Overview
Background
Dr Ariotti is a Senior Research Fellow and Group Leader at the University of Queensland, Australia. Nick's Lab is focused on using cell biology, structural biology, and biochemistry to understand the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis including the organization of cargo for the transport and packaging of proteins into cells and, specialises in how defects in protein trafficking, and plasma membrane organisation can result in human diseases. He completed his PhD in 2013 at the University of Queensland. He then spent 4 years postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Molecular Biosciences in Rob Parton’s laboratory where he focused on developing and applying correlative light and electron microscopy approaches to better understand endocytosis. In 2017, Dr Ariotti moved to the Electron Microscope Unit at UNSW to serve as the Associate Director of Biological EM. He spent 5 years at the Electron Microscope Unit establishing Cryo-EM and cryogenic-Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy. In 2022, Dr Ariotti returned to the IMB at UQ as an independent research group leader with a focus on developing and applying novel cryogenic correlative approaches to uncover protein structures in situ.
Availability
- Dr Nicholas Ariotti is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science (Honours), The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Membrane microdomain organisation in the endosome and on the cell surface
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The structure, composition, and function of caveolae
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Development of advanced Electron Microscopy techniques to answer questions in cell biology
Research impacts
Nick has an exceptional track record of producing high-quality transformative research that challenges long-held hypotheses and breaks new ground. He has secured competitive external funding (16 competitive grant successes), an outstanding publication profile (>75 publications; > 5000 citations), a strong record of supervision, invitations to speak at national and international conferences and a dedication to contributing to the advancement of cell biology research and electron microscopy through service on various national and international committees and associations.
He haspublished in journals such as Nature, Cell, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Immunology, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, Developmental Cell, PLoS Biology, The Journal of Cell Biology, Current Biology and EMBO Journal highlighting the impact of his research.
These interests have resulted in significant high-quality publications in three related fields:
i) The structure, composition, and function of caveolae:
ii) The organsiation of membrane microdomains and signalling molecules on the cell surface and within endosomes:
ii) Development of advanced Electron Microscopy techniques to answer questions in cell biology.
Works
Search Professor Nicholas Ariotti’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
An efficient eukaryotic cell-free expression and correlative cryo-electron tomography platform for structural biology of macromolecular complexes
Tillu, Vikas, Hunter, Dominic, Chen, Kai-En, Smith, Jessica, Rae, James, Sierecki, Emma, Kobe, Bostjan, Gambin, Yann, Collins, Brett, Parton, Robert and Ariotti, Nicholas (2025). An efficient eukaryotic cell-free expression and correlative cryo-electron tomography platform for structural biology of macromolecular complexes. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2025.10.18.683253
2025
Journal Article
A model for membrane curvature generation by caveolin discs driven by differential contact interaction
Barnoy, Avishai, Ariotti, Nicholas, Parton, Robert G. and Kozlov, Michael M. (2025). A model for membrane curvature generation by caveolin discs driven by differential contact interaction. Nature Communications, 16 (1) 9030, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64084-9
2025
Journal Article
Pro-ferroptotic lipids as key control points for caveola formation and disassembly
Wu, Yeping, Lim, Ye-Wheen, McMahon, Kerrie-Ann, Martel, Nick, Rae, James, Lo, Harriet P., Gao, Ya, Tillu, Vikas, Larsson, Elin, Lundmark, Richard, Levic, Daniel S., Bagnat, Michel, Lim, Junxian, Fairlie, David P., Pol, Albert, Collins, Brett M., Ariotti, Nicholas, Hall, Thomas E. and Parton, Robert G. (2025). Pro-ferroptotic lipids as key control points for caveola formation and disassembly. Cell Reports, 44 (6) 115789, 115789. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115789
2025
Journal Article
Molecular basis for the assembly of the Vps5-Vps17 SNX-BAR proteins with Retromer
Chen, Kai-En, Tillu, Vikas A., Gopaldass, Navin, Chowdhury, Sudeshna Roy, Leneva, Natalya, Kovtun, Oleksiy, Ruan, Juanfang, Guo, Qian, Ariotti, Nicholas, Mayer, Andreas and Collins, Brett M. (2025). Molecular basis for the assembly of the Vps5-Vps17 SNX-BAR proteins with Retromer. Nature Communications, 16 (1) 3568, 3568. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58846-8
2025
Journal Article
Design principles and biomedical applications of endoplasmic reticulum-targeting luminescent nanoparticles
Tang, Wilson, Li, Yuewei, Marsh, Deborah J, Ariotti, Nicholas, Cheng, Yuen Yee, Langford, Steven J and Liao, Jiayan (2025). Design principles and biomedical applications of endoplasmic reticulum-targeting luminescent nanoparticles. Nano Research, 18 (6) 94907356, 94907356-6. doi: 10.26599/nr.2025.94907356
2025
Journal Article
Single molecule visualization of tropomyosin isoform organization in the mammalian actin cytoskeleton
Cagigas, Maria L., Ariotti, Nicholas, Hook, Jeff, Rae, James, Parton, Robert G., Bryce, Nicole S., Gunning, Peter W. and Hardeman, Edna C. (2025). Single molecule visualization of tropomyosin isoform organization in the mammalian actin cytoskeleton. Cytoskeleton, 82 (1-2), 45-54. doi: 10.1002/cm.21883
2024
Journal Article
Pyroptotic cell corpses are crowned with F-actin-rich filopodia that engage CLEC9A signaling in incoming dendritic cells
Holley, Caroline L., Monteleone, Mercedes, Fisch, Daniel, Libert, Alexandre E. S., Ju, Robert J., Choi, Joon H., Condon, Nicholas D., Emming, Stefan, Crawford, Joanna, Lawrence, Grace M. E. P., Coombs, Jared R., Lefevre, James G., Bajracharya, Rinie, Lahoud, Mireille H., Yap, Alpha S., Hamilton, Nicholas, Stehbens, Samantha J., Kagan, Jonathan C., Ariotti, Nicholas, Burgener, Sabrina S. and Schroder, Kate (2024). Pyroptotic cell corpses are crowned with F-actin-rich filopodia that engage CLEC9A signaling in incoming dendritic cells. Nature Immunology, 26 (1) eaas8995, 1-35. doi: 10.1038/s41590-024-02024-3
2024
Journal Article
Precision in situ cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy of optogenetically-positioned organelles
Tillu, Vikas A., Redpath, Gregory M. I., Rae, James, Ruan, Juanfang, Yao, Yin, Cagigas, Maria L., Whan, Renee, Hardeman, Edna C., Gunning, Peter W., Ananthanarayanan, Vaishnavi, Parton, Robert G. and Ariotti, Nicholas A. (2024). Precision in situ cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy of optogenetically-positioned organelles. Journal of Cell Science, 137 (20) jcs262163, 1-16. doi: 10.1242/jcs.262163
2024
Journal Article
Single-molecule imaging of stochastic interactions that drive dynein activation and cargo movement in cells
Tirumala, Nireekshit Addanki, Redpath, Gregory Michael Ian, Skerhut, Sarah Viktoria, Dolai, Pritha, Kapoor-Kaushik, Natasha, Ariotti, Nicholas, Vijay Kumar, K. and Ananthanarayanan, Vaishnavi (2024). Single-molecule imaging of stochastic interactions that drive dynein activation and cargo movement in cells. Journal of Cell Biology, 223 (3) e202210026. doi: 10.1083/jcb.202210026
2024
Journal Article
The HIV capsid mimics karyopherin engagement of FG-nucleoporins
Dickson, C. F., Hertel, S., Tuckwell, A. J., Li, N., Ruan, J., Al-Izzi, S. C., Ariotti, N., Sierecki, E., Gambin, Y., Morris, R. G., Towers, G. J., Böcking, T. and Jacques, D. A. (2024). The HIV capsid mimics karyopherin engagement of FG-nucleoporins. Nature, 626 (8000), 836-842. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06969-7
2024
Book Chapter
Investigating epidermal growth factor receptor trafficking with high-resolution enzymatic protein-tagging and transmission electron microscopy
Ariotti, Nicholas (2024). Investigating epidermal growth factor receptor trafficking with high-resolution enzymatic protein-tagging and transmission electron microscopy. Imaging cell signaling. (pp. 75-87) edited by Christoph Wuelfing and Robert F. Murphy. New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3834-7_7
2024
Conference Publication
Microtubule-mediated mitochondrial homeostasis in fission yeast
Chacko, L. A., Mikus, F., Nakaoka, H., Ariotti, N., Dey, G. and Ananthanarayanan, V. (2024). Microtubule-mediated mitochondrial homeostasis in fission yeast. 2023 ASCB Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, United States, 2-6 December 2023. Bethesda MD, United States: American Society for Cell Biology.
2023
Journal Article
Cell surface plasticity in response to shape change in the whole organism
Hall, Thomas E., Ariotti, Nicholas, Lo, Harriet P., Rae, James, Ferguson, Charles, Martel, Nick, Lim, Ye-Wheen, Giacomotto, Jean and Parton, Robert G. (2023). Cell surface plasticity in response to shape change in the whole organism. Current Biology, 33 (19), 4276-4284. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.068
2023
Journal Article
The role of membrane lipids in the formation and function of caveolae
Kenworthy, Anne K., Han, Bing, Ariotti, Nicholas and Parton, Robert G. (2023). The role of membrane lipids in the formation and function of caveolae. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 15 (9) a041413, 1-19. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041413
2023
Journal Article
Physico-chemical properties of functionally adhesive spider silk nanofibres
Joel, Anna-Christin, Rawal, Aditya, Yao, Yin, Jenner, Andrew, Ariotti, Nicholas, Weissbach, Margret, Adler, Lewis, Stafstrom, Jay and Blamires, Sean J. (2023). Physico-chemical properties of functionally adhesive spider silk nanofibres. Biomaterials Science, 11 (6), 2139-2150. doi: 10.1039/d2bm01599d
2023
Journal Article
Microtubule–mitochondrial attachment facilitates cell division symmetry and mitochondrial partitioning in fission yeast
Chacko, Leeba Ann, Mikus, Felix, Ariotti, Nicholas, Dey, Gautam and Ananthanarayanan, Vaishnavi (2023). Microtubule–mitochondrial attachment facilitates cell division symmetry and mitochondrial partitioning in fission yeast. Journal of Cell Science, 136 (1) jcs260705, 1-8. doi: 10.1242/jcs.260705
2022
Journal Article
Statistical predictions on the encapsulation of single molecule binding pairs into sized-dispersed nanocontainers
Longatte, Guillaume, Lisi, Fabio, Chen, Xueqian, Walsh, James, Wang, Wenqian, Ariotti, Nicholas, Boecking, Till, Gaus, Katharina and Gooding, J. Justin (2022). Statistical predictions on the encapsulation of single molecule binding pairs into sized-dispersed nanocontainers. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 24 (45), 28029-28039. doi: 10.1039/d2cp03627d
2022
Journal Article
Macrophage-targeting and complete lysosomal degradation of self-assembled two-dimensional poly(ε-caprolactone) platelet particles
Ganda, Sylvia, Wong, Chin Ken, Biazik, Joanna, Raveendran, Radhika, Zhang, Lin, Chen, Fan, Ariotti, Nicholas and Stenzel, Martina H. (2022). Macrophage-targeting and complete lysosomal degradation of self-assembled two-dimensional poly(ε-caprolactone) platelet particles. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 14 (31), 35333-35343. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c06555
2022
Journal Article
Controlling the Biological Behaviors of Polymer-Coated Upconverting Nanoparticles by Adjusting the Linker Length of Estrone Ligands
Zhang, Lin, Cao, Cheng, Kaushik, Natasha, Lai, Rebecca Y., Liao, Jiayan, Wang, Guannan, Ariotti, Nicholas, Jin, Dayong and Stenzel, Martina H. (2022). Controlling the Biological Behaviors of Polymer-Coated Upconverting Nanoparticles by Adjusting the Linker Length of Estrone Ligands. Biomacromolecules, 23 (6), 2572-2585. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00265
2022
Journal Article
Nanovoid formation induces property variation within and across individual silkworm silk threads
Craig, Hamish C., Yao, Yin, Ariotti, Nicholas, Setty, Mohan, Remadevi, Rechana, Kasumovic, Michael M., Rajkhowa, Rangam, Rawal, Aditya and Blamires, Sean J. (2022). Nanovoid formation induces property variation within and across individual silkworm silk threads. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 10 (29), 5561-5570. doi: 10.1039/d2tb00357k
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Nicholas Ariotti is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
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Structural and Molecular Characterisation of Chikungunya Virus Replication Organelles
The Ariotti Group applies correlative microscopy to investigate the replication cycle of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a single-stranded, positive-sense alphavirus. CHIKV forms distinct plasma membrane–associated RNA replication organelles termed spherules, yet the identity and role of host factors recruited to these domains remain poorly understood. This project will develop new tools to selectively label and target CHIKV recplication organelle enriched sites for high-resolution and molecular analyses. These studies aim to elucidate how CHIKV co-opts host factors for viral amplification.
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Structural Analysis of Receptor Tyrosine Kinases in situ
The Ariotti Lab has established a novel structural pipeline integrating cell-free protein expression with cryo-correlative light and electron tomography (cryo-CLEM) and sub-tomogram averaging. This platform has already yielded the first full-length structure of the filamentous form of ASC (Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD) (bioRxiv). This project will extend will investigate receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) Despite their critical roles in signalling, the endosomal organisation of RTKs during protein trafficking remains poorly understood.
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Tools for whole animal correlative targeting of cells of interest
In collaboration with the Parton Group (IMB, University of Queensland), this project will advance correlative imaging approaches to investigate zebrafish macrophages during bacterial infection. The Parton Group have developed infection assays and high-throughput correlative microscopy workflows linking light microscopy with X-ray microscopy and volume electron imaging. The Ariotti Group will focus on developing automated multimodal correlation pipelines to achieve accurate, unbiased, and rapid three-dimensional registration across imaging modalities.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Dissecting the bacterial cell envelope for antibiotic drug discovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Rob Capon, Professor Waldemar Vollmer
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Doctor Philosophy
Functional Analysis of Caveolae
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Harriet Lo, Professor Robert Parton
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Doctor Philosophy
Multi-modal, high-resolution analysis of neural tube development
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Mel White
Completed supervision
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Cell-free caveola formation as a system for high throughput interaction analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Robert Parton
Media
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