Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Following a BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Sheffield, Will worked for two years at a small start-up, manufacturing and creating monoclonal antibodies. It was here that the concept of using cells as factories captured his imagination, and he pursued a PhD in Synthetic Biology and Biocatalysis at the University of Exeter. He worked on developing the thermophile Thermus thermophilus as a host organism for whole-cell biocatalysis, characterising enzymes as parts for the construction of novel enzyme cascades, and using these characterised parts to develop and utilise mathematical process models of these reactions. His current research as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Manchester focuses on designing and testing synthetic spider silk proteins, with an aim to improving the production and processing of these proteins into fibres, and seeking to understand and improve the mechanical properties of these fibres.

Research Associate
Nick studied Molecular Biology between 2009 and 2012 at the University of Manchester before moving onto postgraduate research at the Centre of Excellence in Biocatalysis. (CoEBio3). He gained a PhD in Chemistry & Biochemistry in 2015 for his work on the engineering of ammonia lyase enzymes for biotechnological applications. Recently he was made a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in recognition of his contribution to teaching and learning. Nick's current research centres on the discovery and demonstration of enzymes as biological catalysts for greener, more sustainable synthesis of industrial chemicals. He also coordinates the public engagement programme at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, aiming to encourage and support researchers in their engagement with a wide variety of external audiences.

PhD candidate
In 2015 Ross began a PhD at the University of Manchester in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, where he works on post-transcriptional control of gene expression in bacteria. He is also interested in biosensing and multivariate Design of Experiments for the optimisation of synthetic metabolic pathways. Ross graduated from the University of Exeter with a B.Sc. Hons in Biology in 2012, during which he gained work experience at Rothamsted Research. Following this he worked in the Exeter Microbial Biofuels Group, before beginning a M.Sc. by Research at the Shell Technology Centre in Houston, Texas in collaboration with Royal Dutch Shell. Here he worked on consolidated bioprocessing of waste material for biofuel production. Ross is an avid rock climber with a passion for the outdoors and travel.

PhD candidate
Jonathan is a PhD student at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology under the supervision of Prof. Nigel Scrutton and Prof. Eriko Takano. His project, which aims to investigate the synthetic biology applications of catalytic antibodies, is part of an industrial collaboration with UCB Celltech. Prior to his studies in Manchester, Jonathan obtained his BSc (Natural Sciences) and MSc (Industrial and Commercial Spplications of Biotechnology) at Newcastle University.

PhD candidate
Marc Biarnes Carrera studied at Universitat Ramon Llull (Institut Quimic de Sarria). He aquired his Degree in chemistry (speciality in organic synthesis). Marc worked at G.E.M. (Grup d'Enginyerina Molecular). He attained his Masters at the university of York (MRes in Post Genomic Biology). His Masters projects include work with Prof. Christof Baumann in the characterisation of HiGam proteins, and an industrial placement in GBL which involved improving bio fuel production through strain engineering. Marc is working towards his PhD, under the supervision of Prof. Eriko Takano, in the regulation of antibiotic production in Streptomyces. His project involves work with gamma butyrolactone, regulators of secondary metabolite production. He is currently in his 3rd year of research. In the future he is considering research into synthetic biology as he finds the subject very appealing

PhD Candidate in Synthetic and Systems Biology
Adam is a PhD student in the groups of Prof. Takano and Prof. Breitling in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. He has discovered synthetic biology by participating to the iGEM with the INSA-Lyon team in 2014. This has followed on a BSc Research Project in the Takano group about in-silico and in-vivo study of BMCs. His project focuses on the production of antibiotics and secondary metabolites in Streptomyces species by Systems and Synthetic Biology approaches, with an emphasis on data-driven in-silico design of engineered strains.

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