Curriculum Vitae
Name
Michael Wilson
Title
Professor
Tel
+44 (0) 20 7915 1231
GRSC, MSc, PhD, DSc,
FRCPath
Fax
+44 (0) 20 7915 1127
Qualifications
Email
Pro-Provost for Europe, UCL
Position
Professor of Microbiology,
Eastman Dental Institute
Honorary Principal
Bacteriologist, Eastman Dental
Hospital
M.Wilson@eastman.ucl.ac.uk
Division of Microbial Diseases
UCL Eastman Dental Institut
Address
256 Gray's Inn Road
London WC1X 8LD
UK
Background
Michael Wilson qualified in Chemistry in 1968 and then went on to do a Masters Degree in
Microbiological Chemistry and a PhD in Microbiology. After holding Lectureships in
Microbial Biochemistry, Microbiology and Medical Microbiology he was appointed Lecturer
in Bacteriology at the Eastman Dental Institute in 1983. In 1988 he was promoted to Senior
Lecturer and in 1992 to Head of the Microbiology department. Having been an Associate of
the Royal College of Pathologists since 1981, he gained his Membership in 1991 and was
elected to a Fellowship in 1997. He was promoted to Reader in Oral Microbiology in the
University of London in 1993 and a Professor of Microbiology in the Faculty of Clinical
Sciences, University College London in 1996. In recognition of his research achievements,
Professor Wilson was awarded a DSc degree in 1999.
Research Interests
His main research interests are indigenous microbiota of humans, antibiotic resistance,
biofilms, bacterial virulence factors, and the development of new antimicrobial strategies.
With regard to the latter, he has a particular interest in light-activated antimicrobial agents
and their application to the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases - he has published
more than 50 papers in this field. He is very interested in translational research and has
applied for 11 patents for inventions in the fields of antimicrobial chemotherapy,
lipopolysaccharide analysis and water purification and some of these have been licensed to
various companies by UCL Business PLC. In 1990 he received the National
Westminster/British Petroleum Innovation Award and in 1991 the Toshiba "Invention of the
Year" Award for inventing a low-technology method of sterilising water for use in developing countries.
He has obtained more than £10 million in grant funding to support his research - major funding bodies have included
MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, Wellcome Trust, European Commission, British Heart Foundation, Charles Wolfson
Charitable Trust and a number of commercial organizations.
Public Engagement in Science
He has a great interest in informing the public about his research and is the Principal Investigator on a "People's Award"
from the Wellcome Trust. This award will be used to produce a travelling exhibition about the indigenous microbiota of
humans. The exhibition will be shown at the Cheltenham Science Festival in June 2009 and at other festivals.
He has also worked with the artist Julia Lohmann to produce a huge image designed to show the location of the various
bacteria that inhabit the human body. This is displayed in the window of the Wellcome Trust building on the Euston
Road in London.
1
Patents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
A new assay for bacterial endotoxins (UK patent 2197470B).
An ablative coating for prevention of bacterial adhesion to denture materials (UK patent 2215730).
Treatment of periodontal diseases by redox-poising agents (UK patent 2202442).
A device for the production of sterile solutions for use in developing countries ( UK patent 9006747).
Lethal photosensitisation of micro-organisms in the treatment of oral diseases (European patent No. 0637976).
Targeting system for photodynamic therapy of infectious diseases (application #GB0323699.9)
Protection of computers and other devices from microbial contamination International patent application no:
PCT/GB07/002946
Antimicrobial Conjugates US priority no: 60868130
Antimicrobial Mixtures International patent application no: PCT/GB2007/002957
Antimicrobial films International patent application no: PCT/GB06/004036
Aerosol assisted vapour deposition for Ag2O-TiO2 International patent application no: PCT/GB06/004032
Publications
He has published over 250 original research papers, 39 refereed review articles and book chapters, 10 books and more
than 230 conference abstracts.
(i) Books Published
1.
Bacteria-cytokine interactions in health and disease. Henderson B, Poole S, Wilson M.
Portland Press, London , 1998
2. Cellular Microbiology: bacteria-host interactions in health and disease. Henderson B,
Wilson M, McNab R, Lax A. John Wiley Ltd, Chichester, 1999
3. Dental Plaque Revisited: oral biofilms in health and disease. Newman HN, Wilson M.
(Editors). BioLine, Cardiff , 1999
4. Community Structure and Co-operation in Biofilms. Allison DG, Gilbert P,
Lappin-Scott H, Wilson M. (Editors). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge , 2000
5. Bacterial Disease Mechanisms: an introduction to cellular microbiology. Wilson M,
McNab R, Henderson B. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002
6. Bacterial Adhesion to Host Tissues: mechanisms and consequences. Wilson M. (Editor).
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002
7. Medical Implications of Biofilms. Wilson M, Devine D (Editors). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge , 2003
8. Microbial Inhabitants of Humans; their ecology and role in health and disease. Wilson M. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge 2005
9. Bacteriology of Humans: an ecological perspective. Wilson M. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford , 2008
10. Therapeutic Microbiology: Probiotics and Related Strategies. Versalovic J, Wilson M (Editors). ASM Press, 2008
He is a founder editor, and continues to be one of the commissioning editors, of the series "Advances in Molecular and
Cellular Microbiology" which consists of the following volumes:
2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Bacterial Adhesion to Host Tissues; Mechanisms and Consequences. Edited by Michael Wilson: April 2002
Bacterial Evasion of Host Immune Responses. Edited by Brian Henderson, Petra C. F. Oyston: April 2003
Dormancy and Low Growth States in Microbial Disease. Edited by Anthony Coates: June 2003
Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases: The Importance of Host Genetics. Edited by Richard Bellamy: December
2003
Bacterial Invasion of Host Cells. Edited by Richard J. Lamont: March 2004
Mammalian Host Defense Peptides. Edited by Deirdre A. Devine, Robert E. W. Hancock: September 2004
Bacterial Protein Toxins: Role in the Interference with Cell Growth Regulation. Edited by Alistair J. Lax: January
2005
The Influence of Cooperative Bacteria on Animal Host Biology. Edited by Margaret J. McFall Ngai, Brian
Henderson, Edward G. Ruby: August 2005
The Dynamic Bacterial Genome. Edited by Peter Mullany: September 2005
Bacterial Cell-to-Cell Communication; Role in Virulence and Pathogenesis. Edited by Donald R. Demuth, Richard
Lamont: March 2006
Salmonella Infections: Clinical, Immunological and Molecular Aspects. Edited by Pietro Mastroeni, Duncan
Maskell: March 2006
Phagocytosis of Bacteria and Bacterial Pathogenicity. Edited by Joel D. Ernst, Olle Stendahl: September 2006
Bacterial-Epithelial Cell Cross-Talk: Molecular Mechanisms in Pathogenesis. Edited by Beth A. McCormick:
October 2006
Dendritic Cell Interactions with Bacteria. Edited by Maria Rescigno: May 2007
Horizontal Gene Transfer in the Evolution of Pathogenesis. Edited by Michael Hensel, Herbert Schmidt: March
2008
Bacteriophage Ecology: Population Growth, Evolution, and Impact of Bacterial Viruses. Edited by Stephen T.
Abedon: April 2008
(ii) Recent Papers
Controlled delivery of antimicrobial gallium ions from phosphate-based glasses
Valappil SP, Ready D, Abou Neel EA, Pickup DM, O'Dell LA, Chrzanowski W, Pratten J, Newport RJ, Smith ME,
Wilson M, Knowles JC.
Acta Biomater. 2009; 5: 1198-210
The antimicrobial properties of light-activated polymers containing methylene blue and gold nanoparticles
Perni S, Piccirillo C, Pratten J, Prokopovich P, Chrzanowski W, Parkin IP, Wilson M.
Biomaterials 2009: 30; 89-93
Preparation, structural characterisation and antibacterial properties of Ga-doped sol-gel phosphate-based glass
Pickup DM, Valappil SP, Moss R, Twyman HL, Guerry P, Smith ME, Wilson M, Knowles JC, Newport RJ.
J Mat Sci. 2009; 44:1858-67
In vivo killing of Staphylococcus aureus using a light-activated antimicrobial agent
Zolfaghari PS, Packer S, Singer M, Nair SP, Bennett J, Street C, Wilson M
BMC Microbiology 2009; February 4th; 9: 27 doi:10.1186/1471-2180-9-27
The inability of a bacteriophage to infect Staphylococcus aureus does not prevent it from specifically delivering a
photosensitiser to the bacterium enabling its lethal photosensitisation
Hope C, Packer S, Wilson M, Nair S
J Antimicrob Chemother 2009; 64: 59-61
Susceptibility of MRSA biofilms to denture-cleansing agents
Lee D, Howlett J, Pratten J, Mordan N, McDonald A, Wilson M, Ready D.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2009; 291: 241-6
3
Toluidine blue-containing polymers exhibit potent bactericidal activity when irradiated with red laser light
Perni S, Prokopovich P, Piccirillo C, Pratten J, Parkin IP, Wilson M.
J Mater Chem 2009; 19; 2715-23
Distribution of tetracycline and erythromycin resistance genes among human oral and fecal metagenomic DNA
Seville LA, Patterson AJ, Scott KP, Mullany P, Quail MA, Parkhill J, Ready D,
Wilson M, Spratt D, Roberts AP.
Microb Drug Resist. 2009; 15: 159-66.
Antimicrobial surfaces and their potential in reducing the role of the inanimate environment in the incidence of
hospital-acquired infections
Page K, Wilson M, Parkin IP
J. Mater. Chem., 2009; 19; 3819 - 3831
Antimicrobial activity of methylene blue and toluidine blue O covalently bound to a modified silicone polymer
surface
Piccirillo C, Perni S, Gil-Thomas J, Prokopovich P, Wilson M, Pratten J, Parkin IP.
J. Mater. Chem. 2009; 19; 6167-71
Improved peptide prodrugs of 5-ALA for PDT: rationalization of cellular accumulation and protoporphyrin IX
production by direct determination of cellular prodrug uptake and prodrug metabolization
Giuntini F, Bourre L, MacRobert AJ, Wilson M, Eggleston IM
J. Medicinal Chem 2009; 52; 4026-4037
Impaired bacterial attachment to light-activated Ni-Ti alloy
Wojciech C, Valappil SP, Dunnill CW, Neel EAA, Lee K, Parkin IP, Wilson M, Armitage DA, Knowles JC.
Materials Sci. Engin. C. 2009 – in press
White light induced photocatalytic activity of sulfur-doped TiO2 thin films and their potential for antibacterial
application
Dunnill CW, Aiken ZA, Kafizas A, Pratten J, Wilson M, Morgan DJ, Parkin IP
J. Mater. Chem. 2009; 19; 8747–8754
Frictional properties of light-activated antimicrobial polymers in blood vessels
Prokopovich P, Perni S, Piccirillo C, Pratten J, Parkin IP, Wilson M
J Mater Sci: Mater Med 2009; DOI 10.1007/s10856-009-3882-2
Inactivation of staphylococcal virulence factors using a light-activated antimicrobial agent
Tubby S, Wilson M, Nair SP
BMC Microbiology 2009; 9: 211
You may also search the Publication Database.
Higher degree supervision
He has successfully supervised 28 PhD students, 45 MSc students, 1 MPhil student and 1 MD student. He is currently
the supervisor of 6 PhD students.
Editorial Activities
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Biofilm - founder editor (1994-present day)
Microbiology (1995-2002)
Archives of Oral Biology (1998-2003)
Biofilms - founder editor and editor-in-chief (2002-present day)
Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy (2008-present day)
4