Matthew focuses his practice on patent prosecution in the life sciences sector, using his strong technical expertise to support his clients in achieving their IP goals and needs.
Matthew received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. His dissertation work focused on bacterial cell envelope physiology, incorporating methodologies across microbial genetics, molecular biology, physiology, and biochemistry. Over the course of his research career, Matthew has published 13 times in leading scientific journals and has presented his work at multiple international conferences. His work has provided significant contributions to our understanding of how bacterial pathogens create and maintain their cell envelope, with critical implications for antimicrobial resistance. Matthew’s extensive research experience enables him to provide superior service to his clients across a range of disciplines.
Following his research career and prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson, Matthew gained industry-side experience in healthcare consulting, assisting clients in bringing novel therapeutics and products to market. He subsequently worked in the technology transfer office at the leading children’s hospital in the country, where he managed relationships with industry partnerships across a variety of modalities including cell and gene therapy, small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acids.
Thought Leadership
- Powers MJ, et al (2022), Acinetobactin-Mediated Inhibition of Commensal Bacteria by Acinetobacter baumannii. mSphere. 7(1):e0001622
- Powers MJ, Simpson BW, Trent MS. (2020), The Mla pathway in Acinetobacter baumannii has no demonstrable role in anterograde lipid transport. ELife. 9
- Powers MJ, et al (2020), Campylobacter jejuni BumSR directs a response to butyrate via sensor phosphatase activity to impact transcription and colonization. PNAS.117(21):11715-11726
- Powers MJ, Trent MS (2020), Aboard the LetB Express. Nat Struct Mol Biol. (5):403-405
- Powers MJ, Trent MS (2019), Intermembrane transport: Glycerophospholipid homeostasis of the Gram-negative cell envelope. PNAS. 116(35):17147-17155
- Powers MJ, et al (2019), Top-down characterization of lipooligosaccharides from Antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Anal Chem. 91(15):9608-9615
- Powers MJ, et al (2019), RecET-mediated Recombineering in Acinetobacter baumannii. Methods Mol Biol. 1946:107-113
- Powers MJ, Herrera CM, Tucker AT, Davies BW, Trent MS. (2019), Isolation of Lipid Cell Envelope Components from Acinetobacter Baumannii. Methods Mol Biol. 1946:233-252
- Powers MJ, Trent MS (2018), Phospholipid retention in the absence of asymmetry strengths the outer membrane permeability barrier to last-resort antibiotics. PNAS. 115(36):E8518-8527 (Selected for a commentary in PNAS – see May KL and Grabowicz M)
- Powers MJ, et al (2018), Design of synthetic bacterial communities for predictable plant phenotypes. PLOS Biol. 16(2):e2003962
- Powers MJ, Trent MS (2018), Expanding the paradigm for the outer membrane: Acinetobacter baumannii in the absence of endotoxin. Mol Microbiol. 107(1):47-56
- Powers MJ, et al (2015), Inhibition of Cell Differentiation in Bacillus subtilis by Pseudomonas protegens. J Bacteriol. 197(13):2129-2138 (Selected for inclusion in the latest edition of a Microbial Ecology textbook)
- Harn YC, Powers MJ, Shank EA, Jojic V (2015), Deconvolving molecular signatures of interactions between microbial colonies. Bioinformatics. 31(12):i142-50
