Nature has developed fascinating physical mechanisms, like the ability to repair tissues which other members of the Mao lab study. Looking at the fabric of biology, there are many interesting polymers that make up biological matter, in particular structural proteins. We have discovered structural proteins like tough and resilient collagen, to silk which can outperform steel pound for pound. What interests me is taking what we have learnt about biological materials and applying them to solve real world problems. Studying these proteins, we can dissect their amino acid sequences, and using recombinant DNA technology, design new protein-based materials with amazing properties such as stimuli-responsiveness, self-healing and adaptability. Currently, I’m working on silk-elastin-like proteins (SELPs) to develop self-healing protein fibres for applications in textiles. SELPs combine sequences from strong and flexible silk, and thermoresponsive elastin with the potential to develop novel high performance, biodegradable and tuneable materials.
Eloise Lipscombe is aPhD student at the London Biosciences Consortium she is currently based at UCL East.
Research themes
Technology
Structural proteins
Biopolymers
SELPs
Molecular biology techniques
Rheology
Microscopy (AFM, SEM, fluorescence)
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
Biography
2024 LIDo PhD student, UCL, London, UK
2022 Industrial placement at AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
2020 BSc Biochemistry with industrial placement, University of Manchester, UK