Professor Nick Loman PhD

School of Biosciences
Professor of Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 4145 421
Email: n.j.loman@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @pathogenomenick

Address: W129, School of Biosciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Nick works as Professor of Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics in the Institute for Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham. His research explores the use of cutting-edge genomics and metagenomics approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of infectious disease. Nick has so far used high-throughput sequencing to investigate outbreaks of important Gram-negative multi-drug resistant pathogens, and recently helped establish real-time genomic surveillance of Ebola in Guinea. His current work focuses on the development of novel sequencing and bioinformatics methods to aid the interpretation of genome and metagenome scale data generated in clinical and public health microbiology.

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Postgraduate supervision

Nick Loman works as an Independent Research Fellow in the Institute for Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham, sponsored by a seven-year MRC Fellowship in Microbial Genomics Bioinformatics. His research explores the use of cutting-edge genomics and metagenomics approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of infectious disease. Dr Loman has so far used high-throughput sequencing to investigate outbreaks of important Gram-negative multi-drug resistant pathogens, and recently helped establish real-time genomic surveillance of Ebola in Guinea. His current work focuses on the development of novel sequencing and bioinformatics methods to aid the interpretation of genome and metagenome scale data generated in clinical and public health microbiology.

Other activities

Editorial Board, Microbial Genomics (Microbiology Society) 2015 – present
Editorial Board, PeerJ () 2015 – present
Affiliate, bioRxiv.org (Cold Spring Harbor Press) 2015 – present
Organiser, Applied Bioinformatics and Public Health Microbiology (Wellcome Trust) 2013 –present
Organiser, Genome Science () 2015 – present

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Lumley, SF, Kent, C, Jennings, D, Chai, H, Airey, G, Waddilove, E, Delphin, M, Trebes, A, McNaughton, AL, Mohammed, KS, Wilkinson, SAJ, Wu, Y, MacIntyre-Cockett, G, Kimono, B, Mbonye, KM, Ojambo, K, Maponga, TG, Tan, CCS, de Lara, C, Martin, J, Campbell, J, Van Schalkwyk, M, Goedhals, D, Newton, R, Barnes, E, Loman, NJ, Piazza, P, Quick, J, Ansari, MA & Matthews, PC 2025, 'Whole genome sequencing of hepatitis B virus using tiled amplicon (HEPTILE) and probe based enrichment on Illumina and Nanopore platforms', Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no. 1, 5795. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87721-1

Colquhoun, R, O’Toole, Á, Hill, V, McCrone, JT, Yu, X, Nicholls, SM, Poplawski, R, Whalley, T, Groves, N, Ellaby, N, Loman, N, Connor, T & Rambaut, A 2024, 'A phylogenetics and variant calling pipeline to support SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology in the UK', Virus evolution, vol. 10, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veae083

Mirza, JD, de Oliveira Guimarães, L, Wilkinson, S, Rocha, EC, Bertanhe, M, Helfstein, VC, de-Deus, JT, Claro, IM, Cumley, N, Quick, J, Faria, NR, Sabino, EC, Kirchgatter, K & Loman, NJ 2024, 'Tracking arboviruses, their transmission vectors and potential hosts by nanopore sequencing of mosquitoes', Microbial Genomics, vol. 10, no. 1, 001184. https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001184

Claro, IM, Ramundo, MS, Coletti, TM, da Silva, CAM, Valenca, IN, Candido, DS, Sales, FCS, Manuli, ER, de Jesus, JG, de Paula, A, Felix, AC, Andrade, PDS, Pinho, MC, Souza, WM, Amorim, MR, Proenca-Modena, JL, Kallas, EG, Levi, JE, Faria, NR, Sabino, EC, Loman, NJ & Quick, J 2023, 'Rapid viral metagenomics using SMART-9N amplification and nanopore sequencing', Wellcome Open Research, vol. 6, 241. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17170.2

The COVID-19 Genomics U. K. (COG-UK) Consortium, Modat, M, Hammers, A, Spector, TD, Steves, CJ, Sudre, CH, Ourselin, S & Duncan, EL 2022, 'COVID-19 due to the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant compared to B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant of SARS-CoV-2: a prospective observational cohort study', Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 10904. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14016-0

Wilkinson, SAJ, Richter, A, Casey, A, Osman, H, Mirza, JD, Stockton, J, Quick, J, Ratcliffe, L, Sparks, N, Cumley, N, Poplawski, R, Nicholls, SN, Kele, B, Harris, K, Peacock, TP & Loman, NJ 2022, 'Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 mutations in immunodeficient patients', Virus evolution, vol. 8, no. 2, veac050. https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veac050

The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, Smallman-Raynor, MR & Cliff, AD 2022, 'Spatial growth rate of emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England, September 2020-December 2021', Epidemiology and Infection, vol. 150, e145. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268822001285

Du Plessis, L, Mccrone, JT, Zarebski, AE, Hill, V, Ruis, C, Gutierrez, B, Raghwani, J, Ashworth, J, Colquhoun, R, Connor, TR, Faria, NR, Jackson, B, Loman, NJ, O’toole, Á, Nicholls, SM, Parag, KV, Scher, E, Vasylyeva, TI, Volz, EM, Watts, A, Bogoch, II, COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, Aanensen, DM, Kraemer, MUG, Rambaut, A, Pybus, OG, Beggs, A & Khan, KM 2021, 'Establishment and lineage dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the UK', Science, vol. 371, no. 6530, pp. 708-712. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf2946

COG-UK Consortium, Volz, E, Hill, V, McCrone, JT, Price, A, Jorgensen, D, O'Toole, Á, Southgate, J, Johnson, R, Jackson, B, Nascimento, FF, Rey, SM, Nicholls, SM, Colquhoun, RM, da Silva Filipe, A, Shepherd, J, Pascall, DJ, Shah, R, Jesudason, N, Li, K, Jarrett, R, Pacchiarini, N, Bull, M, Geidelberg, L, Siveroni, I, Goodfellow, I, Loman, NJ, Pybus, OG, Robertson, DL, Thomson, EC, Rambaut, A & Connor, TR 2021, 'Evaluating the effects of SARS-CoV-2 spike mutation D614G on transmissibility and pathogenicity', Cell, vol. 184, no. 1, pp. 64-75.e11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.11.020

The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, Sanger Covid Team, Jackson, B, Nicholls, SM, Poplawski, R, Loman, NJ & Rambaut, A 2021, 'Generation and transmission of interlineage recombinants in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic', Cell, vol. 184, no. 20, pp. 5179-5188.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.08.014

The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, Meng, B, Kemp, SA, Papa, G, Datir, R, Ferreira, IATM, Marelli, S, Harvey, WT, Lytras, S, Mohamed, A, Gallo, G, Thakur, N, Collier, DA, Mlcochova, P, Duncan, LM, Carabelli, AM, Kenyon, JC, Lever, AM, De Marco, A, Saliba, C, Culap, K, Cameroni, E, Matheson, NJ, Piccoli, L, Corti, D, James, LC, Robertson, DL, Bailey, D & Gupta, RK 2021, 'Recurrent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion H69/V70 and its role in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7', Cell Reports, vol. 35, no. 13, 109292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109292

COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium & Beggs, A 2021, 'Spatiotemporal invasion dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 emergence', Science, vol. 373, no. 6557, pp. 889-895. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj0113

Gregorova, M, Morse, D, Brignoli, T, Steventon, J, Hamilton, F, Albur, M, Arnold, D, Thomas, M, Halliday, A, Baum, H, Rice, C, Avison, MB, Davidson, AD, Santopaolo, M, Oliver, E, Goenka, A, Finn, A, Wooldridge, L, Amulic, B, Boyton, RJ, Altmann, DM, Butler, DK, McMurray, C, Stockton, J, Nicholls, S, Cooper, C, Loman, N, Cox, MJ, Rivino, L & Massey, RC 2020, 'Post-acute COVID-19 associated with evidence of bystander t-cell activation and a recurring antibiotic-resistant bacterial pneumonia', eLife, vol. 9, e63430, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.63430

Quraishi, MN, Yalchin, M, Blackwell, C, Segal, JP, Sharma, N, Hawkey, P, McCune, V, Hart, A, Gaya, DR, Ives, N, Magill, L, Loi, S, Hewitt, C, Gerasimidis, K, Loman, N, Hansen, R, McMullan, C, Mathers, J, Quince, C, Crees, N & Iqbal, T 2019, 'STOP-Colitis pilot trial protocol: a prospective, open-label, randomised pilot study to assess two possible routes of faecal microbiota transplant delivery in patients with ulcerative colitis', BMJ open, vol. 9, no. 11, e030659. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030659

Nicholls, SM, Quick, JC, Tang, S & Loman, NJ 2019, 'Ultra-deep, long-read nanopore sequencing of mock microbial community standards', GigaScience. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz043

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