Profile
Dr. Harris Mavromatis is an Assistant Professor at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. In 2005 he received his BSc in Biology from McGill University in Canada supervised by Dr Frederic Guichard. In 2008 he received his MSc in Biology from McGill University supervised by Dr Gregor Fussmann and Dr Claire Infante-Rivard. In 2009 he joined the military for a 9-months obligatory service and he got the specialization of Microbiology Lab Assistant. Immediately after his service he joined KAUST, where he became interested in the transcriptional regulation of host-pathogen interactions. In 2014, he graduated from KAUST with a PhD degree in Bioscience, under the supervision of Dr Timothy Ravasi. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and books related to the field. During his studies he has received numerous awards and scholarships for his pioneering work and he has participated in many international conferences.
Education
- 2005
Bachelor degree from Department of BiologyFaculty of Science, McGill University, Montreal, كـــــــندا
- 2008
Master degree from Department of BiologyFaculty of Science, McGill University, Montreal, كـــــــندا
- 2014
Doctorate degree from BiosciencesDivision of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, المملكة العربية السعودية
Research Interests
Macrophages play a central role in the mechanisms of disease and a better understanding of the transcription regulation underlining macrophages activation during pathogens infection will help us design new therapeutic strategies. Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common infectious diseases of humans and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), the primary cause of UTI, are classically regarded as extracellular pathogens. However, recent evidence indicates that they can infect and replicate within epithelial cells, and we have now made the surprising observation that UPEC can also infect and persist within macrophages. Intramacrophage survival may contribute to chronic UPEC infections, as well as dissemination to distal sites such as the kidney. This project will focus on the mechanisms of host subversion that enable UPEC to survive within macrophages, and the contribution of macrophages to UPEC-mediated pathology.
Well-characterized candidate Uropathogenic E. coli genes are likely to contribute to subversion of macrophage anti-microbial responses. However, there are likely to be novel pathways, which cannot be predicted from existing knowledge of UPEC genetics, also contributing to intramacrophage survival and host subversion. Using Ultra-high throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) we simultaneously elucidate the gene expression and transcript diversity including non-coding regulatory RNA (e.g. microRNAs) of macrophages and their invading pathogen. These sequencing data are then integrated with other genome-wide datasets such as protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions to elucidate the regulatory networks underline the host/pathogen relationship. Like in our previous works, we are particular interested in the dynamic properties of these networks over time.
Scientific interests
My teaching interests are in the fields of molecular and cellular biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and microbiology.
Courses
| General Biology II |
202 |
BIO |
| General Genetics |
221 |
BIO |
| Fundamentals of Ecology |
271 |
BIO |
| Molecular Biology |
325 |
BIO |
| Virology |
330 |
BIO |
| Medical Microbiology |
434 |
BIO |
| Cellular Biology |
222 |
BIO |
Areas of expertise
| Genomics, Transcriptomics, Systems Biology, Genetics, Innate Immunity, Infectious Diseases |
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