About
The engineering and re-design of life has fascinated me for years. In this exciting project, we now have the opportunity to systematically tease out the players involved with the early stages of viral infection.
I have undertaken a diverse professional course which includes both formal education and work experiences that span several disciplines within industry and academia.
I obtained my undergraduate and Masters degrees in Biology from University of Wisconsin. I then secured a scholarship to do my PhD in Genetics at Trinity College, Dublin Ireland (awarded 2006). I have 10 publications, 1 research grant funded and contributed to 3 patents. During my PhD, my fascination with genome engineering really took off. Quickly, I came to learn that DNA is just the text of the blueprint for life that is entirely re-writable by us, the engineers.
The learning path has been extremely diverse. I've held several Postdoctoral positions (10 years) in three different disciplines, worked in Industrial research and have started up two successful companies. It was during my second and third postdocs that I started working with vaccinia. Our work resulted in an improved method for the recombinant production of proteins in mammalian cells.
The last 5 years I have focussed my energies on the field of Synthetic Biology. We have made significant advances in our understanding of how gene layout influences expression. We have invented new molecular methods and tools for genome engineering. All of the resources and expertise that we have developed over these long years will be put forward into ensuring that this project will be a success.
Joined
July 2016
