Roberta Melander

Associate Research Professor

Office
252 Mccourtney Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Email
rmelande@nd.edu

Website

Research Areas

  • Biochemistry

Research Specialties

  • Medicine

Prospective Graduate Students

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Biography

Year Title
2018-present Associate Research Professor, University of Notre Dame
2011-present Editor, Chemical Biology and Drug Design
2011-2018 Research Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University
2009-2011 Postdoctoral Research Associate, North Carolina State University
2008-2009 Postdoctoral Research Associate, University College London
2008 Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry, University of Manchester
2004 M.Chem. in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology

Research Interests

My research centers on using small molecules to study and control bacterial behaviors. I am interested in developing molecules that mediate: antibiotic resistance and tolerance, evolution of resistance to antimicrobial agents, and virulence, as potential novel therapeutic options for treating bacterial infections. I am also working to identify molecules that influence secondary metabolite production to identify novel antimicrobials.

Selected Publications

  • Harper, E. I.; Siroky, M. D.; Hilliard, T. S.; Dominique, G. M.; Hammond, C.; Liu, Y. Y.; Yang, J.; Hubble, V. B.; Walsh, D. J.; Melander, R. J.; Melander, C.; Ravosa, M. J. and Stack, M. S. "Advanced Glycation End Products as a Potential Target for Restructuring the Ovarian Cancer Microenvironment: A Pilot Study" 2023 International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24 (12), 9804. DOI: 10.3390/ijms24129804.
  • Liu, C.; Zhang, H.; Peng, X.; Blackledge, M. S.; Furlani, R. E.; Li, H. T.; Su, Z. M.; Melander, R. J.; Melander, C.; Michalek, S. and Wu, H. "Small Molecule Attenuates Bacterial Virulence by Targeting Conserved Response Regulator" 2023 mBio, 14 (3), e00137-23. DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00137-23.
  • Marrujo, S. A.; Hubble, V. B.; Yang, J. D.; Wang, M.; Nemeth, A. M.; Barlock, S. L.; Juarez, D.; Smith, R. D.; Melander, R. J.; Ernst, R. K.; Chang, M. Y. and Melander, C. "Dimeric 2-Aminoimidazoles are Highly Active Adjuvants for Gram-Positive Selective Antibiotics Against Acinetobacter Baumannii" 2023 European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 253, 115329. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115329.
  • Weig, A. W.; O'Conner, P. M.; Kwiecinski, J. M.; Marciano, O. M.; Nunag, A.; Gutierrez, A. T.; Melander, R. J.; Horswill, A. R. and Melander, C. "A Structure Activity Relationship Study of 3,4'-Dimethoxyflavone for ArlRS Inhibition in Staphylococcus Aureus" 2023 Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 21 (16), pp.3373-3380. DOI: 10.1039/d3ob00123g.
  • Onyedibe, K. I.; Nemeth, A. M.; Dayal, N.; Smith, R. D.; Lamptey, J.; Ernst, R. K.; Melander, R. J.; Melander, C. and Sintim, H. O. "Re-Sensitization of Multidrug-Resistant and Colistin-Resistant Gram- Negative Bacteria to Colistin by Povarov/Doebner-Derived Compounds" 2023 ACS Infectious Diseases, 9 (2), pp.283-295. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00417.
  • Melander, R. J.; Mattingly, A. E.; Nemeth, A. M. and Melander, C. "Overcoming Intrinsic Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria using Small Molecule Adjuvants" 2023 Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 80, 129113. DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2022.129113.