Researcher biography
Megan O'Mara is a Professor and Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), UQ. Her group uses multiscale modelling techniques to understand how changes in the biochemical environment of the cell membranes alters membrane properties and modulates the function of membrane proteins. She has research interests in multidrug resistance, computational drug design and delivery, biopolymers, and personalized medicine. Megan completed her PhD in biophysics at the Australian National University in 2005 before moving to the University of Calgary, Canada, to take up a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2009, she returned to Australia to join University of Queensland's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences as a UQ Postdoctoral Fellow, before commencing an ARC DECRA in 2012 where she continued her computational work on membrane protein dynamics. In 2015, Megan joined the Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University in 2015 as Rita Cornforth Fellow and Senior Lecturer. In 2019 she was promoted to Associate Professor and was Associate Director (Education) of the Research School of Chemistry ANU in 2019-2021. In April 2022 she relocated to AIBN.
Book Chapters
Mitchell, Joshua A., Zhang, William H., Herde, Michel K., Henneberger, Christian, Janovjak, Harald, O’Mara, Megan L. and Jackson, Colin J. (2017). Method for developing optical sensors using a synthetic dye-fluorescent protein FRET pair and computational modeling and assessment. Synthetic Protein Switches: Methods and Protocols. (pp. 89-99) New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6940-1_6
Steinbeck, Janina, O’Mara, Megan L., Ross, Ian L., Stahlberg, Henning and Hankamer, Ben (2017). Thylakoid ultrastructure: visualizing the photosynthetic machinery. Chlamydomonas: Biotechnology and Biomedicine. (pp. 149-191) edited by Michael Hippler. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-66360-9_7
O’Mara, Megan L. and Deplazes, Evelyne (2014). Polypeptide and protein modeling for drug design. Encyclopedia of computational neuroscience. (pp. 1-9) New York, United States: Springer . doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_732-1
O'Mara, Megan and Deplazes, Evelyne (2014). Polypeptide and protein modeling for drug design. Encyclopedia of computational neuroscience. (pp. 2439-2447) edited by Dieter Jaeger and Ranu Jung. Berlin, Germany: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-6675-8_732
Journal Articles
O'Mara, Megan L., MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo and Wilson, Katie A. (2024). Lipidome modifications in A. baumannii alter membrane properties and antimicrobial peptide interactions. Biophysical Journal, 123 (3), 455a. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.11.2771
Thai, Linh Duy, Fanelli, Julian, Munaweera, Rangika, O'Mara, Megan L., Barner-Kowollik, Christopher and Mutlu, Hatice (2024). Main-chain macromolecular hydrazone photoswitches. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 63 (4) e202315887, 1-12. doi: 10.1002/anie.202315887
O’Mara, Megan L., Rauscher, Sarah and Wetmore, Stacey D. (2024). Introduction to the RSC Advances themed collection on New insights into biomolecular systems from large-scale simulations. RSC Advances, 14 (10), 6985-6986. doi: 10.1039/d4ra90012j
Chater, Ryan Cantwell, Quinn, Ada S., Wilson, Katie, Frangos, Zachary J., Sutton, Patrick, Jayakumar, Srinivasan, Cioffi, Christopher L., O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2023). The efficacy of the analgesic GlyT2 inhibitor, ORG25543, is determined by two connected allosteric sites. Journal of Neurochemistry. doi: 10.1111/jnc.16028
Gose, Tomoka, Aitken, Heather M., Wang, Yao, Lynch, John, Rampersaud, Evadnie, Fukuda, Yu, Wills, Medb, Baril, Stefanie A., Ford, Robert C., Shelat, Anang, O'Mara, Megan L. and Schuetz, John D. (2023). The net electrostatic potential and hydration of ABCG2 affect substrate transport. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 5035, 5035. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40610-5
Zeng, Yi C., Sobti, Meghna, Quinn, Ada, Smith, Nicola J., Brown, Simon H.J., Vandenberg, Jamie I., Ryan, Renae M., O'Mara, Megan L. and Stewart, Alastair G. (2023). Structural basis of promiscuous substrate transport by Organic Cation Transporter 1. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 6374, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42086-9
Chen, Siyu, Iannotta, Dalila, O'Mara, Megan L., Goncalves, Jenifer Pendiuk and Wolfram, Joy (2023). Extracellular vesicle lipids in cancer immunoevasion. Trends in Cancer, 9 (11), 883-886. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.08.006
Mundsinger, Kai, Tuten, Bryan T., Wang, Lily, Neubauer, Kira, Kropf, Christian, O'Mara, Megan L. and Barner-Kowollik, Christopher (2023). Visible light reactive single‐chain nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie, 135 (23) e202302995. doi: 10.1002/ange.202302995
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., Wilson, Katie A. and O’Mara, Megan L. (2023). The impact of antimicrobial peptides on the Acinetobacter baumannii inner membrane is modulated by lipid polyunsaturation. ACS Infectious Diseases, 9 (4), 815-826. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00530
Frangos, Zachary J., Wilson, Katie A., Aitken, Heather M., Cantwell Chater, Ryan, Vandenberg, Robert J. and O’Mara, Megan L. (2023). Membrane cholesterol regulates inhibition and substrate transport by the glycine transporter, GlyT2. Life Science Alliance, 6 (4) e202201708, 1-17. doi: 10.26508/lsa.202201708
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Clarke, Callum, Wu, Xin, Roseblade, Ariane, York, Edward, Pacchini, Ethan, Roy, Ritik, Cranfield, Charles, Gale, Philip A., O'Mara, Megan L., Murray, Michael and Rawling, Tristan (2022). Protonophoric and mitochondrial uncoupling activity of aryl-carbamate substituted fatty acids. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 21 (1), 132-139. doi: 10.1039/d2ob02049a
Qin, Jilong, Wilson, Katie A., Sarkar, Sohinee, Heras, Begoña, O'Mara, Megan L. and Totsika, Makrina (2022). Conserved FimH mutations in the global Escherichia coli ST131 multi-drug resistant lineage weaken interdomain interactions and alter adhesin function. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 20, 4532-4541. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.040
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., Panizza, Alessandra, Eijkelkamp, Bart A. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2022). Dynamics of the Acinetobacter baumannii inner membrane under exogenous polyunsaturated fatty acid stress. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. Biomembranes, 1864 (7) 183908, 183908. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2022.183908
Wang, Lily and O’Mara, Megan L. (2022). PsiRESP: calculating RESP charges with Psi4. Journal of Open Source Software, 7 (73), 4100. doi: 10.21105/joss.04100
Chen, Xiumin, Wilson, Katie A., Schaefer, Natascha, De Hayr, Lachlan, Windsor, Mark, Scalais, Emmanuel, van Rijckevorsel, Germaine, Stouffs, Katrien, Villmann, Carmen, O’Mara, Megan L., Lynch, Joseph W. and Harvey, Robert J. (2022). Loss, gain and altered function of GlyR α2 subunit mutations in neurodevelopmental disorders. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 15 886729. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.886729
Goodwin, Rosemary J., Docker, Andrew, MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Aitken, Heather M., O'Mara, Megan L., Beer, Paul D. and White, Nicholas G. (2022). Hydroxy groups enhance [2]rotaxane anion binding selectivity. Chemistry-A European Journal, 28 (28) e202200389, e202200389. doi: 10.1002/chem.202200389
Findlay, James A., Patil, Komal M., Gardiner, Michael G., MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, O'Mara, Megan L., Kruger, Paul E. and Preston, Dan (2022). Heteroleptic tripalladium(II) cages. Chemistry: An Asian Journal, 17 (6) e202200093. doi: 10.1002/asia.202200093
Aitken, Heather M., Jiang, Zhen, Hampton, Isaac, O'Mara, Megan L. and Connal, Luke A. (2022). Polymer-solvent interactions as a tool to engineer material properties. Molecular Systems Design and Engineering, 7 (7), 746-754. doi: 10.1039/d1me00111f
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., Gupta, Vrinda and O’Mara, Megan L. (2022). Lipid-mediated antimicrobial resistance: a phantom menace or a new hope?. Biophysical Reviews, 14 (1), 145-162. doi: 10.1007/s12551-021-00912-8
Adamson, Lachlan S. R., Tasneem, Nuren, Andreas, Michael P., Close, William, Jenner, Eric N., Szyszka, Taylor N., Young, Reginald, Cheah, Li Chen, Norman, Alexander, MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., O’Mara, Megan L., Sainsbury, Frank, Giessen, Tobias W. and Lau, Yu Heng (2022). Pore structure controls stability and molecular flux in engineered protein cages. Science Advances, 8 (5) eabl7346, eabl7346. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abl7346
Kumar, Ashwani, Nothling, Mitchell David, Aitken, Heather M., Xiao, Zeyun, Lam, Mathew, Bell, Craig, O'Mara, Megan and Connal, Luke Andrew (2022). Simple synthetic route to a self-assembling enzyme-inspired transesterification catalysts. Catalysis Science and Technology, 12 (22), 6655-6659. doi: 10.1039/d2cy00744d
Wilson, Katie A., Wang, Lily and O’Mara, Megan L. (2021). Site of cholesterol oxidation impacts its localization and domain formation in the neuronal plasma membrane. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 12 (20), 3873-3884. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00395
Wang, Lily and O’Mara, Megan L. (2021). Effect of the force field on molecular dynamics simulations of the multidrug efflux protein P-glycoprotein. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 17 (10), 6491-6508. doi: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00414
Neville, Stephanie L., Sjoehamn, Jennie, Watts, Jacinta A., MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Fairweather, Stephen J., Ganio, Katherine, Hulyer, Alex Carey, McGrath, Aaron P., Hayes, Andrew J., Malcolm, Tess R., Davies, Mark R., Nomura, Norimichi, Iwata, So, O'Mara, Megan L., Maher, Megan J. and McDevitt, Christopher A. (2021). The structural basis of bacterial manganese import. Science Advances, 7 (32) eabg3980. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abg3980
Chitsaz, Mohsen, Gupta, Vrinda, Harris, Benjamin, O'Mara, Megan L. and Brown, Melissa H. (2021). A unique sequence is essential for efficient multidrug efflux function of the MtrD protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. mBio, 12 (4) e01675-21. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01675-21
Zang, Maoge, MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Adams, Felise G., Naidu, Varsha, Waters, Jack K., Carey, Ashley B., Ashenden, Alex, McLean, Kimberley T., Brazel, Erin B., Jiang, Jhih-Hang, Panizza, Alessandra, Trappetti, Claudia, Paton, James C., Peleg, Anton Y., Koper, Ingo, Paulsen, Ian T., Hassan, Karl A., O'Mara, Megan L. and Eijkelkamp, Bart A. (2021). The membrane composition defines the spatial organization and function of a major Acinetobacter baumannii drug efflux system. mBio, 12 (3) e01070-21. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01070-21
Bhaskaran, Ayana, Aitken, Heather M., Xiao, Zeyun, Blyth, Mitchell, Nothling, Mitchell D., Kamdar, Shashank, O'Mara, Megan L. and Connal, Luke A. (2021). Enzyme inspired polymer functionalized with an artificial catalytic triad. Polymer, 225 123735, 123735. doi: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123735
Fairweather, Stephen J., Gupta, Vrinda, Chitsaz, Mohsen, Booth, Lauren, Brown, Melissa H. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2021). Coordination of substrate binding and protonation in the N. gonorrhoeae MtrD efflux pump controls the functionally rotating transport mechanism. ACS Infectious Diseases, 7 (6), 1833-1847. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00149
Wilson, Katie A., Fairweather, Stephen J., MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., Wang, Lily, Morris, Richard A. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2021). The role of plasmalogens, Forssman lipids, and sphingolipid hydroxylation in modulating the biophysical properties of the epithelial plasma membrane. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 154 (9) 095101, 095101. doi: 10.1063/5.0040887
Wilson, Katie A., Mostyn, Shannon N., Frangos, Zachary J., Shimmon, Susan, Rawling, Tristan, Vandenberg, Robert J. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2021). The allosteric inhibition of glycine transporter 2 by bioactive lipid analgesics is controlled by penetration into a deep lipid cavity. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 296 100282, 100282. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100282
Wilson, Katie A., Wang, Lily, Lin, Yie Chang and O'Mara, Megan L. (2021). Investigating the lipid fingerprint of SLC6 neurotransmitter transporters: a comparison of dDAT, hDAT, hSERT, and GlyT2. BBA Advances, 1 100010, 100010. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadva.2021.100010
Rawling, Tristan, MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Roseblade, Ariane, Pazderka, Curtis, Clarke, Callum, Bourget, Kirsi, Wu, Xin, Lewis, William, Noble, Benjamin, Gale, Philip A., O'Mara, Megan L., Cranfield, Charles and Murray, Michael (2020). Aryl urea substituted fatty acids: a new class of protonophoric mitochondrial uncoupler that utilises a synthetic anion transporter. Chemical Science, 11 (47), 12677-12685. doi: 10.1039/d0sc02777d
Wilson, Katie A., MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo I., Riley, Eden, Lin, Yiechang and O’Mara, Megan L. (2020). Understanding the link between lipid diversity and the biophysical properties of the neuronal plasma membrane. Biochemistry, 59 (33), 3010-3018. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00524
Carey Hulyer, Alex R., Briggs, Deborah A., O'Mara, Megan L., Kerr, Ian D., Harmer, Jeffrey R. and Callaghan, Richard (2020). Cross-linking, DEER-spectroscopy and molecular dynamics confirm the inward facing state of P-glycoprotein in a lipid membrane. Journal of Structural Biology, 211 (1) 107513, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2020.107513
Ou, Arnold, Schmidberger, Jason W., Wilson, Katie A., Evans, Cameron W., Hargreaves, Jessica A., Grigg, Melanie, O'Mara, Megan L., Iyer, K. Swaminathan, Bond, Charles S. and Smith, Nicole M. (2020). High resolution crystal structure of a KRAS promoter G-quadruplex reveals a dimer with extensive poly-A π-stacking interactions for small-molecule recognition. Nucleic Acids Research, 48 (10), 5766-5776. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaa262
Nothling, Mitchell D., Xiao, Zeyun, Hill, Nicholas S., Blyth, Mitchell T., Bhaskaran, Ayana, Sani, Marc-Antoine, Espinosa-Gomez, Andrea, Ngov, Kevin, White, Jonathan, Buscher, Tim, Separovic, Frances, O'Mara, Megan L., Coote, Michelle L. and Connal, Luke A. (2020). A multifunctional surfactant catalyst inspired by hydrolases. Science Advances, 6 (14) eaaz0404, eaaz0404. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz0404
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, McDevitt, Christopher A. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2020). Comparing nonbonded metal ion models in the divalent cation binding protein PsaA. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 16 (3), 1913-1923. doi: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b01180
Wilson, Katie A., Wang, Lily, MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo and O'Mara, Megan L. (2020). The fats of life: using computational chemistry to characterise the eukaryotic cell membrane. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 73 (2-3), 85-95. doi: 10.1071/ch19353
Chitsaz, Mohsen, Booth, Lauren, Blyth, Mitchell T., O’Mara, Megan L. and Brown, Melissa H. (2019). Multidrug resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: identification of functionally important residues in the MtrD efflux protein. mBio, 10 (6) e02277-19. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02277-19
Mostyn, Shannon N., Wilson, Katie A., Schumann-Gillette, Alexandra, Frangos, Zachary J., Shimmon, Susan, Rawling, Tristan, Ryan, Renae M., O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2019). Identification of an allosteric binding site on the human glycine transporter, GlyT2, for bioactive lipid analgesics. eLife, 8 e47150. doi: 10.7554/elife.47150
Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra, Blyth, Mitchell T. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2019). Is protein structure enough? A review of the role of lipids in SLC6 transporter function. Neuroscience Letters, 700, 64-69. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.05.020
Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra and O'Mara, Megan L. (2019). Lipid-based inhibitors act directly on GlyT2. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 10 (3), 1668-1678. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00586
Chiou, Tzu-Ting, Long, Philip, Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra, Kanamarlapudi, Venkateswarlu, Haas, Stefan A., Harvey, Kirsten, O'Mara, Megan L., De Blasi, Angel L., Kalscheuer, Vera M. and Harvey, Robert J. (2019). Mutation p.R356Q in the collybistin phosphoinositide binding site Is associated with mild intellectual disability. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 12 60. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00060
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra, Mark, Alan E. and O’Mara, Megan L. (2019). Probing the pharmacological binding sites of P-glycoprotein using umbrella sampling simulations. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 59 (5) acs.jcim.8b00624, 2287-2298. doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.8b00624
Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra and O'Mara, Megan L. (2019). The effects of oxidised phospholipids and cholesterol on the biophysical properties of POPC bilayers. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Biomembranes, 1861 (1), 210-219. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.07.012
Carland, Jane E., Thomas, Michael, Mostyn, Shannon N., Subramanian, Nandhitha, O'Mara, Megan L., Ryan, Renae M. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2018). Molecular determinants for substrate interactions with the glycine transporter GlyT2. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 9 (3), 603-614. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.7b00407
Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, Subramanian, Nandhitha, Mark, Alan E. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2018). The reliability of molecular dynamics simulations of the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein in a membrane environment. PloS One, 13 (1) e0191882, 1-24. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191882
Mitchell, Joshua A. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2017). Capturing the dynamics of a spring-loaded protein. Structure, 25 (7), 963-964. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2017.06.008
Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra, Mark, Alan E., Deplazes, Evelyne and O'Mara, Megan L. (2017). A potential new, stable state of the E-cadherin strand-swapped dimer in solution. European Biophysics Journal, 47 (1), 59-67. doi: 10.1007/s00249-017-1229-3
Thomas, Michael, Anglim Lagones, Thomas, Judd, Martyna, Morshedi, Mahbod, O'Mara, Megan L. and White, Nicholas G. (2017). Hydrogen bond-driven self–assembly between amidinium cations and carboxylate anions: a combined molecular dynamics, NMR spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction study. Chemistry - An Asian Journal, 12 (13), 1587-1597. doi: 10.1002/asia.201700406
Anandan, Anandhi, Evans, Genevieve L., Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, O'Mara, Megan L., John, Constance M., Phillips, Nancy J., Jarvis, Gary A., Wills, Siobhan S., Stubbs, Keith A., Moraes, Isabel, Kahler, Charlene M. and Vrielink, Alice (2017). Structure of a lipid A phosphoethanolamine transferase suggests how conformational changes govern substrate binding. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114 (9), 2218-2223. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1612927114
Nothling, Mitchell D., Ganesan, Aravindhan, Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, Pressly, Eric, Davalos, Ashley, Gotrik, Michael R., Xiao, Zeyun, Khoshdel, Ezat, Hawker, Craig J., O'Mara, Megan L., Coote, Michelle L. and Connal, Luke A. (2017). Simple design of an enzyme-inspired supported catalyst based on a catalytic triad. Chem, 2 (5), 732-745. doi: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.04.004
Kretzmann, Jessica A., Ho, Diwei, Evans, Cameron W., Plani-Lam, Janice H. C., Garcia-Bloj, Benjamin, Mohamed, A. Elaaf, O'Mara, Megan L., Ford, Ethan, Tan, Dennis E. K., Lister, Ryan, Blancafort, Pilar, Norret, Marck and Iyer, K. Swaminathan (2017). Synthetically controlling dendrimer flexibility improves delivery of large plasmid DNA. Chemical Science, 8 (4), 2923-2930. doi: 10.1039/c7sc00097a
Mittra, Rituparna, Pavy, Megan, Subramanian, Nanditha, George, Anthony M., O'Mara, Megan L., Kerr, Ian D. and Callaghan, Richard (2017). Location of contact residues in pharmacologically distinct drug binding sites on P-glycoprotein. Biochemical Pharmacology, 123, 19-28. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2016.10.002
Nothling, Mitchell D., Ganesan, Aravindhan, Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, Pressly, Eric, Davalos, Ashley, Gotrik, Michael R., Xiao, Zeyun, Khoshdel, Ezat, Hawker, Craig J., O'Mara, Megan L., Coote, Michelle L. and Connal, Luke A. (2017). Erratum: Simple Design of an Enzyme-Inspired Supported Catalyst Based on a Catalytic Triad (Chem (2017) 2(5) (732–745) (S2451929417301705) (10.1016/j.chempr.2017.04.004)). Chem, 2 (6), 893-894. doi: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.05.015
Mitchell, Joshua A., Whitfield, Jason H., Zhang, William H., Henneberger, Christian, Janovjak, Harald, O'Mara, Megan L. and Jackson, Colin J. (2016). Rangefinder: a semisynthetic FRET sensor design algorithm. ACS Sensors, 1 (11), 1286-1290. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.6b00576
Mohamed, A. Elaaf, Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, Ahmed, F. Hafna, Yuan, Peng, O'Mara, Megan L., Jackson, Colin J. and Coote, Michelle L. (2016). Hydrophobic shielding drives catalysis of hydride transfer in a family of F420H2-dependent enzymes. Biochemistry, 55 (49), 6908-6918. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00683
Ahmed, F. Hafna, Mohamed, A. Elaaf, Carr, Paul D., Lee, Brendon M., Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, O'Mara, Megan L. and Jackson, Colin J. (2016). Rv2074 is a novel F420H2-dependent biliverdin reductase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Protein Science, 25 (9), 1692-1709. doi: 10.1002/pro.2975
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Scopelliti, Amanda J., Carland, Jane E., Ryan, Renae M., O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2016). Correction: Identification of a 3rd Na+ binding site of the glycine transporter, GlyT2. PLoS One, 11 (7) e0159896, e0159896. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159896
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Scopelitti, Amanda J., Carland, Jane E., Ryan, Renae M., O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2016). Identification of a 3rd Na+ binding site of the glycine transporter, GlyT2. PLoS ONE, 11 (6) e0157583, e0157583. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157583
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Condic-Jurkic, Karmen and O'Mara, Megan L. (2016). Structural and dynamic perspectives on the promiscuous transport activity of P-glycoprotein. Neurochemistry International, 98, 146-152. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2016.05.005
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Schumann-Gillett, Alexandra, Mark, Alan E. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2016). Understanding the accumulation of P-glycoprotein substrates within cells: The effect of cholesterol on membrane partitioning. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: Biomembranes, 1858 (4), 776-782. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2015.12.025
Deplazes, Evelyne, Begg, Stephanie L., van Wonderen, Jessica H., Campbell, Rebecca, Kobe, Bostjan, Paton, James C., MacMillan, Fraser, McDevitt, Christopher A. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2015). Characterizing the conformational dynamics of metal-free PsaA usingmolecular dynamics simulations and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Biophysical Chemistry, 207, 51-60. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2015.08.004
Fairweather, Stephen J., Broeer, Angelika, Subramanian, Nandhitha, Turner, Ennrah, Cheng, Qi, Schmoll, Dieter, O'Mara, Megan L. and Broeer, Stefan (2015). Molecular basis for the interaction of the mammalian amino acid transporters B0AT1 and B0AT3 with their ancillary protein collectrin. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 290 (40), 24308-24325. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M115.648519
Subramanian, Nandhitha, Condic-Jurkic, Karmen, Mark, Alan E. and O'Mara, Megan L. (2015). Identification of possible binding sites for morphine and nicardipine on the multidrug transporter P-Glycoprotein using umbrella sampling techniques. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 55 (6), 1202-1217. doi: 10.1021/ci5007382
Begg, Stephanie L., Eijkelkamp, Bart A., Luo, Zhenyao, Couñago, Rafael M., Morey, Jacqueline R., Maher, Megan J., Ong, Cheryl-lynn Y., McEwan, Alastair G., Kobe, Bostjan, O'Mara, Megan L., Paton, James C. and McDevitt, Christopher A. (2015). Dysregulation of transition metal ion homeostasis is the molecular basis for cadmium toxicity in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Nature Communications, 6 (6418) 6418, 1-11. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7418
Brooks, Andrew J., Dai, Wei, O’Mara, Megan L., Abankwa, Daniel, Chhabra, Yash, Pelekanos, Rebecca A., Gardon, Olivier, Tunny, Kathryn A., Blucher, Kristopher M., Morton, Craig J., Parker, Michael W., Sierecki, Emma, Gambin, Yann, Gomez, Guillermo A., Alexandrov, Kirill, Wilson, Ian A., Doxastakis, Manolis, Mark, Alan E. and Waters, Michael J. (2014). Mechanism of activation of protein kinase JAK2 by the growth hormone receptor. Science, 344 (6185) 1249783, 1249783.1-1249783.12. doi: 10.1126/science.1249783
van Wonderen, Jessica H., McMahon, Róisin M., O'Mara, Megan L., McDevitt, Christopher A., Thomson, Andrew J., Kerr, Ian D., MacMillan, Fraser and Callaghan, Richard (2014). The central cavity of ABCB1 undergoes alternating access during ATP hydrolysis. FEBS Journal, 281 (9), 2190-2201. doi: 10.1111/febs.12773
O'Mara, Megan L. and Mark, Alan E. (2014). Structural characterization of two metastable ATP-bound states of P-glycoprotein. PLoS One, 9 (3) e91916, e91916.1-e91916.14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091916
Plumptre, Charles D., Eijkelkamp, Bart A., Morey, Jacqueline R., Behr, Felix, Couñago, Rafael M., Ogunniyi, Abiodun D., Kobe, Bostjan, O'Mara, Megan L., Paton, James C. and McDevitt, Christopher A. (2014). AdcA and AdcAII employ distinct zinc acquisition mechanisms and contribute additively to zinc homeostasis in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Molecular Microbiology, 91 (4), 834–851-834–851. doi: 10.1111/mmi.12504
Chen, Wenqian, Wang, Ruiwu, Chen, Biyi, Zhong, Xiaowei, Kong, Huihui, Bai, Yunlong, Zhou, Qiang, Xie, Cuihong, Zhang, Jingqun, Guo, Ang, Tian, Xixi, Jones, Peter P., O'Mara, Megan L., Liu, Yingjie, Mi, Tao, Zhang, Lin, Bolstad, Jeff, Semeniuk, Lisa, Cheng, Hongqiang, Zhang, Jianlin, Chen, Ju, Tieleman, D. Peter, Gillis, Anne M., Duff, Henry J., Fill, Michael, Song, Long-Sheng and Chen, S. R. Wayne (2014). The ryanodine receptor store-sensing gate controls Ca2+ waves and Ca2+-triggered arrhythmias. Nature Medicine, 20 (2), 184-192. doi: 10.1038/nm.3440
Couñago, Rafael M., Ween, Miranda P., Begg, Stephanie L., Bajaj, Megha, Zuegg, Johannes, O'Mara, Megan L., Cooper, Matthew A., McEwan, Alastair G., Paton, James C., Kobe, Bostjan and McDevitt, Christopher A. (2014). Imperfect coordination chemistry facilitates metal ion release in the Psa permease. Nature Chemical Biology, 10 (1), 35-41. doi: 10.1038/nCHeMBIO.1382
Jia, ZhiGuang, O'Mara, Megan L., Zuegg, Johannes, Cooper, Matthew A. and Mark, Alan E. (2013). Vancomycin: ligand recognition, dimerization and super-complex formation. FEBS Journal, 280 (5), 1294-1307. doi: 10.1111/febs.12121
Jia, Z. G., O'Mara, M. L., Zuegg, J., Matthew Cooper and Mark, Alan (2013). Erratum: The effect of environment on the recognition and binding of vancomycin to native and resistant forms of lipid II (Biophysical Journal (2011) 101 (2684-2692)). Biophysical Journal, 104 (2), 516-516. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2012.12.031
Fairweather, Stephen J., Broer, Angelika, O'Mara, Megan L. and Broer, Stefan (2012). Intestinal peptidases form functional complexes with the neutral amino acid transporter B0AT1. Biochemical Journal, 446 (1), 135-148. doi: 10.1042/BJ20120307
O’Mara, Megan L. and Mark, Alan E. (2012). The effect of environment on the structure of a membrane protein: P-glycoprotein under physiological conditions. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 8 (10), 3964-3976. doi: 10.1021/ct300254y
Schmidt, Thomas H., O’Mara, Megan L. and Kandt, Christian (2012). Molecular dynamics simulations of membrane proteins: building starting structures and example applications. Current Physical Chemistry, 2 (4), 363-378.
Jia, ZhiGuang, O'Mara, Megan L., Zuegg, Johannes, Cooper, Matthew A. and Mark, Alan E. (2011). The effect of environment on the recognition and binding of vancomycin to native and resistant forms of lipid II. Biophysical Journal, 101 (11), 2684-2692. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2011.10.047
McArthur, J. R., Singh, G., O'Mara, M. L., McMaster, D., Ostroumov, V., Tieleman, D. P. and French, R. J. (2011). Orientation of mu-conotoxin PIIIA in a sodium channel vestibule, based on voltage dependence of its binding. Molecular Pharmacology, 80 (2), 219-227. doi: 10.1124/mol.111.071779
Xue, Ying, O'Mara, Megan L., Surawski, Peter P. T., Trau, Matt and Mark, Alan E. (2011). Effect of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacers on the conformational properties of small peptides: A molecular dynamics study. Langmuir, 27 (1), 296-303. doi: 10.1021/la103800h
Crowley, Emily, O'Mara, Megan L., Kerr, Ian D. and Callaghan, Richard (2010). Transmembrane helix 12 plays a pivotal role in coupling energy provision and drug binding in ABCB1. Febs Journal, 277 (19), 3974-3985. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2010.07789.x
Jones, Peter M., O'Mara, Megan L. and George, Anthony M. (2009). ABC transporters: A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 34 (10), 520-531. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2009.06.004
Crowley, Emily, O'Mara, Megan L., Reynolds, Catherine, Tieleman, D. Peter, Storm, Janet, Kerr, Ian D. and Callaghan, Richard (2009). Transmembrane helix 12 modulates progression of the ATP catalytic cycle in ABCB1. Biochemistry, 48 (26), 6249-6258. doi: 10.1021/bi900373x
Oancea, Giani, O'Mara, Megan L., Bennett, W. F. Drew, Tieleman, D. Peter, Abele, Rupert and Tampé, Robert (2009). Structural arrangement of the transmission interface in the antigen ABC transport complex TAP. National Academy of Sciences. Proceedings, 106 (14), 5551-5556. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0811260106
Procko, Erik, O'Mara, Megan L., Bennett, W. F. Drew, Tieleman, D. Peter and Gaudet, Rachelle (2009). The mechanism of ABC transporters: general lessons from structural and functional studies of an antigenic peptide transporter. FASEB Journal, 23 (5), 1287-1302. doi: 10.1096/fj.08-121855
Klassen, Tara L., O'Mara, Megan L., Redstone, Megan, Spencer, Andrew N. and Gallin, Warren J. (2008). Non-linear intramolecular interactions and voltage sensitivity of a KV1 family potassium channel from Polyorchis penicillatus (Eschscholtz 1829). Journal of Experimental Biology, 211 (21), 3442-3453. doi: 10.1242/jeb.022608
Moussatova, Anastassiia, Kandt, Christian, O'Mara, Megan L. and Tieleman, D. Peter (2008). ATP-binding cassette transporters in Escherichia coli. BBA: Biomembranes, 1778 (9), 1757-1771. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2008.06.009
Storm, Janet, Modok, Szabolcs, O’Mara, Megan L., Tieleman, D. Peter, Kerr, Ian D. and Callaghan, Richard (2008). Cytosolic region of TM6 in P-Glycoprotein: Topographical analysis and functional perturbation by site directed labeling. Biochemistry, 47 (12), 3615-3624. doi: 10.1021/bi7023089
Lawson, J., O'Mara, M. L. and Kerr, I. D. (2008). Structure-based interpretation of the mutagenesis database for the nucleotide binding domains of P-glycoprotein. BBA: Biomembranes, 1778 (2), 376-391. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2007.10.021
Storm, Janet, O’Mara, Megan L., Crowley, Emily H., Peall, Jonathan, Tieleman, D. Peter, Kerr, Ian D. and Callaghan, Richard (2007). Residue G346 in transmembrane segment six is involved in inter-domain communication in P-Glycoprotein. Biochemistry, 46 (35), 9899-9910. doi: 10.1021/bi700447p
O'Mara, Megan L. and Tieleman, D. Peter (2007). P-glycoprotein models of the apo and ATP-bound states based on homology with Sav1866 and MalK. FEBS Letters, 581 (22), 4217-4222. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2007.07.069
O’Mara, M., Oakley, A. and Bröer, S. (2006). Mechanism and putative structure of B0-like neutral amino acid transporters. Journal of Membrane Biology, 213 (2), 111-118. doi: 10.1007/s00232-006-0879-3
O'Mara, Megan, Cromer, Brett, Parker, Michael and Chung, Shin-Ho (2005). Homology model of the GABAA receptor examined using Brownian Dynamics. Biophysical Journal, 88 (5), 3286-3299. doi: 10.1529/biophysj.104.051664
Corry, Ben, O'Mara, Megan and Chung, Shin-Ho (2004). Permeation dynamics of chloride ions in the ClC-0 and ClC-1 channels. Chemical Physics Letters, 386 (4-6), 233-238. doi: 10.1016/j.cplett.2004.01.072
Corry, Ben, O’Mara, Megan and Chung, Shin-Ho (2004). Conduction mechanisms of chloride ions in ClC-type channels. Biophysical Journal, 86 (2), 846-860. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(04)74160-0
Corry, B, O'Mara, M and Chung, SH (2004). Conduction mechanisms of chloride ions in ClC-type channels. Biophysical Journal, 86 (2), 846-860.
O'Mara, Megan, Barry, Peter H. and Chung, Shin-Ho (2003). A model of the glycine receptor deduced from Brownian dynamics studies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100 (7), 4310-4315. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0630652100
Conference Papers
Gallagher, Casey I., Lin, Yie Chang, Kumar, Arvind, Ha, Damian, Cioffi, Christopher L., Chakrapani, Sudha, O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2023). Identification and characterisation of lipids that are positive allosteric modulators of glycine receptors. 66th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical-Society, San Francisco Ca, Feb 19-23, 2022. CAMBRIDGE: CELL PRESS.
MacDermott-Opeskin, Hugo, Wilson, Katie A., Eijkelkamp, Bart and O'Mara, Megan L. (2023). Polyunsaturated lipids promote membrane phase separation and antimicrobial sensitivity. Biophysical Society 67th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA United States, 18-22 February 2023. St. Louis, MO United States: Cell Press. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.11.1805
Gallagher, Casey I., Chang Lin, Yie, Kumar, Arvind, Ha, Damian, Cioffi, Christopher L., Chakrapani, Sudha, O'Mara, Megan L. and Vandenberg, Robert J. (2023). Identification and characterisation of lipids that are positive allosteric modulators of glycine receptors. 67th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting 2023, San Diego, CA United States, 18-22 February 2023. St Louis, MO United States: Cell Press. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.11.2138
Brooks, Andrew, Dai, W., O'Mara, M. L., Abankwa, D., Chhabra, Y., Pelekanos, R. A., Gardon, O., Tunny, K. A., Blucher, K. M., Morton, C. J., Parker, M. W., Sierecki, E., Gambin, Y., Gomez, G. A., Alexandrov, K., Wilson, I. A., Doxastakis, M., Mark, A. E. and Waters, M. J. (2016). Going downstream - how does GH binding activate JAK2. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia, Adelaide, Australia, 23-26 August, 2015. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/cen.13010
Brooks, Andrew J., O’Mara, Megan L., Dai, Wei, Abankwa, Daniel, Chhabra, Yash, Tunny, Kathryn A., Parker, Michael W., Sierecki, Emma, Gambin, Yann, Gomez, Guillermo A., Haxholm, Gitte W., Nikolajsen, Louise F., Doxastakis, Manolis, Mark, Alan E. and Waters, Michael J. (2016). Mechanism of JAK2 Activation by the Archetype Class I Cytokine Receptor, the Growth Hormone Receptor. Biophysical Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 27 February - 2 March 2016. CAMBRIDGE: CELL PRESS. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.11.233
Condic-Jurkic, K., Subramanian, N., Mark, A. E. and O'Mara, M. (2015). Insights into the operations of a promiscuous drug trafficker: The story of P-glycoprotein. 10th European Biophysical Societies Association (EBSA) European Biophysics Congress, Dresden, Germany, 18-22 July 2015. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. doi: 10.1007/s00249-015-1045-6
Brooks, Andrew J, Chhabra, Yash, Abankwa, Daniel, O’Mara, Megan, Dai, Wei, Gardon, Olivier, Tunny, Kathryn A., Blucher, Kristopher M., Morton, Craig J., Parker, Michael W., Sierecki, Emma, Gambin, Yann, Guillermo A. Gomez, Alexandrov, Kirill Kirill, Doxastakis, Manolis, Mark, Alan E. and Waters, Michael J. (2014). A new cytokine receptor activation paradigm: Activation of JAK2 by the growth hormone receptor. 2nd Annual Meeting of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS), Melbourne, VIC Australia, 26 - 29 October 2014. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2014.07.227
Sowa, Anna, Harrison, Michael, Tregaskes, Clive, Chappell, Paul, Roversi, Pietro, Lea, Susan, O'Mara, Megan, Gaudet, Rachelle and Kaufman, Jim (2012). Chicken TAP genes are polymorphic and co-evolve with the dominantly-expressed class I gene. 7th Biannual Workshop on Antigen Presentation, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 24-27 April 2012. Oxford, United Kingdom: Pergamon. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2012.02.050
O'Mara, M. L. and Tieleman, D. P. (2007). Determining the structural conformation of P-glycoprotein via homology modelling. 51st Annual Meeting of the Biophysical-Society, Baltimore, United States, 3-7 March 2007. St. Louis, United States: Cell Press.
Oloo, Eliud, Kandt, Christian, O’Mara, Megan L. and Tieleman, D. Peter (2006). Computer simulations of ABC transporter components. 49th Annual Canadian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology Meeting, Ontario, Canada, 31 May- 4 June 2006. Ottowa, Canada: National Research Council of Canada. doi: 10.1139/O06-182
O'Mara, Megan L., Yin, Jian, Hoyles, Matthew and Chung, Shin-Ho (2006). Investigating the mechanism of proton transfer through the bacterial ClC transporter. 50th Annual Meeting of the Biopysical-Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., 18-22 February, 2006. Bethesda, MD., U.S.A.: Cell Press for the Biophysical Society.
Barry, PH and O'Mara, ML (2005). The reliability of relative cation-anion permeabilities deduced from reversal (dilution) potential measurements in ion channel studies, and Brownian dynamics predictions. Experimental Biology 2005 Meeting/35th International Congress of Physiological Sciences, San Diego Ca, Mar 31-Apr 06, 2005. BETHESDA: FEDERATION AMER SOC EXP BIOL.
O'Mara, M. L., Cromer, B. A., Parker, M. W. and Chung, S. H. (2005). Simulations of ion permeation through a homology model of the GABA(A) receptor. 49th Annual Meeting of the Biopysical-Society, Long Beach, California, U.S.A., 12-16 February, 2005. Bethesda, MD., U.S.A.: Cell Press for the Biophysical Society.
Barry, P. H. and O'Mara, M. L. (2005). The reliability of relative cation-anion permeabilities deduced from reversal (dilution) potential measurements in ion channel studies, and Brownian dynamics predictions. Experimental Biology 2005 Meeting/35th International Congress of Physiological Sciences, San Diego, California, U.S.A., 31 March, - April, 2005. Bethesda, MD, U.S.A.: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
O'Mara, ML, Cromer, BA, Parker, MW and Chung, SH (2005). Simulations of ion permeation through a homology model of the GABA(A) receptor. 49th Annual Meeting of the Biopysical-Society, Long Beach Ca, Feb 12-16, 2005. BETHESDA: BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY.
Corry, B, O'Mara, M, Bisset, D and Chung, SH (2004). Mechanisms of chloride conduction in ClC channels. 48th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, Baltimore Md, Feb 14-18, 2004. BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY.
Corry, B., O'Mara, M., Bisset, D. and Chung, S. H. (2004). Mechanisms of chloride conduction in ClC channels. 48th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 14-18 February 2004. Bethesda, MD: Pubmed Central.
O'Mara, Megan, Keramidas, Angelo, Barry, Peter H. and Chung, Shin-Ho (2003). Mechanism of ion permeation in the glycine receptor and its cation-selective mutations. 47th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, San Antonio, Texas, 1-5 March 2003. Bethesda, MD, U.S.A.: Cell Press for the Biophysical Society.
O'Mara, M., Keramidas, A., Barry, P. H. and Chung, S. H. (2003). Mechanism of ion permeation in the glycine receptor and its cation-selective mutations. 47th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical-Society, San Antonio Texas, 1-5 March 2003. Bethesda, MD United States: Biophysical Society.