Matthew Dorman

Matt is a Lecturer in Clinical Bioinformatics, with a particular focus on microbial genomics and Gram-negative human pathogens.Matt is an experienced wet-lab bacterial molecular geneticist, who moved into genomic science and bioinformatics, and now combines his experimental expertise with computational genomics to understand microbial physiology and pathogenesis in species, rather than just in reference or model strains. Before coming to Galway, Matt spent seven years at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Churchill College (University of Cambridge), where he made use of both experimental and bioinformatic approaches to complete a PhD in Vibrio cholerae genomics (2020). In early 2020, Matt was part of the team at Sanger which handled SARS-CoV-2-positive samples in the Institutes high-containment laboratories, part of the Institutes contribution to the COG-UK consortium (and is a consortium member co-author on several COG-UK outputs). Matt then took up a Junior Research Fellowship at Churchill to work between the College and Sanger, focusing on the biology and genomics of non-pandemic V. cholerae , eventually transitioning to a highly-varied Staff Scientist role at Sanger which was held in conjunction with a teaching Fellowship and lectureship at Churchill. Matt was appointed to the post of College Dean (head of student discipline) for 2022-2023.Joining the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences in 2023, Matt is excited to work with mathematically- and computationally-minded scientists on problems of relevance to global health and infectious disease. In parallel, Matt is especially keen to support and encourage students to become familiar with genome data and its manipulation, and to support undergraduates who are keen to obtain real-world research experience. Matt encourages prospective students interested in any aspect of microbial genomics to get in touch.

My research interests focus primarily on microbial genomics, and particularly on Gram-negative human pathogens. Areas of interest and of previous research include: using genomic data to place our understanding of experimental microbiology into the context of bacterial species and their population structures; studying gene regulation and regulatory networks in single pathogens and across species (using data from ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, TraDIS etc); pathogen epidemiology, including in lower-middle income settings; long-read sequencing and the production of high-quality microbial genome assemblies. Microbial genomics and bioinformatics are rapidly-evolving research areas, and I try to maintain flexibility to address new and interesting problems - or to look at new organisms. I consider research and teaching to be complementary and linked activities, and I am committed to research-informed teaching. I believe firmly in providing high-quality training opportunities and mentorship to students and early-career scientists. I use my wet-lab training and experience (including having worked in high-containment labs with high-risk pathogens) to design rational genomic projects. As an experimental bacterial geneticist who moved into genomic science and bioinformatics, I am especially keen to support and encourage students to become familiar with genome data and its manipulation, and to support undergraduates who are keen to obtain real-world research experience.