Professor Elaine Bignell
Professor of Medical Mycology
E.Bignell@exeter.ac.uk
2996
01392 722996
Geoffrey Pope 317
Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter , Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
Overview
Elaine Bignell is an internationally recognised leader in the field of human fungal pathogen research and a Co-Director (Research) for the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter. Her work addresses the mechanistic basis of lung diseases caused by the major mould pathogen of humans, Aspergillus fumigatus. Major contributions to the field have included pioneering work on the role of Aspergillus pH sensing in pathogenicity, transcriptional regulation of host adaptation, and the mechanistic basis of tissue invasion during invasive fungal lung disease.
A molecular geneticist by training, Elaine began her independent research career as an MRC New Investigator, and by securing a fast-track to Lectureship Award at Imperial College London. She later played a major role in establishing the Manchester Fungal Infection Group (MFIG) and in securing its success as a leading International Centre of Excellence for fungal diseases research, having served as a Director of this unit for 5 years (2015 – 2020).
Elaine’s research seeks a mechanistic understanding of fungal lung disease with a view to developing novel diagnostics and antifungal therapies. Her approach integrates infection models which transcend multiple experimental scales to address disease outcomes at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ and whole animal levels. Most recently, via iterative MRC funding awards, Elaine has applied a systems level approach to define pathogenicity in Aspergillus fumigatus, and is now developing inhibitors of fungal pH signalling as novel antifungal drugs, and studying secreted fungal proteins as novel vaccine candidates and diagnostic tools.
Qualifications
BSc (Hons) Biochemistry
PhD (Fungal Genetics)
Career
1992 – 1995 Research Technician Fungal Genetics (Prof. H. Arst) Imperial College
1995 – 1999 PhD Fungal Genetics (Prof. H. Arst) Imperial College London
2000 – 2006 Postdoctoral Researcher Molecular Mycology (Ken Haynes) Imperial College London
2005 – 2006 Imperial College Fast Track to Lecturer Fellowship, Imperial College London
2006 – 2009 Medical Research Council New Investigator
2009 – 2013 Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology, Imperial College London
2013 – 2019 Reader in Applied Mycology, The University of Manchester
2019 – 2020 Professor of Infection Biology, The University of Manchester
2019 – 2020 Head of Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, The University of Manchester
2020 Professor of Medical Mycology, University of Exeter
2020 Co-Director MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter
Research group links
Research
Research interests
My research seeks a better mechanistic understanding of diseases caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, the major mould pathogen of human lungs. We take a multi-scale approach, using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models of the fungal host-pathogen interaction, to identify regulatory foci driving initiation and resolution of disease. Our aim is to develop a molecular understanding of fungal lung disease so that better diagnostics tools and antifungal therapies can be developed.
We are currently working in 5 main areas
- Fungal sensing of and adaptation to extracellular pH
- Secreted effectors of tissue invasion in Aspergillus fumigatus
- A genome scale census of pathogenicity in Aspergillus fumigatus
- From mucin biochemistry to pulmonary immunity: How do mucins promote antifungal lung defences?
- In silico modelling of IFNγ mode of antifungal action
Research projects
Effectors of Tissue Invasion in Aspergillus fumigatus
Publications
Books
Bignell E (2021). Preface.
Journal articles
Alcazar-Fuoli E (In Press). A Modified Recombineering Protocol for the Genetic Manipulation of Gene Clusters in <italic>Aspergillus fumigatus</italic>. PLoS ONE, 9, e111875-e111875. Abstract.
Okaa UJ, Bertuzzi M, Fortune-Grant R, Thomson DD, Moyes DL, Naglik JR, Bignell E (2023). Aspergillus fumigatus Drives Tissue Damage via Iterative Assaults upon Mucosal Integrity and Immune Homeostasis. Infect Immun, 91(2). Abstract. Author URL.
Farhadi Cheshmeh Morvari S, McCann BL, Bignell EM (2023). Conserved and Divergent Features of pH Sensing in Major Fungal Pathogens. Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, 10(3), 120-130. Abstract.
Velazhahan V, McCann BL, Bignell E, Tate CG (2023). Developing novel antifungals: lessons from G protein-coupled receptors. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 44(3), 162-174. Abstract.
John LLH, Thomson DD, Bicanic T, Hoenigl M, Brown AJP, Harrison TS, Bignell EM (2023). Heightened Efficacy of Anidulafungin When Used in Combination with Manogepix or 5-Flucytosine against Candida auris in Vitro. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 67(6). Abstract. Author URL.
Rahman S, van Rhijn N, Papastamoulis P, Thomson DD, Carter Z, Fortune-Grant R, Rattray M, Bromley MJ, Bignell E (2022). Distinct Cohorts of Aspergillus fumigatus Transcription Factors Are Required for Epithelial Damage Occurring via Contact- or Soluble Effector-Mediated Mechanisms. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12 Abstract.
Furukawa T, van Rhijn N, Chown H, Rhodes J, Alfuraiji N, Fortune-Grant R, Bignell E, Fisher MC, Bromley M (2022). Exploring a novel genomic safe-haven site in the human pathogenic mould Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genet Biol, 161 Abstract. Author URL.
Salazar F, Bignell E, Brown GD, Cook PC, Warris A (2022). Pathogenesis of Respiratory Viral and Fungal Coinfections. Clin Microbiol Rev, 35(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Fisher MC, Alastruey-Izquierdo A, Berman J, Bicanic T, Bignell EM, Bowyer P, Bromley M, Brüggemann R, Garber G, Cornely OA, et al (2022). Tackling the emerging threat of antifungal resistance to human health. Nat Rev Microbiol, 20(9), 557-571. Abstract. Author URL.
Keizer EM, Valdes ID, McCann BL, Bignell EM, Wösten HAB, de Cock H (2022). The Protective Role of 1,8-Dihydroxynaphthalene-Melanin on Conidia of the Opportunistic Human Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus Revisited: No Role in Protection against Hydrogen Peroxide and Superoxides. mSphere, 7(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Sueiro-Olivares M, Scott J, Gago S, Petrovic D, Kouroussis E, Zivanovic J, Yu Y, Strobel M, Cunha C, Thomson D, et al (2021). Fungal and host protein persulfidation are functionally correlated and modulate both virulence and antifungal response. PLOS BIOLOGY, 19(6). Author URL.
Muñoz A, Bertuzzi M, Seidel C, Thomson D, Bignell EM, Read ND (2021). Live-cell imaging of rapid calcium dynamics using fluorescent, genetically-encoded GCaMP probes with Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 151, 103470-103470.
Bertuzzi M, van Rhijn N, Krappmann S, Bowyer P, Bromley MJ, Bignell EM (2021). On the lineage of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates in common laboratory use. Medical Mycology, 59(1), 7-13. Abstract.
van Rhijn N, Furukawa T, Zhao C, McCann BL, Bignell E, Bromley MJ (2020). Development of a marker-free mutagenesis system using CRISPR-Cas9 in the pathogenic mould Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 145 Abstract.
Scott J, Sueiro-Olivares M, Thornton BP, Owens RA, Muhamadali H, Fortune-Grant R, Thomson D, Thomas R, Hollywood K, Doyle S, et al (2020). Targeting methionine synthase in a fungal pathogen causes a metabolic imbalance that impacts cell energetics, growth, and virulence. mBio, 11(5), 1-23. Abstract.
Furukawa T, van Rhijn N, Fraczek M, Gsaller F, Davies E, Carr P, Gago S, Fortune-Grant R, Rahman S, Gilsenan JM, et al (2020). The negative cofactor 2 complex is a key regulator of drug resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. Nat Commun, 11(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Papastamoulis P, Furukawa T, van Rhijn N, Bromley M, Bignell E, Rattray M (2019). Bayesian Detection of Piecewise Linear Trends in Replicated Time-Series with Application to Growth Data Modelling. The International Journal of Biostatistics, 16(1). Abstract.
Bertuzzi M, Hayes GE, Bignell EM (2019). Microbial uptake by the respiratory epithelium: outcomes for host and pathogen. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 43(2), 145-161.
Scott J, Sueiro-Olivares M, Ahmed W, Heddergott C, Zhao C, Thomas R, Bromley M, Latgé J-P, Krappmann S, Fowler S, et al (2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Derived Volatile Sulfur Compounds Promote Distal Aspergillus fumigatus Growth and a Synergistic Pathogen-Pathogen Interaction That Increases Pathogenicity in Co-infection. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10
Bertuzzi M, Hayes G, Icheoku U, van Rhijn N, Denning D, Osherov N, Bignell E (2018). Anti-Aspergillus Activities of the Respiratory Epithelium in Health and Disease. Journal of Fungi, 4(1), 8-8.
Gsaller F, Furukawa T, Carr PD, Rash B, Jöchl C, Bertuzzi M, Bignell EM, Bromley MJ (2018). Mechanistic Basis of pH-Dependent 5-Flucytosine Resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 62(6). Abstract. Author URL.
Johns A, Scharf DH, Gsaller F, Schmidt H, Heinekamp T, Straßburger M, Oliver JD, Birch M, Beckmann N, Dobb KS, et al (2017). A Nonredundant Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase, PptA, is a Novel Antifungal Target That Directs Secondary Metabolite, Siderophore, and Lysine Biosynthesis in Aspergillus fumigatus and is Critical for Pathogenicity. mBio, 8(4). Abstract. Author URL.
Ketelaar ME, Van De Kant K, Dijk FN, Klaassen EMM, Grotenboer N, Nawijn MC, Dompeling E, Koppelman GH, Murray C, Foden P, et al (2017). Abstracts from the 3rd International Severe Asthma Forum (ISAF). Clinical and Translational Allergy, 7(S2).
Loss O, Bertuzzi M, Yan Y, Fedorova N, McCann BL, Armstrong-James D, Espeso EA, Read ND, Nierman WC, Bignell EM, et al (2017). Mutual independence of alkaline- and calcium-mediated signalling in Aspergillus fumigatus refutes the existence of a conserved druggable signalling nexus. Molecular microbiology
Oda K, Bignell E, Kang SE, Momany M (2017). Transcript levels of the Aspergillus fumigatus Cdc42 module, polarisome, and septin genes show little change from dormancy to polarity establishment. Med Mycol, 55(4), 445-452. Abstract. Author URL.
Amich J, Bignell E (2016). Amino acid biosynthetic routes as drug targets for pulmonary fungal pathogens: what is known and why do we need to know more?. Curr Opin Microbiol, 32, 151-158. Abstract. Author URL.
Thomma BP, Bignell E (2016). Editorial overview: the fungal infection arena in animal and plant hosts: dynamics at the interface. Curr Opin Microbiol, 32, v-vii. Author URL.
Bignell E, Cairns TC, Throckmorton K, Nierman WC, Keller NP (2016). Secondary metabolite arsenal of an opportunistic pathogenic fungus. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 371(1709). Abstract. Author URL.
Bertuzzi M, Schrettl M, Alcazar-Fuoli L, Cairns TC, Muñoz A, Walker LA, Herbst S, Safari M, Cheverton AM, Chen D, et al (2015). Correction: the pH-Responsive PacC Transcription Factor of Aspergillus fumigatus Governs Epithelial Entry and Tissue Invasion during Pulmonary Aspergillosis. PLoS Pathog, 11(6). Author URL.
Muñoz A, Bertuzzi M, Bettgenhaeuser J, Iakobachvili N, Bignell EM, Read ND (2015). Different Stress-Induced Calcium Signatures Are Reported by Aequorin-Mediated Calcium Measurements in Living Cells of Aspergillus fumigatus. PLoS One, 10(9). Abstract. Author URL.
Tanaka RJ, Boon NJ, Vrcelj K, Nguyen A, Vinci C, Armstrong-James D, Bignell E (2015). In silico modeling of spore inhalation reveals fungal persistence following low dose exposure. Sci Rep, 5 Abstract. Author URL.
Bussink H-J, Bignell EM, Múnera-Huertas T, Lucena-Agell D, Scazzocchio C, Espeso EA, Bertuzzi M, Rudnicka J, Negrete-Urtasun S, Peñas-Parilla MM, et al (2015). Refining the pH response in Aspergillus nidulans: a modulatory triad involving PacX, a novel zinc binuclear cluster protein. Mol Microbiol, 98(6), 1051-1072. Abstract. Author URL.
Huber F, Bignell E (2014). Corrigendum to "Distribution, expression and expansion of Aspergillus fumigatus LINE-like retrotransposon populations in clinical and environmental isolates" [Fungal Genet. Biol. 64 (2014) 36-44]. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 70
Huber F, Bignell E (2014). Distribution, expression and expansion of Aspergillus fumigatus LINE-like retrotransposon populations in clinical and environmental isolates. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 64, 36-44. Abstract.
Bertuzzi EM, Schretti M, Alcazar-Fouli L, Cairns T, Munoz A, Walker L, Herbst S, Safari M, Cheverton A, Chen D, et al (2014). The pH-Responsive PacC Transcription Factor of <italic>Aspergillus fumigatus</italic> Governs Epithelial Entry and Tissue Invasion during Pulmonary Aspergillosis. PLoS Pathog, 10, n/a-n/a. Abstract.
Herbst S, Shah A, Carby M, Chusney G, Kikkeri N, Dorling A, Bignell E, Shaunak S, Armstrong-James D (2013). A new and clinically relevant murine model of solid-organ transplant aspergillosis. DMM Disease Models and Mechanisms, 6(3), 643-651. Abstract.
Almeida RS, Loss O, Colabardini AC, Brown NA, Bignell E, Savoldi M, Pantano S, Goldman MHS, Arst HN, Goldman GH, et al (2013). Genetic bypass of Aspergillus nidulans crzA function in calcium homeostasis. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 3(7), 1129-1141. Abstract.
Cherblanc FL, Chapman KL, Reid J, Borg AJ, Sundriyal S, Alcazar-Fuoli L, Bignell E, Demetriades M, Schofield CJ, Dimaggio PA, et al (2013). On the histone lysine methyltransferase activity of fungal metabolite chaetocin. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56(21), 8616-8625. Abstract.
Grice CM, Bertuzzi M, Bignell EM (2013). Receptor-mediated signaling in Aspergillus fumigatus. Frontiers in Microbiology, 4(FEB). Abstract.
Henk DA, Shahar-Golan R, Devi KR, Boyce KJ, Zhan N, Fedorova ND, Nierman WC, Hsueh PR, Yuen KY, Sieu TPM, et al (2012). Clonality Despite Sex: the Evolution of Host-Associated Sexual Neighborhoods in the Pathogenic Fungus Penicillium marneffei. PLoS Pathogens, 8(10). Abstract.
Bignell EM (2012). Conservation in Aspergillus fumigatus of pH-signaling seven transmembrane domain and arrestin proteins, and implications for drug discovery. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1273(1), 35-43. Abstract.
Bhatti MF, Jamal A, Bignell EM, Petrou MA, Coutts RHA (2012). Incidence of dsRNA Mycoviruses in a Collection of Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates. Mycopathologia, 174(4), 323-326. Abstract.
Yasmin S, Alcazar-Fuoli L, Gründlinger M, Puempel T, Cairns T, Blatzer M, Lopez JF, Grimalt JO, Bignell E, Haas H, et al (2012). Mevalonate governs interdependency of ergosterol and siderophore biosyntheses in the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. PNAS, 109, E497-E504. Abstract. Author URL.
Bhatti MF, Bignell EM, Coutts RHA (2011). Complete nucleotide sequences of two dsRNAs associated with a new partitivirus infecting Aspergillus fumigatus. Archives of Virology, 156(9), 1677-1680.
Hartmann T, Cairns TC, Olbermann P, Morschhäuser J, Bignell EM, Krappmann S (2011). Oligopeptide transport and regulation of extracellular proteolysis are required for growth of Aspergillus fumigatus on complex substrates but not for virulence. Mol. Microbiol, 82, 917-935. Author URL.
Cherblanc F, Lo YP, De Gussem E, Alcazar-Fuoli L, Bignell E, He Y, Chapman-Rothe N, Bultinck P, Herrebout WA, Brown R, et al (2011). On the determination of the stereochemistry of semisynthetic natural product analogues using chiroptical spectroscopy: Desulfurization of epidithiodioxopiperazine fungal metabolites. Chemistry - a European Journal, 17(42), 11868-11875. Abstract.
Bertuzzi M, Bignell EM (2011). Sensory perception in fungal pathogens: Applications of the split-ubiquitin Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid (MYTH) technique. Fungal Biology Reviews, 25(4), 165-171. Abstract.
O'Hanlon KA, Cairns T, Stack D, Schrettl M, Bignell EM, Kavanagh K, Miggin SM, O'Keeffe G, Larsen TO, Doyle S, et al (2011). Targeted Disruption of Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase pes3 Augments the Virulence of Aspergillus fumigatus. Infect Immun, 79, 3978-3992. Abstract. Author URL.
Bhatti MF, Jamal A, Petrou MA, Cairns TC, Bignell EM, Coutts RHA (2011). The effects of dsRNA mycoviruses on growth and murine virulence of Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genet Biol, 48, 1071-1075. Author URL.
Jamal A, Bignell EM, Coutts RHA (2010). Complete nucleotide sequences of four dsRNAs associated with a new chrysovirus infecting Aspergillus fumigatus. Virus Research, 153(1), 64-70. Abstract.
Han KH, Chun YH, Pimentel Figueiredo BDC, Marianetti Soriani F, Savoldi M, Almeida A, Rodrigues F, Cairns CT, Bignell E, Tobal JM, et al (2010). Erratum: the conserved and divergent roles of carbonic anhydrases in the filamentous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus nidulans (Molecular Microbiology (2010) 75 (1372-1388)). Molecular Microbiology, 76(3).
Chamilos G, Bignell EM, Schrettl M, Lewis RE, Leventakos K, May GS, Haas H, Kontoyiannis DP (2010). Exploring the concordance of aspergillus fumigatus pathogenicity in mice and Toll-deficient flies. Medical Mycology, 48(3), 506-510. Abstract.
Han KH, Chun YH, Figueiredo Bde C, Soriani FM, Savoldi M, Almeida A, Rodrigues F, Cairns CT, Bignell E, Tobal JM, et al (2010). The conserved and divergent roles of carbonic anhydrases in the filamentous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus nidulans. Mol Microbiol, 75, 1372-1388. Abstract. Author URL.
Cairns T, Minuzzi F, Bignell E (2010). The host-infecting fungal transcriptome. FEMS Microbiol Lett
Bergmann A, Hartmann T, Cairns T, Bignell EM, Krappmann S (2009). A regulator of Aspergillus fumigatus extracellular proteolytic activity is dispensable for virulence. Infect. Immun, 77, 4041-4050. Abstract. Author URL.
Armstrong-James DPH, Turnbull SA, Teo I, Stark J, Rogers NJ, Rogers TRF, Bignell E, Haynes K (2009). Impaired interferon-gamma responses, increased interleukin-17 expression, and a tumor necrosis factor-alpha transcriptional program in invasive aspergillosis. J Infect Dis, 200(8), 1341-1351. Abstract. Author URL.
Peñalva MA, Tilburn J, Bignell E, Arst HN (2008). Ambient pH gene regulation in fungi: making connections. Trends in Microbiology, 16(6), 291-300. Abstract.
Sasse C, Bignell EM, Hasenberg M, Haynes K, Gunzer M, Braus GH, Krappmann S (2008). Basal expression of the Aspergillus fumigatus transcriptional activator CpcA is sufficient to support pulmonary aspergillosis. Fungal Genet Biol, 45(5), 693-704. Abstract. Author URL.
Soriani FM, Malavazi I, Da Silva Ferreira ME, Savoldi M, Von Zeska Kress MR, De Souza Goldman MH, Loss O, Bignell E, Goldman GH (2008). Functional characterization of the Aspergillus fumigatus CRZ1 homologue, CrzA. Molecular Microbiology, 67(6), 1274-1291. Abstract.
de Gouvêa PF, Soriani FM, Malavazi I, Savoldi M, Goldman MHDS, Loss O, Bignell E, da Silva Ferreira ME, Goldman GH (2008). Functional characterization of the Aspergillus fumigatus PHO80 homologue. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 45(7), 1135-1146. Abstract.
McDonagh A, Fedorova ND, Crabtree J, Yu Y, Kim S, Chen D, Loss O, Cairns T, Goldman G, Armstrong-James D, et al (2008). Sub-telomere directed gene expression during initiation of invasive aspergillosis. PLoS Pathog, 4(9). Abstract. Author URL.
Schrettl M, Bignell E, Kragl C, Sabiha Y, Loss O, Eisendle M, Wallner A, Arst Jr. HN, Haynes K, Haas H, et al (2007). Distinct roles for intra- and extracellular siderophores during Aspergillus fumigatus infection. PLoS Pathogens, 3, 1195-1207.
Schrettl M, Bignell E, Kragl C, Sabiha Y, Loss O, Eisendle M, Wallner A, Arst HN, Haynes K, Haas H, et al (2007). Distinct roles for intra- and extracellular siderophores during Aspergillus fumigatus infection. PLoS Pathog, 3(9), 1195-1207. Abstract. Author URL.
Calcagno A-M, Bignell E, Rogers TR, Jones MD, Mühlschlegel FA, Haynes K (2005). Candida glabrata Ste11 is involved in adaptation to hypertonic stress, maintenance of wild-type levels of filamentation and plays a role in virulence. Med Mycol, 43(4), 355-364. Abstract. Author URL.
Bignell E, Negrete-Urtasun S, Calcagno AM, Haynes K, Arst HN, Rogers T (2005). The Aspergillus pH-responsive transcription factor PacC regulates virulence. Mol Microbiol, 55(4), 1072-1084. Abstract. Author URL.
Bignell E, Negrete-Urtasun S, Calcagno AM, Arst HN, Rogers T, Haynes K (2005). Virulence comparisons of Aspergillus nidulans mutants are confounded by the inflammatory response of p47phox-/- mice. Infect Immun, 73(8), 5204-5207. Abstract. Author URL.
Calcagno A-M, Bignell E, Rogers TR, Canedo M, Mühlschlegel FA, Haynes K (2004). Candida glabrata Ste20 is involved in maintaining cell wall integrity and adaptation to hypertonic stress, and is required for wild-type levels of virulence. Yeast, 21(7), 557-568. Abstract. Author URL.
Sarkar S, Caddick MX, Bignell E, Tilburn J, Arst HN (2004). Erratum: Regulation of gene expression by ambient pH in Aspergillus: Genes expressed at acidic pH (Biochemical Society Transactions (1996) 24, Part 2 (360-363)). Biochemical Society Transactions, 32(6).
Kamran M, Calcagno A-M, Findon H, Bignell E, Jones MD, Warn P, Hopkins P, Denning DW, Butler G, Rogers T, et al (2004). Inactivation of transcription factor gene ACE2 in the fungal pathogen Candida glabrata results in hypervirulence. Eukaryot Cell, 3(2), 546-552. Abstract. Author URL.
Schrettl M, Bignell E, Kragl C, Joechl C, Rogers T, Arst HN, Haynes K, Haas H (2004). Siderophore biosynthesis but not reductive iron assimilation is essential for Aspergillus fumigatus virulence. J Exp Med, 200(9), 1213-1219. Abstract. Author URL.
Krappmann S, Bignell EM, Reichard U, Rogers T, Haynes K, Braus GH (2004). The Aspergillus fumigatus transcriptional activator CpcA contributes significantly to the virulence of this fungal pathogen. Mol Microbiol, 52(3), 785-799. Abstract. Author URL.
Calcagno A-M, Bignell E, Warn P, Jones MD, Denning DW, Mühlschlegel FA, Rogers TR, Haynes K (2003). Candida glabrata STE12 is required for wild-type levels of virulence and nitrogen starvation induced filamentation. Mol Microbiol, 50(4), 1309-1318. Abstract. Author URL.
Espeso EA, Roncal T, Diez E, Rainbow L, Bignell E, Suarez JAT, Denison SH, Tilburn J, Arst J, Penalva MA, et al (2000). Corrigendum: on how a transcription factor can avoid its proteolytic activation in the absence of signal transduction (The EMBO Journal (2000) 19, 719-728)). EMBO Journal, 19(10).
Espeso EA, Roncal T, Díez E, Rainbow L, Bignell E, Álvaro J, Suárez T, Denison SH, Tilburn J, Arst HN, et al (2000). On how a transcription factor can avoid its proteolytic activation in the absence of signal transduction. EMBO Journal, 19(4), 719-728. Abstract.
Mingot JM, Tilburn J, Diez E, Bignell E, Orejas M, Widdick DA, Sarkar S, Brown CV, Caddick MX, Espeso EA, et al (1999). Specificity determinants of proteolytic processing of Aspergillus PacC transcription factor are remote from the processing site, and processing occurs in yeast if pH signalling is bypassed. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 19(2), 1390-1400. Abstract.
Arst HN, Bignell E, Tilburn J (1994). Two new genes involved in signalling ambient pH in Aspergillus nidulans. MGG Molecular & General Genetics, 245(6), 787-790. Abstract.
Chapters
Bignell E (2014). Aspergillus fumigatus: Saprotroph to pathogen. In (Ed) Human Fungal Pathogens, 2nd Edition, 19-43. Abstract.
Bignell EM (2014). Subtelomeres of aspergillus species. In (Ed) Subtelomeres, 117-135. Abstract.
Bignell EM, Darius AJ (2012). Pathosystematic studies and the rational design of antifungal interventions. In (Ed) Antimicrobial Drug Discovery: Emerging Strategies, 265-291.
Bignell E (2012). The Molecular Basis of pH Sensing, Signaling, and Homeostasis in Fungi. In (Ed) Advances in Applied Microbiology, 1-18. Abstract.
Conferences
Salek-Ardakani S, Cota E, Bignell E (2012). Host-fungal interactions: Key players of antifungal immunity. Abstract.
Bignell E (2010). Therapeutic jackpots lie within the reach of multiscale and integrated mycological research. Abstract.
Krappmann S, Reichard U, Bignell EM, Haynes K, Braus GH (2004). The Cross-Pathway Control system contributes to pathogenicity of <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>. Author URL.
Sartor S, Caddick MX, Bignell E, Tilburn J, Arst HN (1996). Regulation of gene expression by ambient pH in Aspergillus: Genes expressed at acid pH.
External Engagement and Impact
2006 - 2009 Steering Committee of the European Science Foundation (ESF)-funded ‘Fuminomics’ Consortium
2006-2009 Meetings secretary, British Medical Mycology Society
2012 Invited Contributor, MRC Strategic Review of Fungal Diseases Research
2012-2014 Member of the British Mycological Society Scientific Committee
2012–2017 Steering Committee of UK Wellcome Trust Strategic Award Consortium: Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology
2013-2015 Member of the British Mycological Society Education and Outreach Committee
2013-2016 Steering Committee of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) Advanced Lecture Course: Human Fungal Pathogens
2013-2016 BBSRC Pool of Experts
2016 Scientific Committee of Advances Against Aspergillosis, Manchester, UK
2016- 2019 Chair of the British Mycological Society Scientific Committee
2021 Chair elect of the 10th FEBS Advanced Lecture Course on Human Fungal Pathogens
Supervision / Group
Postdoctoral researchers
- Bethany McCann Effectors of Tissue Invasion in Aspergillus fumigatus
