DoctorLiam Turk

As a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury, my research focuses on understanding how bacterial transport proteins function at the molecular level. I joined UC in 2025 after postdoctoral work in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Otago and completing my PhD in Biochemistry at Rutgers University, where I specialised in structural biology and protein biochemistry. 

My current work investigates TAXI transporters, a little‑known class of bacterial membrane proteins that play a key role in nutrient uptake. Because these transporters are found only in bacterial cells and not in human cells, they offer an exciting potential target for new antibiotic development. Through my Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship, I am determining their three‑dimensional structures and uncovering the mechanisms they use to move nutrients across membranes—knowledge that could help identify drugs capable of blocking them and halting bacterial growth.   

My broader research interests include protein structure–function relationships and molecular mechanisms of cell communication.