Susan Rosser FRSB

FLSW The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

is a professor of

Synthetic Biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary area of research that seeks to create new biological parts, devices, and systems, or to redesign systems that are already found in nature. It is a branch of science that encompasses a broad ran ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Rosser’s research focuses on the development of synthetic biology approaches and tools for engineering pathways and genomes in cell systems. Her work has been applied in biologic therapeutics, developing genetic tools for engineering stem cells and bio-computation.

Education

Rosser studied microbiology and genetics at the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

. Her Ph.D. was on the mechanisms of multiple

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistanc ...

Career and research

Rosser is currently Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Edinburgh, a joint appointment between the Schools of Biological Sciences and of Engineering. She is Director of the Edinburgh Mammalian Synthetic Biology Research Centre and Co-director of the Edinburgh Genome Foundry. She has previously worked in the Institute of Biotechnology at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

researching the

biotransformation Biotransformation is the biochemical modification of one chemical compound or a mixture of chemical compounds. Biotransformations can be conducted with whole cells, their lysates, or purified enzymes. Increasingly, biotransformations are effected w ...

of cocaine and explosive material. She was a lecturer in Biotechnology at the Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where she was promoted to Professor in 2012. In 2011, she was awarded a Leadership Fellowship by the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to univers ...

. In 2015 Rosser was awarded funding to develop a new research centre for synthetic biology in Edinburgh, jointly funded from the 2012 Autumn Statement, the

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific res ...

, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Medical Research Council. Rosser is a member of the Scottish Industrial Biotechnology Development Group, and the

Scottish Science Advisory Council The Scottish Science Advisory Council is a government organisation that is Scotland's highest level advisory body for science, engineering and technology. The group of experts provide independent advice to the Scottish Government. Members are ...

, Scotland's highest level science advisory body, providing independent advice and recommendations on science strategy, policy and priorities to the Scottish Government. Rosser is part of a group of scientists attempting to create a human genome in the laboratory, billed as an extension of the

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...

, moving from reading the genome to building it. In April 2018, Rosser was a recipient of a

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

’s Chair in Emerging Technologies, a scheme providing long-term support to visionary researchers in developing technologies with high potential to deliver economic and social benefit to the United Kingdom. Rosser was awarded the Chair for her research project to genetically engineer implantable 'surveillance cells' that recognize and process information associated with changes due to disease, which would allow for earlier detection and targeted treatment. Rosser was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 2022. Rosser was also elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation ...

in 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosser, Susan 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British women scientists Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Dundee British bioengineers British women biologists Living people Synthetic biologists Women bioengineers Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales