Mohamed S. Donia

Contact
donia@princeton.eduFaculty Assistant
Anna SchmedelEducation
- B.Sc., Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Egypt
- Ph.D., Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah
Research Area
Microbiology & VirologyResearch Focus
Small-molecule-mediated interactions in complex microbial communitiesIn addition, the Donia lab has a special interest in the uncultivable microbial components of complex communities, which have eluded research attempts for decades despite their abundance and clear importance. Recent advances in the fields of metagenomics and single-cell genomics have allowed access to the genetic information of some of these unculturable microbes, while functional studies remain challenging. Our goal is to develop the necessary computational and experimental tools to functionally study the interactions mediated by uncultivable members of complex microbiomes, using an integrated multi “omics” approach, including metagenomics, metabolomics and metatranscriptomics. The Donia lab functions at the intersection between multiple disciplines: microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, small molecule chemistry and biosynthesis, metagenomics and bioinformatics, aiming to answer basic biological questions and to develop new therapeutics.
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa detachment from surfaces via a self-made small molecule. J Biol Chem. 2021 ;:100279. .
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Expansion of RiPP biosynthetic space through integration of pan-genomics and machine learning uncovers a novel class of lanthipeptides. PLoS Biol. 2020 ;18(12):e3001026. .
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A antibiotic modulates human skin microbiota composition in hair follicles. Sci Transl Med. 2020 ;12(570). .
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Personalized Mapping of Drug Metabolism by the Human Gut Microbiome. Cell. 2020 ;181(7):1661-1679.e22. .
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A Metabolic Pathway for Activation of Dietary Glucosinolates by a Human Gut Symbiont. Cell. 2020 ;180(4):717-728.e19. .
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A metagenomic strategy for harnessing the chemical repertoire of the human microbiome. Science. 2019 ;366(6471). .
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Localized production of defence chemicals by intracellular symbionts of Haliclona sponges. Nat Microbiol. 2019 ;4(7):1149-1159. .
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Potential of marine natural products against drug-resistant bacterial infections. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019 ;19(7):e237-e245. .
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A microbial factory for defensive kahalalides in a tripartite marine symbiosis. Science. 2019 ;364(6445). .
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Detection of Natural Products and Their Producers in Ocean Sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2019 ;85(8). .
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induces gut intraepithelial CD4CD8αα T cells. Science. 2017 ;357(6353):806-810. .
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Discovery of Reactive Microbiota-Derived Metabolites that Inhibit Host Proteases. Cell. 2017 ;168(3):517-526.e18. .
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Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster. Nat Chem Biol. 2015 ;11(9):625-31. .
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A Toolbox for Microbiome Engineering. Cell Syst. 2015 ;1(1):21-3. .
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HUMAN MICROBIOTA. Small molecules from the human microbiota. Science. 2015 ;349(6246):1254766. .
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A systematic analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters in the human microbiome reveals a common family of antibiotics. Cell. 2014 ;158(6):1402-1414. .
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Discovery and characterization of gut microbiota decarboxylases that can produce the neurotransmitter tryptamine. Cell Host Microbe. 2014 ;16(4):495-503. .
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Host control of symbiont natural product chemistry in cryptic populations of the tunicate Lissoclinum patella. PLoS One. 2014 ;9(5):e95850. .
Dr. Donia received his B.Sc in Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Egypt in 2004. He moved to the US in 2005 to study for his Ph.D. at the Medicinal Chemistry Department, School of Pharmacy, University of Utah. He worked in Dr. Eric Schmidt's laboratory where he studied the chemistry and biology of small molecules produced by bacterial symbionts of marine animals. He used chemical, microbiological, and metagenomic techniques to study the role of small molecules in mediating microbe-host and microbe-microbe interactions in marine invertebrates. In 2010, he joined Dr. Michael Fischbach's laboratory at the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. There, he studied small molecules produced by members of the human microbiome and their role in mediating microbe-host and microbe-microbe interactions in humans. In particular, he focused on antibiotics produced by human pathogens and commensals, and their role in shaping the composition and dynamics of the human vaginal and oral microbiota.
2016
- Breakthrough Award, Kenneth Rainin Foundation
2015
- Innovation Award, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
- New Innovator Award, National Institutes of Health