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Professor Liam Good

PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Department: Pathobiology and Population Sciences

Campus: Camden

Research Groups: Antimicrobial Resistance, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Vaccinology, IRLFS (Research Programme)

Liam is Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology in the Pathobiology & Population Sciences department at the ÐÂÔÂÖ±²¥.  He has also been recently appointed (April 2021) as Interim Vice Principal for Innovation.

Liam completed his BSc in General Science from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in 1987. He then spent several years in the Winemaking and Brewery industry first as an assistant winemaker, then a researcher. In 1996 he completed his Molecular Biology and Genetics PhD from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada; the title of which was “Studies on Ribosomal RNA processing in yeasts”.

He went on to work at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and then the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden where he became an associate professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology before coming to the ÐÂÔÂÖ±²¥ in 2007. Liam is also a co-founder of Tecrea Ltd , an RVC spin-out company.

Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics is a serious health problem. Unfortunately, only a few truly new antibiotics have been discovered during the last half century. Therefore, there is a need for new strategies. Liam's laboratory works in the general area of RNA biology and has pioneered the idea of using “antisense agents” as antibacterials. Whereas conventional antibiotics typically inhibit protein targets, antisense agents target “sense” messenger RNAs. As potential drugs, antisense agents can inhibit a wider range of target genes and act with improved species selective effects. This should enable pathogen targeting without damage to the normal flora. We are working with medicinal chemists to improve cell uptake and distribution properties.

In a related study, we observed that silencing bacterial growth essential genes at the RNA level sensitises bacteria to protein level inhibitors. This synergistic effect is being extended in the laboratory to develop sensitises whole-cell assays to detect new antibacterial compounds. For example, we are screening for new new antibacterials in extracts from plants and other natural sources, where they may be present at only low concentrations.

Finally, our laboratory has developed a novel -based-system for delivery of nucleic acids into cells, often called "".  The is applicabel to a wide range of cell types, with potential in vivo applications..

Kamaruzzaman NF, Chong SQY, Edmondson-Brown KM, Ntow-Boahene W, Bardiau M, Good L.
  Front Microbiol. 2017 Aug 11;8:1518.

Nakhuda A, Josse AR, Gburcik V, Crossland H, Raymond F, Metairon S, Good L, Atherton PJ, Phillips SM, Timmons JA. 
Biomarkers of browning of white adipose tissue and their regulation during exercise- and diet-induced weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Aug 3. pii: ajcn132563

Chindera K, Mahato M, Sharma AK, Horsley H, Kloc-Muniak K, Kamaruzzaman NF, Kumar S, McFarlane A, Stach J, Bentin T, Good L. Sci Rep. 2016 Mar 21;6:23121. doi: 10.1038/srep23121

Kamaruzzaman, NF, Firdessa, R., Good, L. (2016)  Bactericidal effects of Polyhexamethylene Biguanide against intracellular Staphylococcus aureus EMRSA-15 and USA 300, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Jan 28. pii: dkv474

Chukwudi CU, Good L. Interaction of the tetracyclines with double-stranded RNAs of random base sequence: new perspectives on the target and mechanism of action. J Antibiot (Tokyo). 2016 Jan 20. doi: 10.1038/ja.2015.145.

Goh, S, Loeffler, A., Lloyd, DH, Nair, SP, Good, L. (2015) Oxacillin sensitization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius by antisense peptide nucleic acids in vitro. BMC Microbiology, 15:262  .

Firdessa, R., Good, L., Amstalden, M. C., Chindera, K., Kamaruzzaman, N. F., Schultheis, M., Röger, B.,  Hecht, n., Oelschlaeger, t.a., Meinel, l. Lühmann, T.,  Moll, H. (2015). Pathogen- and Host-Directed Antileishmanial Effects Mediated by Polyhexanide (PHMB). PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 9(10), e0004041. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0004041

Holloway P, Musallam I, Whiting M, Good L, Van Winden, S, Silva-Fletcher, A, Ababneh, M, Abu-Basha, E, Guitian, J. (2015) Building capacity to reduce biological threats in the Middle East. Veterinary Record 2015;177:337-338 doi:10.1136/vr.h5136

Goh, S, Hohmeier, A, Stone, TC, Offord, V, Sarabia, F, Good, L (2015) Silencing of essential genes within a highly coordinated operon in Escherichia coli, Appl Environ Microbiol. 2015 Aug 15;81(16):5650-9. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01444-15

Chukwudi CU, Good L. (2015) The role of the hok/sok locus in bacterial response to stressful growth conditions. Microb Pathog. Feb;79:70-9.

Ghafourian S, Good L, Sekawi Z, Hamat RA, Soheili S, Sadeghifard N, Neela V. The mazEF toxin-antitoxin system as a novel antibacterial target in Acinetobacter baumannii. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. (2014) Jul 3;109(4):502-5

Dixit, SK, Yadav, N, Kumar, S, Good, L and Awasthi, SK (2014) Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Novel  Fluroquinolone Analogs. Medicinal Chemistry Research.

Mondhe M, Chessher A, Goh S, Good L, Stach JE (2014) Species-Selective Killing of Bacteria by Antimicrobial Peptide-PNAs. PLoS One. (2014) Feb 18;9(2):e89082

Goh S, Stach J, Good L. Antisense Effects of PNAs in Bacteria. Methods Mol Biol. 2014;1050:223-36.

Uguru GC, Mondhe M, Goh S, Hesketh A, Bibb MJ, Good L, Stach JE (2013) Synthetic RNA Silencing of Actinorhodin Biosynthesis in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). PLoS One. Jun 27;8(6):e67509.

Goltermann L, Good L, Bentin T. (2013) Chaperonins fight aminoglycoside induced protein misfolding and promote short-term tolerance in Escherichia coli. Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Johns, I, Verheyen, K., Good, L. & Rycroft, A. (2012)  Antimicrobial resistance in faecal Escherichia coli isolates from horses treated with antimicrobials: a longitudinal study in hospitalised and non-hospitalised horses, Vet. Microbiology 

Boberek, JM, Goh, S, Stach J & Good L. (2012) FtsZ as an antibacterial target. CABI 

Good, L., Goh, S and Stach, J. (2012) Antisense in Bacteria. Methods in Molecular Biology 

Stach, J.E.M & Good, L. (2011) Synthetic RNA silencing in bacteria - antimicrobial discovery and resistance breaking. Front. Microbio. 2:185. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2011.00185

Attar L, Scott S, Goh S & Good L. (2011) A pestivirus DNA vaccine based on a non-antibiotic resistance Escherichia coli essential gene marker. Vaccine

Arefian E, Kiani J, Soleimani M, Shariati SA, Aghaee-Bakhtiari SH, Atashi A, Gheisari Y, Ahmadbeigi N, Banaei-Moghaddam AM, Naderi M, Namvarasl N, Good L, Faridani OR (2011)  Analysis of microRNA signatures using size-coded ligation-mediated PCR.. Nucleic Acids Res. 2011 Apr 12..

Nakashima, N., Goh, S., Good, L. Tamura, N. (2011) Multiple-gene silencing using antisense RNAs in Escherichia coli. Methods in Molecular Biology

BOBEREK, JM, STACH J, GOOD L. (2010) Genetic evidence for inhibition of bacterial division protein FtsZ by berberine. PLoS One. 2010 Oct 29;5(10):e13745.

BANSAL, S, TAWAR, U, SINGH. M, NIKKRAVESH, A, GOOD, L TANDON, V.( 2010) Old class but new dimethoxy analogue of benzimidazole: a bacterial topoisomerase I inhibitor. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 35;186-90.

BERGQUIST, H, NIKRAVESH, A, FERNNDEZ, RD, LARSSON, V, NGUYEN, C-H, GOOD, L, ZAIN, R. (2009) Structure-specific recognition of Friedreichs ataxia (GAA)n repeats by benzoquinoquinoxaline derivatives. ChemBiochem, 10(16):2629-37.

GOH, S., BOBEREK, J. M., NAKASHIMA, N., STACH, J., AND GOOD, L. (2009) Concurrent growth rate and transcript analyses reveal essential gene stringency in Escherichia coli, PLoS ONE 4, e6061.

GOH, S. AND GOOD. (2008) Plasmid selection in Escherichia coli using an endogenous essential gene marker. BMC Biotechnology, 11;8:61.

FARIDANI, OF, MCINERNEY, GM, GRADIN, K AND GOOD, L. (2008) Specific ligation to double-stranded RNA for analysis of cellular RNA::RNA interactions. Nucleic Acids Research, 36(16):e99.

JUNKES, C., WESSOLOWSKI, A., FARNAUD, S., EVANS, R. W., GOOD, L., BIENERT, M. & DATHE, M. (2008) The interaction of arginine- and tryptophan-rich cyclic hexapeptides with Escherichia coli membranes. J Pept Sci 14, 535-543.

SCHEELE, C., PETROVIC, N., FAGHIHI, M. A., LASSMANN, T., FREDRIKSSON, K., ROOYACKERS, O., WAHLESTEDT, C., GOOD, L. & TIMMONS, J. A. (2007) The human PINK1 locus is regulated in vivo by a non-coding natural antisense RNA during modulation of mitochondrial function. BMC Genomics 8, 74.

NIKRAVESH, A., DRYSELIUS, R., FARIDANI, O. R., GOH, S., SADEGHIZADEH, M., BEHMANESH, M., GANYU, A., KLOK, E. J., ZAIN, R. & GOOD, L. (2007) Antisense PNA accumulates in Escherichia coli and mediates a long post-antibiotic effect. Mol Ther 15, 1537-1542.

TIMMONS, J. A. & GOOD, L. (2006) Does everything now make (anti)sense? Biochem Soc Trans 34, 1148-1150.

NAKASHIMA, N., TAMURA, T. & GOOD, L. (2006) Paired termini stabilize antisense RNAs and enhance conditional gene silencing in Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 34, e138.

LUNDIN, K. E., GOOD, L., STROMBERG, R., GRASLUND, A. & SMITH, C. I. (2006) Biological activity and biotechnological aspects of peptide nucleic acid. Adv Genet 56, 1-51.

FARIDANI, O. R., NIKRAVESH, A., PANDEY, D. P., GERDES, K. & GOOD, L. (2006) Competitive inhibition of natural antisense Sok-RNA interactions activates Hok-mediated cell killing in Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 34, 5915-5922.

DRYSELIUS, R., NIKRAVESH, A., KULYTE, A., GOH, S. & GOOD, L. (2006) Variable coordination of cotranscribed genes in Escherichia coli following antisense repression. BMC Microbiol 6, 97.

PARENTEAU, J., KLINCK, R., GOOD, L., LANGEL, U., WELLINGER, R. J. & ELELA, S. A. (2005) Free uptake of cell-penetrating peptides by fission yeast. FEBS Lett 579, 4873-4878.

KULYTE, A., NEKHOTIAEVA, N., AWASTHI, S. K. & GOOD, L. (2005) Inhibition of Mycobacterium smegmatis gene expression and growth using antisense peptide nucleic acids. J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 9, 101-109.

KULYTE, A., DRYSELIUS, R., KARLSSON, J. & GOOD, L. (2005) Gene selective suppression of nonsense termination using antisense agents. Biochim Biophys Acta 1730, 165-172.

DRYSELIUS, R., NEKHOTIAEVA, N. & GOOD, L. (2005) Antimicrobial synergy between mRNA- and protein-level inhibitors. J Antimicrob Chemother 56, 97-103.

AMIRI, H., NEKHOTIAEVA, N., SUN, J. S., NGUYEN, C. H., GRIERSON, D. S., GOOD, L. & ZAIN, R. (2005) Benzoquinoquinoxaline derivatives stabilize and cleave H-DNA and repress transcription downstream of a triplex-forming sequence. J Mol Biol 351, 776-783.

NEKHOTIAEVA, N., ELMQUIST, A., RAJARAO, G. K., HALLBRINK, M., LANGEL, U. & GOOD, L. (2004) Cell entry and antimicrobial properties of eukaryotic cell-penetrating peptides. FASEB J 18, 394-396.

NEKHOTIAEVA, N., AWASTHI, S. K., NIELSEN, P. E. & GOOD, L. (2004) Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus gene expression and growth using antisense peptide nucleic acids. Mol Ther 10, 652-659.

TAWAR, U., JAIN, A. K., CHANDRA, R., SINGH, Y., DWARAKANATH, B. S., CHAUDHURY, N. K., GOOD, L. & TANDON, V. (2003) Minor groove binding DNA ligands with expanded A/T sequence length recognition, selective binding to bent DNA regions and enhanced fluorescent properties. Biochemistry 42, 13339-13346.

RAJARAO, G. K., NEKHOTIAEVA, N. & GOOD, L. (2003) The signal peptide NPFSD fused to ricin A chain enhances cell uptake and cytotoxicity in Candida albicans. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 301, 529-534.

GOOD, L. (2003) Translation repression by antisense sequences. Cell Mol Life Sci 60, 854-861.

GOOD, L. (2003) Diverse antisense mechanisms and applications. Cell Mol Life Sci 60, 823-824.

DRYSELIUS, R., NEKHOTIAEVA, N., NIELSEN, P. E. & GOOD, L. (2003) Antibiotic-free bacterial strain selection using antisense peptide nucleic acid. Biotechniques 35, 1060-1064.

DRYSELIUS, R., ASWASTI, S. K., RAJARAO, G. K., NIELSEN, P. E. & GOOD, L. (2003) The translation start codon region is sensitive to antisense PNA inhibition in Escherichia coli. Oligonucleotides 13, 427-433.

TREMBLAY, A., LAMONTAGNE, B., CATALA, M., YAM, Y., LAROSE, S., GOOD, L. & ELELA, S. A. (2002) A physical interaction between Gar1p and Rnt1pi is required for the nuclear import of H/ACA small nucleolar RNA-associated proteins. Mol Cell Biol 22, 4792-4802.

RAJARAO, G. K., NEKHOTIAEVA, N. & GOOD, L. (2002) Peptide-mediated delivery of green fluorescent protein into yeasts and bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Lett 215, 267-272.

GOOD, L. (2002) Antisense inhibition of bacterial gene expression and cell growth. Methods Mol Biol 208, 237-248.

ERIKSSON, M., NIELSEN, P. E. & GOOD, L. (2002) Cell permeabilization and uptake of antisense peptide-peptide nucleic acid (PNA) into Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 277, 7144-7147.

GOOD, L., AWASTHI, S. K., DRYSELIUS, R., LARSSON, O. & NIELSEN, P. E. (2001) Bactericidal antisense effects of peptide-PNA conjugates. Nat Biotechnol 19, 360-364.

WAHLESTEDT, C., SALMI, P., GOOD, L., KELA, J., JOHNSSON, T., HOKFELT, T., BROBERGER, C., PORRECA, F., LAI, J., REN, K., OSSIPOV, M., KOSHKIN, A., JAKOBSEN, N., SKOUV, J., OERUM, H., JACOBSEN, M. H. & WENGEL, J. (2000) Potent and nontoxic antisense oligonucleotides containing locked nucleic acids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97, 5633-5638.

GOOD, L., SANDBERG, R., LARSSON, O., NIELSEN, P. E. & WAHLESTEDT, C. (2000) Antisense PNA effects in Escherichia coli are limited by the outer-membrane LPS layer. Microbiology 146 ( Pt 10), 2665-2670.

INTINE, R. V., GOOD, L. & NAZAR, R. N. (1999) Essential structural features in the Schizosaccharomyces pombe pre-rRNA 5' external transcribed spacer. J Mol Biol 286, 695-708.

GOOD, L. & NIELSEN, P. E. (1999) Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) antisense effects in Escherichia coli. Curr Issues Mol Biol 1, 111-116.

GOOD, L. & NIELSEN, P. E. (1998) Antisense inhibition of gene expression in bacteria by PNA targeted to mRNA. Nat Biotechnol 16, 355-358.

GOOD, L. & NIELSEN, P. E. (1998) Inhibition of translation and bacterial growth by peptide nucleic acid targeted to ribosomal RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95, 2073-2076.

GOOD, L. & NIELSEN, P. E. (1997) Progress in developing PNA as a gene-targeted drug. Antisense Nucleic Acid Drug Dev 7, 431-437.

GOOD, L. & NAZAR, R. N. (1997) Plasmid mini-preparations from culture streaks. Biotechniques 22, 404-406.

GOOD, L., INTINE, R. V. & NAZAR, R. N. (1997) The ribosomal-RNA-processing pathway in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Eur J Biochem 247, 314-321.

GOOD, L. & NAZAR, R. N. (1995) Visualization of CsCl/EtdBr plasmid preparations under visible light. Biotechniques 18, 556-558.

ABOU ELELA, S., GOOD, L. & NAZAR, R. N. (1995) An efficiently expressed 5.8S rRNA 'tag' for in vivo studies of yeast rRNA biosynthesis and function. Biochim Biophys Acta 1262, 164-167.

MELEKHOVETS, Y. F., GOOD, L., ELELA, S. A. & NAZAR, R. N. (1994) Intragenic processing in yeast rRNA is dependent on the 3' external transcribed spacer. J Mol Biol 239, 170-180.

GOOD, L., ELELA, S. A. & NAZAR, R. N. (1994) Tetrahymena ribozyme disrupts rRNA processing in yeast. J Biol Chem 269, 22169-22172.

ABOU ELELA, S., GOOD, L., MELEKHOVETS, Y. F. & NAZAR, R. N. (1994) Inhibition of protein synthesis by an efficiently expressed mutation in the yeast 5.8S ribosomal RNA. Nucleic Acids Res 22, 686-693.

GOOD, L. & NAZAR, R. N. (1992) An improved thermal cycle for two-step PCR-based targeted mutagenesis. Nucleic Acids Res 20, 4934.

His interests centre around genetics and general microbiology, which he teaches to the 2nd and 3rd year BVetMed undergraduates. He also supervises graduate PhD students with theses in his field.

He has a long-term interest in developing and improving antimicrobial strategies.

  • Action project on Alternatives to Veterinary Antimicrobials (AVANT)

    Professor of Veterinary Bacteriology Luca Guardabassi is the coordinator of a large EU Innovation Action project on Alternatives to Veterinary Antimicrobials (AVANT) involving 8 industries, 5 universities and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe.

    AVANT is a multi-actor inter-sectorial project aimed at developing alternatives to antimicrobials for the management of bacterial infections in pigs, especially diarrhoea during the weaning period, as the major indication for antimicrobial use in livestock in Europe. 

  • Novel nanotechnology for research, bioprocessing and antimicrobial therapy in human and animal health (Tecrea)

    The RVC has developed a novel nanoparticle-based-system for delivery of nucleic acids into cells, often called "transfection".  The technology is applicable to a wide range of cell types, with potential in vivo applications.

    Following patent filings and company creation to commercialise the technology, impacts include investment from private individuals and venture capital; sales of research kits and services; influence on regulatory agencies’ decisions and guidance, and out-licensing for both human and veterinary product applications. In addition to three (two completed) clinical trials in human health, the technology platform has been developed via a multi-million dollar (USD) license deal to a global animal health business for both production and companion animal applications.

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