Dr Kathleen Sedgley, SBRC Scientific Manager

Dr Kathleen Sedgley is the Scientific Manager for the University of Bristol's (UoB) synthetic and engineering biology research institute and has successfully managed several UoB centres and programmes, including the entirety of BrisSynBio and BrisEngBio.

BrisSynBio, UoB’s SBRC, specialised in biomolecular design and engineering within synthetic biology. This was succeeded by an NEBP Transition Award, which was established to accelerate and translate UoB’s synthetic biology research.

Kathleen’s journey began back in 2007 when she supported a BBSRC Network in Synthetic Biology. Since then, her career has weaved through an array of projects, creating strength as it went. As a Scientific Manager, Kathleen oversees strategic and operational functions, including strategic academic and industrial partnerships and day-to-day research, innovation and training delivery. Scientific Managers are integral but rarely celebrated members of programmes, institutes, and centres. They work behind the scenes to enable infrastructure to achieve research, outputs, and impact.

Watch the video to hear from Kathleen on her experiences at BrisSynBio and BrisEngBio, their importance, and her career journey through synthetic biology programmes, centres, and networks.