ProfessorTolga Bozkurt
Professor in Host-Pathogen Interactions
Department of Life Sciences - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Orcid identifier0000-0002-1282-9030 (opens in a new tab)
- Professor in Host-Pathogen InteractionsDepartment of Life Sciences - Faculty of Natural Sciences
- 020 7594 5381 (Work)
- 6167, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
BIO
Dr. Tolga Bozkurt at Imperial College London specializes in plant-microbe interactions and cellular defense mechanisms. His innovative work has advanced our understanding of pathogen interference with plant immunity, particularly in autophagy and membrane trafficking. Demonstrating his creativity, TB has introduced groundbreaking methodologies in studying autophagy, such as discovery of pathogen effectors manipulating this process, developing an autophagy inhibiting peptide, and using AlphaFold-Multimer to discover new autophagy modulators, including those among effectors from plant and human pathogens.
Tolga’s efforts to understand how plant cells accommodate pathogens revealed that chloroplasts accumulate at the pathogen interface to contribute to basal immune responses. His further research in this area has contributed to the mode of action of key immune components like NLR immune receptors and their dynamic behaviour during pathogen invasion.
Tolga's work in engineering plant disease resistance genes has attracted funding from global companies and UK funding organizations like the BBSRC. As a founder of Resurrect Bio, he's turning his research into real-world solutions for stronger plants. As a co-founder of Resurrect Bio, he focuses on applying his findings to develop disease-resistant crops.
Bozkurt Research Group (https://www.bozkurtlab.co.uk/)
Founded in 2014, our lab is at the forefront of dissecting the intricate interactions between plants and pathogens. Our mission is to deepen the understanding of these complex relationships, paving the way for innovations in crop resilience and agricultural sustainability.
Our Approach: Combining traditional and cutting-edge methodologies, we employ a robust blend of fast-forward cell biology, biochemistry, and genetics to study plant cell autonomous immunity and evasion mechanisms employed by pathogens. We merge traditional sciences with AI innovation, notably using the AlphaFold2-multimer tool, to swiftly decode plant-pathogen interactions. Our multidisciplinary team focuses on revealing key molecular details that drive plant defense and pathogen countermeasures, aiming to develop effective, sustainable crop protection strategies.
Model pathosystem: Our primary research utilizes haustoria-forming oomycete pathogens, notably Phytophthora infestans and Peronospora tabacina, alongside select fungal species that target the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana within the Solanaceae family. Recently, we've broadened our scope to encompass plant viruses, diversifying our pathosystem portfolio and deepening our understanding of host-pathogen interactions.
Primary Research Interests:
Plant immune pathways at the host–pathogen interface, with a focus on those targeted by pathogen effectors:
1. Defense-Related Autophagy:
Investigating how selective autophagy contributes to plant immunity and how pathogens hijack these pathways to promote infection.
2. Immune Receptor Trafficking and Signaling:
Studying the intracellular dynamics and activation of NLR immune receptors during pathogen attack and their role in triggering immune responses.
3. Vesicle and Organelle Trafficking:
Exploring the targeted recruitment of defense components and chloroplasts to infection sites, and how pathogens subvert these processes through effector protein delivery.
4. Bioengineering Plant Immune Receptors:
Developing synthetic immune receptors to enhance disease resistance against diverse plant pathogens and pests.
If you are interested in joining the lab please contact o.bozkurt@imperial.ac.uk.
Tolga’s efforts to understand how plant cells accommodate pathogens revealed that chloroplasts accumulate at the pathogen interface to contribute to basal immune responses. His further research in this area has contributed to the mode of action of key immune components like NLR immune receptors and their dynamic behaviour during pathogen invasion.
Tolga's work in engineering plant disease resistance genes has attracted funding from global companies and UK funding organizations like the BBSRC. As a founder of Resurrect Bio, he's turning his research into real-world solutions for stronger plants. As a co-founder of Resurrect Bio, he focuses on applying his findings to develop disease-resistant crops.
Bozkurt Research Group (https://www.bozkurtlab.co.uk/)
Founded in 2014, our lab is at the forefront of dissecting the intricate interactions between plants and pathogens. Our mission is to deepen the understanding of these complex relationships, paving the way for innovations in crop resilience and agricultural sustainability.
Our Approach: Combining traditional and cutting-edge methodologies, we employ a robust blend of fast-forward cell biology, biochemistry, and genetics to study plant cell autonomous immunity and evasion mechanisms employed by pathogens. We merge traditional sciences with AI innovation, notably using the AlphaFold2-multimer tool, to swiftly decode plant-pathogen interactions. Our multidisciplinary team focuses on revealing key molecular details that drive plant defense and pathogen countermeasures, aiming to develop effective, sustainable crop protection strategies.
Model pathosystem: Our primary research utilizes haustoria-forming oomycete pathogens, notably Phytophthora infestans and Peronospora tabacina, alongside select fungal species that target the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana within the Solanaceae family. Recently, we've broadened our scope to encompass plant viruses, diversifying our pathosystem portfolio and deepening our understanding of host-pathogen interactions.
Primary Research Interests:
Plant immune pathways at the host–pathogen interface, with a focus on those targeted by pathogen effectors:
1. Defense-Related Autophagy:
Investigating how selective autophagy contributes to plant immunity and how pathogens hijack these pathways to promote infection.
2. Immune Receptor Trafficking and Signaling:
Studying the intracellular dynamics and activation of NLR immune receptors during pathogen attack and their role in triggering immune responses.
3. Vesicle and Organelle Trafficking:
Exploring the targeted recruitment of defense components and chloroplasts to infection sites, and how pathogens subvert these processes through effector protein delivery.
4. Bioengineering Plant Immune Receptors:
Developing synthetic immune receptors to enhance disease resistance against diverse plant pathogens and pests.
If you are interested in joining the lab please contact o.bozkurt@imperial.ac.uk.
FACULTY
- Faculty of Natural Sciences
POSITION NAME
- Professor in Host-Pathogen Interactions