How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Inquisitive, enthusiastic, resilient
Brief background/short CV
I was born and raised in Lancashire, but headed south to study for a BSc in Biology at Imperial College, an MSc in Immunology at King’s College London, and then a PhD in Biochemistry at King’s College London, before joining Philipp Holliger’s group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge in 2010.
My doctoral research focused on the evolution of antibodies, key molecules of the immune system, leading to an interest in the constraints imposed by natural evolution, and natural chemistries. Taking a fundamental approach to this question as a postdoc in the Holliger group at the MRC LMB, I have been exploring whether evolutionary processes can occur (at least in the test tube) using alternatives to nature’s molecules.
I have recently been awarded a Wellcome Trust and Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, which allows me to set up my own group at the University of Cambridge’s Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease to explore biomedical applications of synthetic genetic systems.
What do you do?
I am interested in whether life could emerge from chemistries beyond those we find on Earth. My colleagues and I have developed simple test-tube evolution systems that have allowed us to explore whether the hallmark processes of life can be performed by a range of non-natural alternatives to DNA and RNA, called Xeno Nucleic Acids (XNAs). So far, we have found that not only can XNAs store and pass on genetic information but they can also be evolved into functional structures and catalysts, just as the biomolecules of life can.
“Xenobiology”, the engineering of molecular devices, and ultimately synthetic cells, with components based on artificial chemistries, allows us to explore the fundamental requirements of life and how alternative biology might operate, but also has the potential to provide a wealth of new tools and technologies for research, industry and medicine.
Brief description of a typical day
Part of the attraction of a career in science is that two days are rarely the same! Some days I can be found at the bench preparing reagents for a test-tube evolution experiment, or measuring the activity of an enzyme, others I will be in the office reading or picking someone’s brain as I plan out new work or to start using a new method, or (hopefully!) I will be writing and making figures for a new paper – quite often I will be heading to the airport for a conference or a visit to another lab on the other side of the world!
What’s the best thing about your job?
It is hugely exciting to work on fundamental questions; where do we come from, how did life get started, could there be life elsewhere in the cosmos? When you are able to see an experimental result that no one else has seen before it is an incredible feeling. As the crystallographer Dame Louise Johnson said, in those moments it is like the universe has allowed you to pull up a little corner of it and get a peek at the workings.
If you weren’t doing this job, what would you be doing instead?
I am an explorer at heart – if I were not able to work in biology, looking down, but could still be a scientist, I have always been interested in astronomy and astrophysics so would love to make a career out of looking up instead. If science is out, I would maybe try to make a living out of one of my other obsessions – scuba diving. To me, the oceans are about as close as you can get to floating through alien worlds, so hopefully I would find a way to get paid to dive.
Your top tip for someone thinking about a career in science?
Try to get some time in a lab as soon as possible, even if it is just for a couple of weeks over the summer break. When you study science and learn about all the great figures throughout history, it can be intimidating and difficult to imagine yourself in their shoes; seeing the life of a lab and chatting with people at different career stages will help you to get a more realistic idea of what it is like to be researcher, the highs and lows of day to day science, and whether this is for you!
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
My Dad was a biology teacher, so there was an always an emphasis on observing and understanding the natural world, but I distinctly remember three books from his library having a huge effect on me: around age 11 or 12, I read oceanographer Robert Ballard’s account of discovery of the wreck of the Titanic, and at age 17 I read “The Double Helix”, James Watson’s version of the DNA story (I subsequently studied in Rosalind Franklin’s former department at KCL and came to appreciate that the book contains a lamentable representation of her). Both books left me with the impression that the road to ground-breaking discoveries could be an exciting mix of academic detective work, playing with cutting edge equipment, and by maintaining an almost child-like spirit of adventure and persistence. At 18 I read Richard Feynman’s autobiographical “Surely You Must be Joking Mr. Feynman”, which made a life in science just sound like so much fun, and that was that, I was hooked.
What did you want to be after you left school?
A scientist of one kind or another!