Nikolay Zenkin

Professor Nikolay Zenkin is a faculty member at Newcastle University, focusing on molecular biology, biochemistry, and microbiology. His research elucidates the mechanisms of transcription-translation coupling, RNA polymerase dynamics, and antibiotic resistance in bacterial systems.

Dr. Zenkin’s work reveals that transcription and translation are tightly linked processes where ribosomes can physically rescue stalled RNA polymerases and where antibiotics like rifampicin and kanglemycin A target RNA polymerase to combat drug-resistant pathogens. His studies also dissect transcriptional fidelity, backtracking pathways, and chromatin-based surveillance to suppress aberrant gene expression.

Recent trends in his 15 most recent publications (2018–2025) include:

• Rifamycin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Transcription-arrest recovery via ribosome-RNA polymerase interactions
• Genetic networks involving piwi and hp1a in gene repression
• Novel antibiotic compounds targeting RNA polymerase