Staff Profile
Dr Alice Banks
Research Associate
- Email: alice.banks@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: 0191 2084840
- Address: School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
Devonshire Building
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
Background
Background
I studied for my BSc at the University of Bristol, completing a dissertation which focussed on the identification of mushrooms exhibiting antimicrobial activity.
I followed this with an MSc by Research where I extended the work in fungal antimicrobial production by mining fungal genomes for genes characteristic of antimicrobial biosynthesis.
My PhD research focussed on terpenoid biosynthesis in the basidiomycete fungi Coprinopsis strossmayeri and Lepista sordida, for the identification of novel antimicrobial compounds, and the gene clusters underlying biosynthesis.
I am now working for Dr Thomas Howard in the Biological Engineering group at Newcastle University. This EPSRC project will investigate the potential of combining synthetic gene networks with functional materials to develop novel stimuli-responsive devices using cell-free protein synthesis.
Qualifications
- PhD in Biological Sciences (University of Bristol)
- MSc by Research in Biological Science (University of Bristol)
- BSc in Biology (University of Bristol)
Research
Self-disclosing protective materials using synthetic gene networks (EPSRC)
We are developing novel stimuli-responsive gene networks - inspired by the genetic diversity of biological species - and embedding these systems in functional materials. Genetic circuits afford key benefits for this application: they are lightweight, they can be encoded to react to a range of provocations, and they can output colour changes or other easily perceived properties to indicate that an event has occurred. With Dr Thomas Howard (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University), Dr Colette Whitfield (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University), Dr David Fulton (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University), Dr Jonathan Fieldsend (Computer Science, University of Exeter) and Professor John Love (Biosciences, University of Exeter).
Publications
- Banks AM, Barker GLA, Bailey AM, Foster GD. Draft Genome Sequence of the Coprinoid Mushroom Coprinopsis strossmayeri. Genome Announcements 2017, 5(14), e00044-17.
- de Mattos-Shipley KMJ, Ford KL, Alberti F, Banks AM, Bailey AM, Foster GD. The good, the bad and the tasty: The many roles of mushrooms. Studies in Mycology 2016, 85, 125-157.
- Banks AM, Aminuddin F, Williams K, Batstone T, Barker GLA, Foster GD, Bailey AM. Genome Sequence of Lecanicillium fungicola 150-1, the Causal Agent of Dry Bubble Disease. Microbiology Resource Announcements 2019, 8(19), e00340-19.