11/23 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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Evolutionary shift of a tipping point can precipitate, or forestall, collapse in a microbial community
Blake, C., Barber, J. N., Connallon, T. & McDonald, M. J., Dec 2024, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 8, 12, p. 2325-2335 11 p., 14259.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Horizontal gene transfer facilitates the molecular reverse-evolution of antibiotic sensitivity in experimental populations of H. pylori
Nguyen, A. N. T., Gorrell, R., Kwok, T., Connallon, T. & McDonald, M. J., 2024, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 8, 2, p. 315–324 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
4 Citations (Scopus) -
Horizontal Gene Transfer, Fitness Costs and Mobility Shape the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes into Experimental Populations of Acinetobacter Baylyi
Sezmis, A. L., Woods, L. C., Peleg, A. Y. & McDonald, M. J., 4 Mar 2023, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 40, 3, 11 p., msad028.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access7 Citations (Scopus) -
Leveraging the MMV Pathogen Box to Engineer an Antifungal Compound with Improved Efficacy and Selectivity against Candida auris
Pan, B., Weerasinghe, H., Sezmis, A., McDonald, M. J., Traven, A., Thompson, P. & Simm, C., 13 Oct 2023, In: ACS Infectious Diseases. 9, 10, p. 1901–1917 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
The evolutionary mechanism of non-carbapenemase carbapenem-resistant phenotypes in Klebsiella spp
Rosas, N. C., Wilksch, J., Barber, J., Li, J., Wang, Y., Sun, Z., Rocker, A., Webb, C. T., Perlaza-Jiménez, L., Stubenrauch, C. J., Dhanasekaran, V., Song, J., Taiaroa, G., Davies, M., Strugnell, R. A., Bao, Q., Zhou, T., McDonald, M. J. & Lithgow, T., 6 Jul 2023, In: eLife. 12, 27 p., e83107.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access10 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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Vice-Chancellor's Diversity and Inclusion Award
Carroll, J. (Recipient), Brown, M. (Recipient), Edgington-Mitchell, D. (Recipient), Garcia De La Banda, M. (Recipient), Gurvich, C. (Recipient), Ho, S. (Recipient), Joschko, L. (Recipient), Maher, J. (Recipient), McDonald, M. (Recipient), McGlinn, E. (Recipient), McGuigan, N. (Recipient), Morgan, M. (Recipient), Murray-Zaia, J. (Recipient) & Strengers, Y. (Recipient), 10 Dec 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)