FHEA
Senior Lecturer
- 51cg
-
- Email Address
- a.lorenz@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 437323
- Office Address
The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS)
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition
51cg
Foresterhill
Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD
United Kingdom
Office: IMS, Room 4:20
Lab: IMS, Room 4:08
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition




Biography
Since 2021: Senior Lecturer in Fungal Genetics; School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition; 51cg, UK
2013-2021: Lecturer in Molecular Cell Biology; School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition; 51cg, UK
2007-2013: Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK
2005-2007: Erwin Schrödinger-Fellow of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) researching at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK
2003-2005: Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Chromosome Biology, University of Vienna, Austria
1992-2003: Studying Botany and Genetics at the University of Vienna, Austria and at the University of Cologne, Germany
Qualifications
- PhD Genetics2003 - University of Vienna, Austriawith distinction
- MRes Botany2000 - University of Vienna, Austriawith distinction
- FHEA (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)2025 - Advance HE, UK
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
-
Programme Lead [Degree Coordinator] for BSc Molecular and Cellular Biology (since 05/2024)
Programme Lead [Degree Coordinator] for BSc Biotechnology (since 06/2025)
Programme Lead [Degree Coordinator] for BSc Microbiology (since 06/2025)
Chair of BSc Curriculum Review Workstream A - Molecular (since 11/2025)
Foresterhill Biological Safety Committee: Chair (01/2023-12/2025), Biological Safety Officer (01/2016-12/2025), Member (10/2014-12/2025)
Health & Safety Committee of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition: Member (12/2024-12/2025)
IMS BSc Review Workstream 4 - Workload: Member (03/2022-11/2022)
- External Memberships
-
Member of the following learned societies:
Honorary Treasurer of the Genetics Society (05/2021-11/2025)
Associate Editor/Editorial Board Member: (since 2020), (since 2021), (2019-2025)
Ad hoc reviewer for international research journals: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Grant reviewer: Academia Sinica|Taiwan, ANR|France, BBSRC|UK, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland|UK, ERA-CAPS|European Union, Israel Science Foundation|Israel, MRC|UK, NSF|USA, NWO|Netherlands, RGC of Hong Kong|China, SRDA-APVV|Slovakia, Wellcome Trust|UK
- Research
-
Research Overview
Research Areas
Research Specialisms
- Genetics
- Microbiology
- Mycology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.
Past Research
Pelletier C, Shaw S, Alsayegh S, Brown AJP, Lorenz A (2024) Candida auris undergoes adhesin-dependent and -independent cellular aggregation. - PLoS Pathogens 20 (3): e1012076 (27pp.)
Bravo Ruiz G, Ross ZK, Gow NAR, Lorenz A (2020) Pseudohyphal growth of the emerging pathogen Candida auris is triggered by genotoxic stress through the S phase checkpoint. - mSphere 5 (2): e00151-20 (17pp.)
Brown SD*, Mpaulo SJ*, Asogwa MN, Jézéquel M, Whitby MC, Lorenz A (2019) DNA sequence differences are determinants of meiotic recombination outcome. - Scientific Reports 9: 16446 (10pp.) (*these authors contributed equally)
Bravo Ruiz G, Ross ZK, Holmes E, Schelenz S, Gow NAR, Lorenz A (2019) Rapid and extensive karyotype diversification in haploid clinical Candida auris isolates. - Current Genetics 65 (5): 1217-1228
Lorenz A, Mehats A, Osman F, Whitby MC (2014) Rad51/Dmc1 paralogs and mediators oppose DNA helicases to limit hybrid DNA formation and promote crossovers during meiotic recombination. - Nucleic Acids Research 42 (22): 13723-13735
Lorenz A, Osman F, Sun W, Nandi S, Steinacher R, Whitby MC (2012) The fission yeast FANCM ortholog directs non-crossover recombination during meiosis. - Science (New York, N.Y.) 336 (6088): 1585-1588
Collaborations
Professor , Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan
Dr Takashi Kubota, The Institute of Medical Sciences, 51cg, UK
Professor , Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK
Dr Hajime Murakami, The Institute of Medical Sciences, 51cg, UK
Professor , Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK
Supervision
My current supervision areas are: Biomedical Sciences.
Sakinah Alsayegh, PhD in Molecular Microbiology 2019-2025 "Morphogenetic switching and antimicrobial resistance in Candida auris"
Chloe Pelletier, PhD in Medical Mycology 2019-2023 "Stress response and virulence in Candida auris"
Inês Dias Rebelo, MRes in Molecular Biology 2018-2019 "Epigenetics and meiotic recombination in Schizosaccharomyce pombe"
Stefaniya T. Stoichkova, PhD in Microbiology 2017-2024 "Tools for the genetic manipulation of Candida auris"
Samantha J. Mpaulo, PhD in Genetics 2017-2021 "DNA double-strand break formation during meiosis"
Zoe K. Ross, MRes and PhD in Medical Mycology 2017-2020 "Genome analysis of and antimicrobial resistance in Candida auris"
Simon D. Brown, PhD in Genetics 2013-2017 "Meiotic recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe"
Additionally, I have supervised 11 undergraduate summer/internship students, 16 BSc Honours projects, 2 MSci Honours project, and 20 MSc/MRes degree projects.
Funding and Grants
02/2020-09/2020: Seed Corn Fund (with Prof Neil Vargesson) - Institutional Strategic Support Fund, Wellcome Trust
10/2019-10/2022: Award for a 3-year PhD-studentship - Kuwait Cultural Office UK, Ministry of Higher Education, Kuwait
10/2019-10/2022: MRC-CMM award for a 3-year PhD-studentship (with Profs Al Brown & Neil Gow) - MRC & 51cg, UK
02/2019-07/2019: Research Incentive Grant - The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
07/2018-01/2020: Seed Award in Science - Wellcome Trust
01/2018-01/2019: Research Grant - Tenovus Scotland (with Prof Neil Gow)
10/2017-10/2020: MRC-CMM award for a 3-year PhD-studentship (with Prof Neil Gow) - MRC & 51cg, UK
10/2017-10/2021: IMS award for a 4-year PhD-studentship (with Prof Neil Gow) - 51cg, UK
10/2017-10/2021: EastBio-DTP awards for two 4-year PhD-studentships (with Prof Adele Marston, University of Edinburgh) - BBSRC
06/2017-11/2017: Seed Corn Fund (with Prof Neil Gow) - Institutional Strategic Support Fund, Wellcome Trust
04/2017: One-off Meeting sponsorship (with Dr Isabelle Colas) for the 9th British Meiosis Meeting in Dundee - Genetics Society UK
06/2016-08/2016: G&D Summer studentship (for Ki Choi CHAN, University of York) - Genetics Society UK
01/2015-09/2015: Research Incentive Grant - The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
10/2014-10/2015: Research Grant - Royal Society
10/2013-10/2017: DTG award for a 4-year PhD-studentship - BBSRC & 51cg, UK
09/2013: Principal’s Excellence Fund - 51cg
07/2005-07/2007: Erwin Schrödinger-Fellowship - Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
10/1997-06/1998: ERASMUS/SOCRATES-scholarship - European Union
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Undergraduate Degree Co-ordination
BSc Molecular and Cellular Biology
BSc Biotechnology
BSc Microbiology
Course Co-ordination
GN3502 - Genetics
MB3006 - Molecular Biology of the Cell
Lecturing
MB3006 - Molecular Biology of the Cell: 'Cell Cycle & Cell Division' (Lectures, Tutorial)
GN3502 - Genetics: 'Mendelian Genetics', 'Chromosome Biology', 'Fungal Genetics', 'Genetic Engineering' (Lectures)
MC3504 - Molecular Microbiology: 'Fungal Genetics and Biology' (Lectures)
MB4050 - Genome Organisation and Analysis: 'Genome Integrity - DNA Repair, Homologous Recombination, and Meiosis' (Lectures)
Practicals & Workshops
BI20M3 - Molecular Biology of the Gene: 'Restriction Analysis of DNA'
GN3502 - Genetics: 'Analysis of Meiotic Recombination'
GN3502 - Genetics: 'Pedigree Analysis'
Student Supervision
MB4502 - 'Molecular Biology Honours Research Project'
MB5904 - 'Masters Research Project'
Currently, co-supervisor of two PhD students.
Non-course Teaching Responsibilities
Personal Tutor for 7 UG students in various degree programmes and at all levels
Member of 9-months and 24-months PhD student assessment panels
- Publications
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Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 50 of 52
In vitro evolution of caspofungin resistance in Candidozyma auris via FKS1 hotspot I mutations results in moderate fitness trade-offs but no reduction in virulence
Microbiological Research, vol. 301, 128322Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Measuring Meiotic Recombination Frequency in Schizosaccharomyces pombe Using an Engineered Genetic Interval
Schizosaccharomyces pombe: Methods and Protocols. Petreaca, R. C. (ed.). Humana Press, pp. 277-295, 19 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE] DOI:
Candida auris undergoes adhesin-dependent and -independent cellular aggregation
PLoS Pathogens, vol. 20, no. 3, e1012076Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Mendel's laws of heredity on his 200th birthday: What have we learned by considering exceptions?
Heredity, vol. 129, no. 1, pp. 1-3Contributions to Journals: Editorials- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Gene conversion: a non-Mendelian process integral to meiotic recombination
Heredity, vol. 129, pp. 56-63Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Genetic Transformation of Candida auris via Homology-Directed Repair Using a Standard Lithium Acetate Protocol
Candida auris: Methods and Protocols. Lorenz, A. (ed.). 1 edition. Springer, pp. 95-110, 16 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
Labelling of Candida auris Cell Walls to Examine Levels of PAMP Exposure by Flow Cytometry and Fluorescence Microscopy
Candida auris: Methods and Protocols. Lorenz, A. (ed.). 1 edition. Springer, pp. 179-187, 9 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
Preface: Candida auris: Methods in Molecular Biology
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Forewords and Postscripts- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
New tools for the new bug Candida auris
Trends in Microbiology, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 203-205Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
The curious case of nonrepetitive centromeric DNA sequences in Candida auris and related species
mBio, vol. 12, no. 4, e01476-21Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
What do we know about the biology of the emerging fungal pathogen of humans Candida auris?
Microbiological Research, vol. 242, 126621Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Is Candida auris sexual?
PLoS Pathogens, vol. 16, no. 12, e1009094Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Catalase T-deficient fission yeast meiocytes show resistance to ionizing radiation
Antioxidants, vol. 9, no. 9, 881Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Intragenic meiotic recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is sensitive to environmental temperature changes
Chromosome Research, vol. 28, pp. 195-207Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Candida auris: The path of yeast resistance
Research Outreach, vol. 113, pp. 138-141Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Pseudohyphal growth of the emerging pathogen Candida auris is triggered by genotoxic stress through the S phase checkpoint
mSphere, vol. 5, no. 2, e00151-20Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
DNA sequence differences are determinants of meiotic recombination outcome
Scientific Reports, vol. 9, 16446Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Rapid and extensive karyotype diversification in haploid clinical Candida auris isolates
Current Genetics, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 1217-1228Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
Immediate visualization of recombination events and chromosome segregation defects in fission yeast meiosis
Chromosoma, vol. 128, no. 3, pp. 385-396Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
ABC Transporter Genes Show Upregulated Expression in Drug Resistant Clinical Isolates of Candida auris: a Genome-Wide Characterization of ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter Genes
Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 10, 1445Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE]
The mycoparasitic yeast Saccharomycopsis schoenii predates and kills multi-drug resistant Candida auris
Scientific Reports, vol. 8, 14959Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Genetic interactions between the chromosome axis-associated protein Hop1 and homologous recombination determinants in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Current Genetics, vol. 64, no. 5, pp. 1089-1104Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Modulation of meiotic homologous recombination by DNA helicases
Yeast, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 195-203Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Single-step marker switching in Schizosaccharomyces pombe using a lithium acetate transformation protocol
Bio-protocol, vol. 6, no. 24, e2075Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
DNA double-strand break formation and repair in Tetrahymena meiosis
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, vol. 54, pp. 126-134Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Meiotic chromosome mobility in fission yeast is resistant to environmental stress
Scientific Reports, vol. 6, pp. 1-16Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
The RecQ DNA helicase Rqh1 constrains Exonuclease 1-dependent recombination at stalled replication forks
Scientific Reports, vol. 6, 22837Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
New cassettes for single-step drug-resistance and prototrophic marker switching in fission yeast
Yeast, vol. 32, no. 12, pp. 703-710Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Rad51/Dmc1 paralogs and mediators oppose DNA helicases to limit hybrid DNA formation and promote crossovers during meiotic recombination
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 42, no. 22, pp. 13723-13735Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
MHF1–2/CENP-S-X performs distinct roles in centromere metabolism and genetic recombination
Open Biology, vol. 13, no. 9, 130102Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE]
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Slx8 removes Pli1-dependent protein-SUMO conjugates including SUMOylated Topoisomerase I to promote genome stability
PloS ONE, vol. 8, no. 8, e71960Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
How not to get cross(ed): A novel role for FANCM orthologs in meiotic recombination
Cell Cycle, vol. 11, no. 18, pp. 3347-3348Contributions to Journals: Editorials- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
The fission yeast FANCM ortholog directs non-crossover recombination during meiosis
Science, vol. 336, no. 6088, pp. 1585-1588Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Mug20, a novel protein associated with linear elements in fission yeast meiosis
Current Genetics, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 119-127Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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The DNA helicase Pfh1 promotes fork merging at replication termination sites to ensure genome stability
Genes & Development, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 594-602Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Ultrafine anaphase bridges, broken DNA and illegitimate recombination induced by a replication fork barrier
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 39, no. 15, pp. 6568-6584Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
A failure of meiotic chromosome segregation in a fbh1Δ mutant correlates with persistent Rad51-DNA associations
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 1718-1731Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
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Roles of Hop1 and Mek1 in meiotic chromosome pairing and recombination partner choice in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 1570-1581Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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The human Holliday junction resolvase GEN1 rescues the meiotic phenotype of a Schizosaccharomyces pombe mus81 mutant
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1866-1873Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Fbh1 limits Rad51-dependent recombination at blocked replication forks
Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 29, no. 17, pp. 4742-4756Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Analysis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe meiosis by nuclear spreading
Meiosis: Volume 2 - Cytological Methods. Keeney, S. (ed.). Springer, pp. 15-36, 22 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
The FANCM ortholog Fml1 promotes recombination at stalled replication forks and limits crossing over during DNA double-strand break repair
Molecular Cell, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 118-128Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
The Rad52 homologs Rad22 and Rti1 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe are not essential for meiotic interhomolog recombination, but are required for meiotic intrachromosomal recombination and mating-type-related DNA repair
Genetics, vol. 178, no. 4, pp. 2399-2412Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Crossover promotion and prevention
Biochemical Society Transactions, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 537-541Contributions to Journals: Literature Reviews- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Meiotic recombination proteins localize to linear elements in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Chromosoma, vol. 115, no. 4, pp. 330-340Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Yeast nuclear envelope subdomains with distinct abilities to resist membrane expansion
Molecular Biology of the Cell, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 1768-1778Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Differential activation of M26-containing meiotic recombination hot spots in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Genetics, vol. 170, no. 1, pp. 95-106Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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S. pombe meiotic linear elements contain proteins related to synaptonemal complex components
Journal of Cell Science, vol. 117, no. 15, pp. 3343-3351Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Chromosome pairing does not contribute to nuclear architecture in vegetative yeast cells
Eukaryotic Cell, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 856-866Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
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Spatial organisation and behaviour of the parental chromosome sets in the nuclei of Saccharomyces cerevisiae × S. paradoxus hybrids
Journal of Cell Science, vol. 115, no. 19, pp. 3829-3835Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
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