Tim Overton

This project is with @jessicamablair.bsky.social and Sara Jabbari at UoB, @webberma.bsky.social at Quadram, @bugsinblood.bsky.social at Imperial and Dong-Hyun Kim at Nottingham - we are kicking off the project right now!

Powering team science to unlock life’s secrets Four world-class teams awarded major BBSRC sLoLa grants to push the frontiers of discovery in microbiology, photosynthesis, gene regulation and quantum biology.

Delighted to say that we have been funded by BBSRC to do some exciting science on how bacteria prevent accumulation of antibiotics - www.ukri.org/news/powerin...

St Mary's Church, Kempley - the outside of the church, painted pink, with a low tower topped with a squat spire.

St Mary's Church, Kempley - the chancel, richly decorated with Norman paintings.

St Mary's Church, Deerhurst - a Saxon sculpture of a dragon's head

St Mary's Church, Deerhurst - the exquisite Saxon font, carved with many swirls

Some old buildings in Gloucestershire from the weekend

I am also co-supervising projects with @jessicamablair.bsky.social (efflux & AMR), Paula Mendes (sound & biofilms), Joan Geoghegan (Staphylococcus adhesion & AMR, and a CASE project on skin bacteria with L'Oreal), and Michael Bryant (biolubrication).

Can we prevent biofilm formation using different nutrition?

Can we prevent biofilm formation using electrical stimulation?

Please email me if you are interested! Closing date is 27th November 2025.

New PhDs in my lab starting 2026!
Funded projects as part of the MIBTP centre (funded by BBSRC) now open for applications: warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...

Are you interested in biofilms? We have a couple of projects - looking at the links between energy metabolism and biofilms - and electricity!

Research Fellow at University of Birmingham Apply now for the Research Fellow role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

Job opportunity in my lab! We're looking for a post-doc to come join us for an exciting project exploring the evolution of #AMR and #hypervirulence in #klebsiella. Please share!! @unibirmingham.bsky.social Details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOV067/r...

Both GFP variants were poorly expressed in the periplasm and resulted in growth defects and other markers of stress. We used super-resolution microscopy to visualise GFP localisation in cells and other single cell methods. The work was done by Alex Osgerby in my lab, funded by the BBSRC.

New preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
GFP is a useful protein to optimise production of proteins in the cytoplasm, but does not work well in the periplasm. We tested if two newer variants of GFP (sfGPF and cfSGFP2) can be used to improve periplasmic protein production.

A man walking a pictogram of a dog

Had a great time in London this week, including a visit to the always excellent Japan House for their exhibition of pictograms

New paper! A fun collaboration with Aneika Leney's group (@leneyms.bsky.social), looking for cyanobacteria in lake water using novel mass spectrometry approaches (and comparing with flow cytometry) pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Two Scarlet Tiger moths, iridescent black with red, orange and white spots, on a car tyre

A surprise sighting yesterday in Birmingham - two Scarlet Tiger moths on a car tyre!

Starting September 2025, closing date end of May, please contact me if you have questions / for a chat about the project!

Exciting new PhD project!

Are you interested in the microbiology of the mouth, and how we could develop new oral care products to reduce harmful bacteria while helping beneficial ones?

Fully funded by EPSRC (UK students only) and working with Colgate.

www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/co...

Back at work now but Scotland last week was pretty good

Brilliant news! Well done Ilyas!

Chiffchaff singing outside my office window reminds me that spring is very much here.

Concert today in symphony hall - Stravinsky!

Not done a fellowship interview, but certainly most interviews I have done made me reflect on my life choices to date! (Hope it went OK)

Kaasen and Balto

The Balto statue in Central Park, New York

Seattle Star

Feb. 2, 1925: Dogs save the city of Nome, Alaska. A team of huskies races into the dipththeria-stricken city dragging a sled that carries enough antitoxin to halt the epidemic. The last leg of the heroic relay is directed by musher Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog, Balto. 1/10

Tomorrow - playing with solihullsymphony.org.uk in Dorridge, an Opera Gala with Puccini / Wagner / Verdi et al.

A little bit of hope after a terrible week A survival guide to the next four years.

It's been a terrible week. A terrible, terrible week. The worst people on earth are full of energy and vigour, the best are defined by anxiety and self-doubt. Here are three simple rules to surviving the next four years, because by God we'll need them iandunt.substack.com/p/a-little-b...

I'm trying to listen to some new music this year, and starting alphabetically on spotify. This week's discovery - Hendrik Andriessen, father of Louis Andriessen

I find it comforting that I'm partly made up of bacteria and fungi and other little critters. My microbiota make me want to be gentle with myself, even when I'm having a bad day. How cool is it to be a planet that has the capacity to think about and even love its inhabitants?

Concert tomorrow with the Solihull Symphony Orchestra - marking Bruckner 200 with a performance of his 4th Symphony. Quite a bit for the 📯 to do!

solihullsymphony.org.uk/our-next-con...

I have three PhD studentships available currently through the MIBTP DTP warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... on different aspects of the respiratory microbiome, interaction with mucin with @lucyicm.bsky.social, the resistome with Dr Michelle Buckner and pathobionts with @bacterioskeptic.bsky.social

New lab motto

MIBTP PhD applications are now open! There are three associated with my lab.1) infant gut microbes and human milk oligosaccharides with @halllab.bsky.social 2) respiratory microbiome nutrition with Mike Cox 3) mucus-producing organoids with Amanda Rossiter!
🧪✨

warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...

Please contact me if interested!

.... and using sound to combat biofilms with Prof Paula Mendes (warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa...)