Professor Darren Smith

Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

Darren Smith is a Professor of Bacteriophage Biology within the Department of Applied Biology, Cellular and Molecular Sciences/Microbiology Group. He graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BSc in Microbiology in 2000. After a 1.5 years working at Applied Biosystems he spent the following 7.5 years completing both a PhD (2005) and Post-Doctoral research in the laboratory of Alan McCarthy, Heather Allison and Jon Saunders studying the biology of Shiga toxin encoding bacteriophages.

Prior to joining Northumbria University, Dr Smith worked as a postdoctoral research associate with Professor Andrew Owen’s, University of Liverpool HIV pharmacology group in collaboration with Professor Steve Rannard focussing the impact of nanoformulation on highly active antiretroviral therapy drugs used in the treatment of HIV infection. These studies included drug delivery, cellular accumulation and transcellular gut permeability models.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Professor Smith’s research interests relate to how bacteriophages alter bacterial physiology, phenotype and bacterial community structure through chromosomal integration, subversion of cell function, or during active infection and cell lysis. His group uses lab, multi-omic and bioinformatics based approaches to determine the physiological impact of lysogeny or lytic infection on the host bacterium and the surrounding microbiota in clinical and environmental settings. His groups research aims are to offer an insight into the modulation of microbial communities and how phages play a role in bacterial/community selection and evolution.

All research is heavily linked to genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics and linked to a range of techniques including; molecular, protein, bioinformatics, microbiological and virological based techniques to study; virus-host interactions; phage genomics; identification of phage encoded genes that provide positive selection for the infected bacterial host and seasonal epidemiology versus virus genotype.

Professor Smith is the academic lead and director for the DNA sequencing research facility at Northumbria University, NU-OMICS. This is an outfacing service that is linked to both academic and industrially linked DNA sequencing projects.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Genomic analysis of Aeromonas species isolated from retail foods suggests an under-investigated population, Harding-Crooks, R., Macori, G., Sangal, V., Jones, A., Smith, D., Fanning, S., Fox, E. 2 Nov 2025, In: International Journal of Food Microbiology
Interpretation guidance for MHRA regulatory considerations for phage therapeutic products, Coxon, C., Bell, E., Adriaenssens, E., Clark, J., Edwards, J., Gohir, T., Hodges, F., Jones, J., Rees, C., Sansom, A., Smith, D., Sutton, M., Trippett, C., Turner, D. 13 Nov 2025, In: Microbiology
Oral microbiomes as forensic markers of origin and migration: Insights from an underrepresented population, Nigeria, Ogbanga, N., Nelson, A., Smith, D., Somiari, R., Procopio, N. 25 Nov 2025, In: Forensic Science International: Genetics
PglZ from Type I BREX phage defence systems is a metal-dependent nuclease that forms a sub-complex with BrxB, Readshaw, J., Doyle, L., Puiu, M., Kelly, A., Nelson, A., Kaiser, A., Mcguire, S., Peralta Acosta, J., Smith, D., Stoddard, B., Kaiser, B., Blower, T. 8 Jul 2025, In: Nucleic Acids Research
Protocol to study the inter-relationship between phageome and lipidome in low-volume preterm milk, Yew, W., Young, G., Cheung, W., Nelson, A., Berrington, J., Smith, D. 19 Sep 2025, In: STAR Protocols
S18 Streptococcus is enriched in the gut microbiome in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and associated with worse survival, Smith, D., Teng, N., Wu, Z., Yazbeck, L., Chua, F., Domi, V., Han Liu, W., McCann, C., Nelson, A., Nguyen-Phuoc, K., Walker, S., Smith, D., Lloyd, C., Molyneaux, P. 2 Nov 2025, In: Thorax
SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity and within-host evolution in individuals with persistent infection in the UK: an observational, longitudinal, population-based surveillance study: an observational, longitudinal, population-based surveillance study, Ghafari, M., Kemp, S., Hall, M., Clarke, J., Ferretti, L., Thomson, L., Studley, R., Walker, A., Golubchik, T., Lythgoe, K., Bashton, M., Crown, M., Henderson, J., Hollis, A., McCann, C., Nelson, A., Smith, D., Stanley, W., Young, G., Yew, W. 9 Sep 2025, In: The Lancet Microbe
Spatiotemporal development of late and moderate preterm infant gut and oral microbiomes and impact of gestational age on early colonization, Ahearn-Ford, S., Kakaroukas, A., Young, G., Nelson, A., Abrahamse-Berkeveld, M., van Elburg, R., Smith, D., Berrington, J., Embleton, N., Stewart, C. 17 Dec 2025, In: mSystems
Addressing pandemic-wide systematic errors in the SARS-CoV-2 phylogeny, Hunt, M., Hinrichs, A., Anderson, D., Karim, L., Dearlove, B., Knaggs, J., Constantinides, B., Fowler, P., Rodger, G., Street, T., Lumley, S., Webster, H., Sanderson, T., Ruis, C., de Maio, N., Amenga-Etego, L., Amuzu, D., Avaro, M., Awandare, G., Ayivor-Djanie, R., Bashton, M., Batty, E., Bediako, Y., De Belder, D., Benedetti, E., Bergthaler, A., Boers, S., Campos, J., Carr, R., Cuba, F., Dattero, M., Dejnirattisai, W., Dilthey, A., Duedu, K., Endler, L., Engelmann, I., Francisco, N., Fuchs, J., Gnimpieba, E., Groc, S., Gyamfi, J., Heemskerk, D., Houwaart, T., Hsiao, N., Huska, M., Hölzer, M., Iranzadeh, A., Jarva, H., Jeewandara, C., Jolly, B., Joseph, R., Kant, R., Ki, K., Kurkela, S., Lappalainen, M., Lataretu, M., Liu, C., Malavige, G., Mashe, T., Mongkolsapaya, J., Montes, B., Mora, J., Morang’a, C., Mvula, B., Nagarajan, N., Nelson, A., Ngoi, J., da Paixão, J., Panning, M., Poklepovich, T., Quashie, P., Ranasinghe, D., Russo, M., San, J., Sanderson, N., Scaria, V., Screaton, G., Sironen, T., Sisay, A., Smith, D., Smura, T., Supasa, P., Suphavilai, C., Swann, J., Tegally, H., Tegomoh, B., Vapalahti, O., Walker, A., Wilkinson, R., Williamson, C., de Oliveira, T., Peto, T., Crook, D., Corbett-Detig, R., Iqbal, Z. 30 Apr 2024
Building a future for phage-based technologies – a thought leadership approach to accelerating progress in the UK, Hodges, F., Smith, D. 23 Aug 2024, In: Sustainable Microbiology

PGR Supervision

Daniella Cowles Engineering Bacteriophages: Orchestration of microbial community function in models of the Preterm infant Gut. Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Mariklairi Kiourkou Characterising the role and evolution of temperate Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophages in paediatric Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients Start Date: 01/10/2022
Onengiye Ogbanga EXPLORING HUMAN RELATED BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES FOR FORENSIC APPLICATIONS IN HUMAN PROFILING AND DEATH INVESTIGATIONS Start Date: 30/06/2022 End Date: 10/06/2025
Mariklairi Kiourkou Characterising the role and evolution of temperate bacteriophages in chronic respiratory infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients using their first isolate. Start Date: 01/10/2022 End Date: 17/10/2025
Rui Nunes Dos Santos Isolation and classification of bacteriophages purified from maternal breast milk and determination of their role in bacterial community development. Start Date: 01/10/2022 End Date: 17/10/2025
Daniella Cowles Engineering Bacteriophages: Orchestration of microbial community function in models of the Preterm infant Gut. Start Date: 01/10/2025
Rui Nunes Dos Santos Isolation and classification of bacteriophages purified from maternal breast milk and determination of their role in bacterial community development. Start Date: 01/10/2022