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Harnessing microbiology to tackle global challenges

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Biography

I am a Group Leader in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the John Innes Centre. I obtained an MSci in Chemistry from Imperial College London and a PhD at the University of Cambridge. I joined the John Innes Centre in 2013 as a Royal Society University Research Fellow to start my research group.

Research in my group involves understanding how and why bacteria make specialised metabolites. We use genomic data to inform the discovery and biosynthesis of specialised metabolites, with a particular focus on ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and non-ribosomal peptides. This work spans genetics, metabolomics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, environmental microbiology and organic chemistry.

We also want to understand how specialised metabolites mediate interactions in complex microbial communities, and then use this information to identify bacteria that protect plants from pathogens. My lab works across an array of bacterial taxa, including actinobacteria, Pseudomonas and cyanobacteria. I am a co-founder and Director of PfBIO Ltd, a JIC spin-out based on the Norwich Research Park.