Dmitry Ghilarov

MA (MSc Moscow State, PhD Russian Academy of Sciences)

Dr Dmitry Ghilarov graduated from Moscow State University and completed his PhD in molecular genetics in Moscow with Prof Konstantin Severinov. He later held a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship in Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Before moving to Oxford, Dr Ghilarov was a tenure-track group leader at the John Innes Centre in Norwich supported by a Wellcome Trust senior fellowship (2021–2025).

Research Interests

Dmitry is interested in molecular machines that manipulate three-dimensional structure of DNA and peptides in bacteria. Understanding their mechanisms allows to develop novel antimicrobial treatments and biotechnological tools. Dmitry’s current projects rely heavily on cryo-electron microscopy as a tool and involve work on antibacterial drug targets, AMR mechanisms, antibiotic biosynthesis, and bacterial antiviral immunity systems.

Selected Publications

Michalczyk, E., Pakosz-Stepien, Z., Liston, J., Gittins, O., Pabis, M.*, Heddle, J.G.*, Ghilarov, D.* Structural basis of chiral wrap and T-segment capture by Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. PNAS (2024) 121: e2407398121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2407398121

Drobiazko, A. †, Adams, M.C. †, Skutel, M., Potekhina, K., Kotovskaya, O., Trofimova, A., Matlashov, M., Yatselenko, D., Maxwell, K.L., Blower, T.R.,, Severinov, K., Ghilarov, D.*, Isaev, A.*. Molecular basis of foreign DNA recognition by BREX anti-phage immunity system. Nature Communications (2025) 16, 1825 doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57006-2

Michalczyk, E., Hommernick, K., Behroz, I., Kulike, M., Pakosz-Stępień, Z., Mazurek, L., Seidel, M., Kunert, M., Santos, K., von Moeller, H., Loll, B., Weston, J.B., Mainz, A., Heddle, J G., Süssmuth, R.D., Ghilarov, D.* Molecular mechanism of topoisomerase poisoning by the peptide antibiotic albicidin. Nature Catalysis (2023) 6, 52–67. doi: 10.1038/s41929-022-00904-1