![Georgina Menzies](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1130?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Georgina Menzies
Lecturer
School of Biosciences
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Structural and functional investigations using molecular modelling and molecular simulations
My current role is a lecturer with a research portfolio in understanding DNA-repair and disease modifying coding mutations. Prior to this appointment I held a Ser Cyrmu II Fellowship in the Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff.
My research focuses on using structural modelling and protein dynamics (via simulation) to understand the impact of coding changes or specific structural features on disease. I am interested in the impact of DNA structure and mutations in the repair machinery on DNA repair rates and how this affects age at onset or dementia risk as well as development or progression of mutations in cancer.
I also work on many collaborative projects. For example, protein variants, such as those in PLCG2, TREM2 and ATP8B4. The long-term goal here is to characterise coding mutations in neurodegenerative disease. This will be achieved by creating protein models which contain the amino acid changes of novel genetic variants and using these to make functional predictions. Outcomes from this research will provide new insights on the impact of mutations associated with neurodegenerative diseases and accelerate the path towards translation.
Most of my research involves techniques including molecular dynamics, coarse grain modelling and mathematical modelling. I use these models resulting from these studies to elucidate information as to how structural changes may be affecting the function of the biological system. A large part of this is data analysis. All model systems produce 'large data' sets and I utilise multivariate analysis tools to decipher patterns and correlate this back to biological answers. I collaborate with a number of other researchers and research groups to provide structural and functional information for their biological structure of interest. This ranges from drugs to anti-bodies and proteins.
I am involved in the Alzheimer's Research U.K. network in South Wales, and helped drive the ECR steering committee for the UKDRI cross-centre theme on DNA repair and neurodegeneration into existence.
I have always been interested in how structure relates to function and am always interested in studying something new. Please contact me with collaboration ideas.
FOR STUDENTSHIP OPPORTUNITES PLEASE CHECK SUPERVISION TAB
Publication
2024
- Davies, J. G. and Menzies, G. E. 2024. Utilizing biological experimental data and molecular dynamics for the classification of mutational hotspots through machine learning. Bioinformatics Advances 4(1), article number: vbae125. (10.1093/bioadv/vbae125)
- Mangin, A., Dion, V. and Menzies, G. 2024. Developing small Cas9 hybrids using molecular modeling. Scientific Reports 14(1), article number: 17233. (10.1038/s41598-024-68107-1)
2023
- Lancaster, T. et al. 2023. Proof-of-concept recall-by-genotype study of extremely low and high Alzheimer’s polygenic risk reveals autobiographical deficits and cingulate cortex correlates. Alzheimer's Research and Therapy 15, article number: 213. (10.1186/s13195-023-01362-y)
- Mack, A. H., Menzies, G., Southgate, A., Jones, D. D., Connor, T. R. and Leitner, T. 2023. A proofreading mutation with an allosteric effect allows a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 viruses to rapidly evolve. Molecular Biology and Evolution 40(10), article number: msad209. (10.1093/molbev/msad209)
- Pritchard, M. F. et al. 2023. Structure–activity relationships of low molecular weight alginate oligosaccharide therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biomolecules 13(9), article number: 1366. (10.3390/biom13091366)
- Ramakrishnan, K. et al. 2023. Glycosylation increases active site rigidity leading to improved enzyme stability and turnover. The FEBS Journal 290(15), pp. 3812-3827. (10.1111/febs.16783)
2022
- Powell, L. C. et al. 2022. Topical, immunomodulatory epoxy-tiglianes induce biofilm disruption and healing in acute and chronic skin wounds. Science Translational Medicine 14(662) (10.1126/scitranslmed.abn3758)
- Bracher-Smith, M. et al. 2022. Machine learning for prediction of schizophrenia using genetic and demographic factors in the UK Biobank. Schizophrenia Research 246, pp. 156-164. (10.1016/j.schres.2022.06.006)
- McAllister, B. et al. 2022. Exome sequencing of individuals with Huntington’s disease implicates FAN1 nuclease activity in slowing CAG expansion and disease onset. Nature Neuroscience 25, pp. 446-457. (10.1038/s41593-022-01033-5)
2021
- Menzies, G. E. and Torvell, M. 2021. Exciting new tools for studying TREM2 in dementia. Structure 29(11), pp. 1215-1216. (10.1016/j.str.2021.10.009)
- Menzies, G., Prior, I. A., Brancale, A., Reed, S. H. and Lewis, P. D. 2021. Carcinogen-induced DNA structural distortion differences in the RAS gene isoforms; the importance of local sequence. BMC Chemistry 15, article number: 51. (10.1186/s13065-021-00777-8)
- Maguire, E. et al. 2021. PIP2 depletion and altered endocytosis caused by expression of Alzheimer's disease-protective variant PLCγ2 R522. EMBO Journal 40(17), article number: e105603. (10.15252/embj.2020105603)
- de Rojas, I. et al. 2021. Common variants in Alzheimer's disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores. Nature Communications 12(1), article number: 3417. (10.1038/s41467-021-22491-8)
- Dennison, C. A. et al. 2021. Association of genetic liability for psychiatric disorders with accelerometer-assessed physical activity in the UK Biobank. PLoS ONE 16(3), article number: e0249189. (10.1371/journal.pone.0249189)
2020
- Zelek, W. M., Menzies, G. E., Brancale, A., Stockinger, B. and Morgan, B. P. 2020. Characterising the original anti-C5 function-blocking antibody, BB5.1, for species specificity, mode of action and interactions with C5. Immunology 161(2), pp. 103-113., article number: Volume161, Issue2 October 2020 Pages 103-113. (10.1111/imm.13228)
- Bellou, E. et al. 2020. Age-dependent effect of APOE and polygenic component on Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging 93, pp. 69-77., article number: Neurobiology of Aging Volume 93, September 2020, Pages 69-77. (10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.04.024)
- Grama, S. et al. 2020. Polygenic risk for schizophrenia and subcortical brain anatomy in the UK Biobank cohort. Translational Psychiatry 10, article number: 309. (10.1038/s41398-020-00940-0)
2019
- Legge, S. E. et al. 2019. Association of genetic liability to psychotic experiences with neuropsychotic disorders and traits. JAMA Psychiatry 76(12), pp. 1256-1265. (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2508)
- Kunkle, B. W. et al. 2019. Genetic meta-analysis of diagnosed Alzheimer's disease identifies new risk loci and implicates Aβ, tau, immunity and lipid processing. Nature Genetics 51(3), pp. 414-430. (10.1038/s41588-019-0358-2)
- Grozeva, D., Saad, S., Menzies, G. E. and Sims, R. 2019. Benefits and challenges of rare genetic variation in Alzheimer's disease. Current Genetic Medicine Reports 7(1), pp. 53-62. (10.1007/s40142-019-0161-5)
- Escott-Price, V., Bracher-Smith, M., Menzies, G., Walters, J., Kirov, G., Owen, M. J. and O'Donovan, M. C. 2019. Genetic liability to schizophrenia is negatively associated with educational attainment in UK Biobank. Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, pp. -. (10.1038/s41380-018-0328-6)
2018
- Powell, L. C. et al. 2018. Targeted disruption of the extracellular polymeric network of pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms by alginate oligosaccharides. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes 4, article number: 13. (10.1038/s41522-018-0056-3)
- Sims, R. et al. 2018. Meta-analysis of genetic association with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease identifies novel risk loci and implicates Abeta, Tau, immunity and lipid processing. [Online]. bioRxiv. (10.1101/294629) Available at: https://doi.org/10.1101/294629
2017
- Bryant, A. H. et al. 2017. Human gestation-associated tissues express functional cytosolic nucleic acid sensing pattern recognition receptors. Clinical and Experimental Immunology 189(1), pp. 36-46. (10.1111/cei.12960)
2016
- Avancini, D., Menzies, G., Morgan, C., Wills, J., Johnson, G. E., White, P. A. and Lewis, P. D. 2016. MutAIT: an online genetic toxicology data portal and analysis tools. Mutagenesis 31(3), pp. 323-328. (10.1093/mutage/gev050)
- Pritchard, M. F. et al. 2016. A new class of safe oligosaccharide polymer therapy to modify the mucus barrier of chronic respiratory disease. Molecular Pharmaceutics 13(3), pp. 863-872. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5b00794)
2015
- Lewis, P. and Menzies, G. 2015. Vibrational spectra, principal components analysis and the horseshoe effect. Vibrational Spectroscopy 81, pp. 62-67. (10.1016/j.vibspec.2015.10.002)
- Menzies, G., Reed, S. H., Brancale, A. and Lewis, P. D. 2015. Base damage, local sequence context and TP53 mutation hotspots: a molecular dynamics study of benzo[a]pyrene induced DNA distortion and mutability. Nucleic Acids Research 43(19), pp. 9133-9146. (10.1093/nar/gkv910)
2014
- Menzies, G. et al. 2014. Fourier transform infrared for noninvasive optical diagnosis of oral, oropharyngeal, and laryngeal cancer. Translational Research 163(1), pp. 19-26. (10.1016/j.trsl.2013.09.006)
Articles
- Davies, J. G. and Menzies, G. E. 2024. Utilizing biological experimental data and molecular dynamics for the classification of mutational hotspots through machine learning. Bioinformatics Advances 4(1), article number: vbae125. (10.1093/bioadv/vbae125)
- Mangin, A., Dion, V. and Menzies, G. 2024. Developing small Cas9 hybrids using molecular modeling. Scientific Reports 14(1), article number: 17233. (10.1038/s41598-024-68107-1)
- Lancaster, T. et al. 2023. Proof-of-concept recall-by-genotype study of extremely low and high Alzheimer’s polygenic risk reveals autobiographical deficits and cingulate cortex correlates. Alzheimer's Research and Therapy 15, article number: 213. (10.1186/s13195-023-01362-y)
- Mack, A. H., Menzies, G., Southgate, A., Jones, D. D., Connor, T. R. and Leitner, T. 2023. A proofreading mutation with an allosteric effect allows a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 viruses to rapidly evolve. Molecular Biology and Evolution 40(10), article number: msad209. (10.1093/molbev/msad209)
- Pritchard, M. F. et al. 2023. Structure–activity relationships of low molecular weight alginate oligosaccharide therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biomolecules 13(9), article number: 1366. (10.3390/biom13091366)
- Ramakrishnan, K. et al. 2023. Glycosylation increases active site rigidity leading to improved enzyme stability and turnover. The FEBS Journal 290(15), pp. 3812-3827. (10.1111/febs.16783)
- Powell, L. C. et al. 2022. Topical, immunomodulatory epoxy-tiglianes induce biofilm disruption and healing in acute and chronic skin wounds. Science Translational Medicine 14(662) (10.1126/scitranslmed.abn3758)
- Bracher-Smith, M. et al. 2022. Machine learning for prediction of schizophrenia using genetic and demographic factors in the UK Biobank. Schizophrenia Research 246, pp. 156-164. (10.1016/j.schres.2022.06.006)
- McAllister, B. et al. 2022. Exome sequencing of individuals with Huntington’s disease implicates FAN1 nuclease activity in slowing CAG expansion and disease onset. Nature Neuroscience 25, pp. 446-457. (10.1038/s41593-022-01033-5)
- Menzies, G. E. and Torvell, M. 2021. Exciting new tools for studying TREM2 in dementia. Structure 29(11), pp. 1215-1216. (10.1016/j.str.2021.10.009)
- Menzies, G., Prior, I. A., Brancale, A., Reed, S. H. and Lewis, P. D. 2021. Carcinogen-induced DNA structural distortion differences in the RAS gene isoforms; the importance of local sequence. BMC Chemistry 15, article number: 51. (10.1186/s13065-021-00777-8)
- Maguire, E. et al. 2021. PIP2 depletion and altered endocytosis caused by expression of Alzheimer's disease-protective variant PLCγ2 R522. EMBO Journal 40(17), article number: e105603. (10.15252/embj.2020105603)
- de Rojas, I. et al. 2021. Common variants in Alzheimer's disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores. Nature Communications 12(1), article number: 3417. (10.1038/s41467-021-22491-8)
- Dennison, C. A. et al. 2021. Association of genetic liability for psychiatric disorders with accelerometer-assessed physical activity in the UK Biobank. PLoS ONE 16(3), article number: e0249189. (10.1371/journal.pone.0249189)
- Zelek, W. M., Menzies, G. E., Brancale, A., Stockinger, B. and Morgan, B. P. 2020. Characterising the original anti-C5 function-blocking antibody, BB5.1, for species specificity, mode of action and interactions with C5. Immunology 161(2), pp. 103-113., article number: Volume161, Issue2 October 2020 Pages 103-113. (10.1111/imm.13228)
- Bellou, E. et al. 2020. Age-dependent effect of APOE and polygenic component on Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging 93, pp. 69-77., article number: Neurobiology of Aging Volume 93, September 2020, Pages 69-77. (10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.04.024)
- Grama, S. et al. 2020. Polygenic risk for schizophrenia and subcortical brain anatomy in the UK Biobank cohort. Translational Psychiatry 10, article number: 309. (10.1038/s41398-020-00940-0)
- Legge, S. E. et al. 2019. Association of genetic liability to psychotic experiences with neuropsychotic disorders and traits. JAMA Psychiatry 76(12), pp. 1256-1265. (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2508)
- Kunkle, B. W. et al. 2019. Genetic meta-analysis of diagnosed Alzheimer's disease identifies new risk loci and implicates Aβ, tau, immunity and lipid processing. Nature Genetics 51(3), pp. 414-430. (10.1038/s41588-019-0358-2)
- Grozeva, D., Saad, S., Menzies, G. E. and Sims, R. 2019. Benefits and challenges of rare genetic variation in Alzheimer's disease. Current Genetic Medicine Reports 7(1), pp. 53-62. (10.1007/s40142-019-0161-5)
- Escott-Price, V., Bracher-Smith, M., Menzies, G., Walters, J., Kirov, G., Owen, M. J. and O'Donovan, M. C. 2019. Genetic liability to schizophrenia is negatively associated with educational attainment in UK Biobank. Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, pp. -. (10.1038/s41380-018-0328-6)
- Powell, L. C. et al. 2018. Targeted disruption of the extracellular polymeric network of pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms by alginate oligosaccharides. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes 4, article number: 13. (10.1038/s41522-018-0056-3)
- Bryant, A. H. et al. 2017. Human gestation-associated tissues express functional cytosolic nucleic acid sensing pattern recognition receptors. Clinical and Experimental Immunology 189(1), pp. 36-46. (10.1111/cei.12960)
- Avancini, D., Menzies, G., Morgan, C., Wills, J., Johnson, G. E., White, P. A. and Lewis, P. D. 2016. MutAIT: an online genetic toxicology data portal and analysis tools. Mutagenesis 31(3), pp. 323-328. (10.1093/mutage/gev050)
- Pritchard, M. F. et al. 2016. A new class of safe oligosaccharide polymer therapy to modify the mucus barrier of chronic respiratory disease. Molecular Pharmaceutics 13(3), pp. 863-872. (10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5b00794)
- Lewis, P. and Menzies, G. 2015. Vibrational spectra, principal components analysis and the horseshoe effect. Vibrational Spectroscopy 81, pp. 62-67. (10.1016/j.vibspec.2015.10.002)
- Menzies, G., Reed, S. H., Brancale, A. and Lewis, P. D. 2015. Base damage, local sequence context and TP53 mutation hotspots: a molecular dynamics study of benzo[a]pyrene induced DNA distortion and mutability. Nucleic Acids Research 43(19), pp. 9133-9146. (10.1093/nar/gkv910)
- Menzies, G. et al. 2014. Fourier transform infrared for noninvasive optical diagnosis of oral, oropharyngeal, and laryngeal cancer. Translational Research 163(1), pp. 19-26. (10.1016/j.trsl.2013.09.006)
Websites
- Sims, R. et al. 2018. Meta-analysis of genetic association with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease identifies novel risk loci and implicates Abeta, Tau, immunity and lipid processing. [Online]. bioRxiv. (10.1101/294629) Available at: https://doi.org/10.1101/294629
Research
Collaborators;
- Dr Rebecca Sims (Medicine) and Prof Julie Williams (DRI, Medicine)
- Prof Vincent Dion (DRI, Medicine)
- Prof David Thomas, Dr Katja Hill and Dr Manon Pritchard (Dentistry)
- Dr Dafydd Jones (Biosciences)
- Dr Renatta Jurkowska (Biosciences)
Teaching
- BIT107 Module Lead
- BIT106 Module Lead
- Big Data Biology Deputy Course Lead
- Lecturer - BI3255 - Synthetic Biology and Protein Engineering.
- Lecturer - CM2203 - Informatics.
- Lecturer and Supervisor - BI3008 - Advanced Research Techniques
- Supervisor - BI4001 - Advanced Reserach Project (Integrated Masters)
- Supervisor - BI3001 - Rearch Project (BSc)
- Contributor - BI1001 - Skills for Science
Biography
I gained my BSc(Hons) in Forensic Science from the Uniersity of Glamorgan, studied for a MSc in Molecular Modelling from Cardiff University and for my PhD focused on the structure of DNA in cancer hotspot sites at Swansea University under the supervision of Prof Paul Lewis.
After a Ser Cymru II fellowship to study the functional outcomes of dementia genetics, I took up a lectureship at the School of Biosciences in Cardiff University.
My main research interests involve studying DNA repair pathways and in particular the protein and DNA strcutral interactions using molecular modelling techniques. I also collaborates with a number of other researchers and reserach groups to provide strucural and functional information for their biological strucutre of interest. This ranges from drugs to anti-boides and proteins. Most of my reserach involves modelling techniques including molecular dynamics, coarse grain and mathematical modelling.
Honours and awards
Welsh Crucible 2021
CLIRSPC attendance and travel bursary for SPEC2016
SDMF seed corn grant 2015 (£2,500)
UKEMS conference attendance bursary for EEMS 2014 and UKEMS 2013
EuroTox bursary for conference fees 2014
Professional memberships
- Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
- United Kingdom Environmental Mutagenesis Society (UKEMS)
- Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society (MGMS)
- The International Society for Clinical Spectroscopy (CLIRSPEC)
Network Memberships and committees
- ARUK South Wales ECR REP
- ARUK ECR working group invited member
- DNA Repair in Neurodegeneration, member and ECR committee lead
- School of Biosciences EDI committee member
Academic positions
|
April 2020 -
present
|
Lecturer | Cardiff University School of Biosciences |
|
June 2018 -
April 2020
|
Ser Cymru II Fellow | Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University |
| December 2016 - June 2018 | Post-Doctoral Research Associate | Cardiff University. MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics |
| July 2014 - December 2016 | Post-Doctoral Research Assistant | Swansea University - Tailored OligoG Project - funded by Norwegian Research Council |
|
January 2015 -
January 2016
|
Developer |
MutAIT project (http://mutait.org/home.html) |
|
June 2012 -
June 2014
|
Research Assistant |
Swansea University - Celtic Alliance for NanoHealth Project - funded by INTERREG IVA Ireland Wales Program |
Committees and reviewing
- CUDSSBN Organising Committe - 2023 - present
- ECR Representative (ARUK Network & DNA repair theme, Dementia Research Institute) Various years
- Athena Swan Community Committee
- Dementia Research Institute executive committee member 2018 - present
- Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) South Wales Network ECR Rep.
- Organiser - ARUK Public engagement events - 2019, 2021, 2023
- Co-organiser - ARUK open day 2018, Hadyn Ellis Building
Grant Reviewer
- Alzheimer's Society
Journal Reviewer
-
Structure
-
Translational Neuroscience
-
Chemistry and Physics of Lipids
- Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports
Journal Editor
-
Frontiers in Dementia
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising students in the areas of;
- Development of Molecular Modelling platforms for DNA strucural analysis
- Molecular Dynamics simulations of CRISPR systems
- Molecular Dyanamics simulations of protein mutations
- Simulations and analysis of DNA strucutre in relation to repair pathways
Current supervision or co-supervision:
- Antione Mangin; Optimizing Cas9 delivery as a gene editing treatment in expanded CAG/CTG repeats. - PhD, second supervisor
- James Davies; carcinogens and their interactions with DNA/repair machineary. - PhD, primary supervisor
- Rebekah Cooke; Using antibodies as templates to develop small molecule anti- complement drugs to deliver to Alzheimer’s brain. - PhD, second supervisor
- Edward Birt; A combination of in silico and in vitro studies to understand the regulation of microglia by the novel Alzheimer’s disease risk gene ATP8B4. - PhD, second supervisor
Past projects
- Elisa Salis - PhD awarded 2022
- James Davies - Integrated Masters - 2021/2
Engagement
|
2023 |
ARUK Inspire Fund - Brain health £4,150 PI |
|
2023 |
ARUK Network Event at the Swalec Stadium |
|
2019 |
ARUK South Wales Network Cheese and Wine evening. Organiser |
|
2019 |
ARUK South Wales Network Afternoon Tea and Talks. Organiser |
|
2019 |
Pint of Science. Speaker |
|
2018 |
DRI Opening Event. Soap Box Science. Speaker |
|
2018 |
ARUK South Wales Network Afternoon Open Day. Co-Organiser |