Biotechnology themes

Engineering of Biomolecules

Engineering of Biomolecules

Developing Biopharmaceuticals

Engineering of biomolecules is at the interface of molecular biology, protein engineering and chemical biology.

Work within the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology aims to convert our understanding of fundamental principles of biology and biochemistry into useful tools, devices, therapies and diagnostics that ultimately benefit human life.

Activities in this area include the development and application of Affimers as molecular tools with diverse applications, the design of precision drugs as anti-cancer therapies, the discovery and exploitation of enzymes as useful industrial catalysts, and the hunt for, and manipulation of, new antimicrobial agents.

Our staff with expertise in these areas are listed below with further information available through their individual profiles.

View our staff within Engineering of Biomolecules

View postdoctoral researchers within Engineering of Biomolecules

View PhD students within Engineering of Biomolecules

Name	Area of expertise
Professor Alison Baker Professor in Plant Cell and Molecular Biology	Biotechnological manipulation of the peroxisome
Professor Richard Bayliss Professor in Molecular Medicine	Chemical and genetic approaches that specify the pattern of protein post-translational modifications
Professor Alan Berry Professor in Molecular Enzymology	Using protein engineering, directed evolution and chemical mutagenesis to alter enzyme properties including substrate specificity, mechanism and stereochemistry.
Dr Glyn Hemsworth University Academic Fellow	Understanding protein structure and function for application of enzymes for biofuel production and other biotechnology applications.
Professor Michael McPherson Professor of Biomolecular Engineering	Selection and engineering of Affimer proteins as research reagents and for development of diagnostic tests
Dr Alex O'Neill Associate Professor	Generation and characterization of antibacterial proteins as potential therapeutics for infectious disease.
Dr Ryan Seipke Lecturer in Bacteriology	Engineering biosynthetic pathways of genetically encoded small molecules
Professor Frank Sobott Chair in Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry	Using mass spectrometry methods to investigate protein structure from sequence to folding and interactions.
Dr Darren Tomlinson Associate Professor	Using protein engineering and phage display to isolate biomolecules (Affimer reagents) for binding to targets for diagnostics and studying protein function.