Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Biography
David Clarke graduated with a B.Sc in Biotechnology from Dublin City University in 1989. From here he went to the National University of Ireland in Maynooth to undertake a PhD in Microbiology, graduating in 1993. He then traveled to France where he was awarded an International Traveling Prize Fellowship by the Wellcome Trust to undertake post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Professor Barry Holland who was based at the Institut de Genetique et Microbiologie, Universite Paris-Sud. In September 1998 David briefly returned to the Department of Biology at NUI Maynooth before joining the faculty of the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, UK as a Lecturer in January 2000. He returned to Ireland in February 2007 and he is a Professor in the School of Microbiology at UCC. Prof Clarke is currently Head of the School of Microbiology, Director of the BSc Biotechnology programme and he is a Funded Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland (http://apc.ucc.ie).
Research Interests
My research is interested in understanding the molecular biology of bacteria-host interactions i.e. symbiosis. Recent studies have shown that the complex interactions between bacteria and hosts (such as humans) are essential for the well-being of the host. However these interactions when inappropriate can also cause disease. Research in my laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular consequences associated with the change from beneficial bacteria to pathogen. To address this question we are using a number of model bacterial species including Escherichia coli and Bacteroides (important inhabitants of the human gut) and Photorhabdus (a bacterium that inhabits the gut of soil-dwelling nematodes and is a potent pathogen of insects).
Teaching Activities
Modules currently coordinating: BT1001/BT2001 "Introduction to Biotechnology"BT3001 "Literature review for BSc Biotechnology students"BT4001 "Work placement module for BSc Biotechnology students"BT4005 "Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Microbiology"MB6009 "Introduction to Microbiology" PhD students currently supervised: Fairouz Gzara (2020-) SupervisorEvelyn Blake (2023-) Co-supervisorEmmet Conroy (2024-) Co-supervisorRoberto Faggiani (2024-) Co-supervisor
UCC Futures (primary)
- Food, Microbiome and Health
Other research affiliations
- FSRC - Future of Sustainable Fermentation (SUSFERM)
PhD Supervision
- Available for PhD supervision
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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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New insights into the microbiome of the deep-sea sponge Inflatella pellicula and the secondary metabolic potential of metagenome-assembled genomes and the wider microbiome
Jackson, S. A., Hrab, P., Zdouc, M., Clarke, D. & Dobson, A., 12 Jan 2026, In: Microbial Genomics. 12, 1, 12:001602.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
<i>BT1549</i> coordinates the <i>in vitro</i> IL-10 inducing activity of <i>Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron</i>
Engelhart, M. J., Brock, O. D., Till, J. M., Glowacki, R. W. P., Cantwell, J. W., Clarke, D. J., Wesener, D. A. & Ahern, P. P., 4 Mar 2025, In: Microbiology Spectrum. 13, 3, 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Integrated Omics-Based Discovery of Bioactive Halogenated Metabolites from the Deep-Sea Streptomyces sp. B188M101
Oluwabusola, E. T., Jackson, S. A., Brunati, C., Gackstatter, S., Vedder, H., Iorio, M., Chawande, G., Margassery, L. M., Nguyen, G.-S., Clarke, D. J., Ebel, R., Jaspars, M. & Dobson, A. D. W., 1 Sept 2025, In: Marine Drugs. 23, 9, p. 362 1 p., 362.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Bacterial bioluminescence is an important regulator of multitrophic interactions in the soil
Muller, A., Morales-Montero, P., Boss, A., Hiltmann, A., Castaneda-Alvarez, C., Bhat, A. H., Arce, C. C. M., Glauser, G., Joyce, S. A., Clarke, D. J. & Machado, R. A. R., 22 Oct 2024, In: Cell Reports. 43, 10, p. 114817 25 p., 114817.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Identification and expression of MarCE, a marine carboxylesterase with synthetic ester-degrading activity
Carr, C. M., Göttsch, F., de Oliveira, B. F. R., Murcia, P. A. S., Jackson, S. A., Wei, R., Clarke, D. J., Bornscheuer, U. T. & Dobson, A. D. W., 1 Jun 2024, In: Microbial Biotechnology. 17, 6, p. e14479 e14479.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Activities
- 1 Oral presentation
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The Brain ↔ Gut Axis in Parkinson’s disease (PD): Alterations in Enteric Nervous System Pathology and Gut Microbiome in the rAAV-α-synuclein Rat Model of PD.
O’Donovan, S. (Speaker), Dolan, E. (Speaker), O'Leary, O. (Speaker), Timmons, S. (Speaker), O'Toole, P. (Speaker), Clarke, D. (Speaker), Hyland, N. (Speaker), Joyce, S. (Speaker), Sullivan, A. (Speaker) & O'Neill, C. (Speaker)
25 Oct 2018Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation