Exploring DNA Data Structures with Our New EnDROIDS Researcher
I am a Research Associate working in the EnDROIDS project. I have a BSc in Biology, which I earned at Aberystwyth University, and an MSc in Synthetic Biology and a PhD in Synthetic Biology, both of which are from Newcastle University.
Previously, the projects I have been a part of were focused on agriculture and integrating synthetic biology solutions to modern agriculture problems, such as developing crop disease biosensors. Whilst EnDROIDS does not focus on agriculture, the techniques, and skills I learned with regards to DNA strand displacement mediated reactions are directly applicable to the project.
My role in the EnDROIDS project is to develop dynamic data structures that can be used to enable logic and rules-based data access in DNA data storage molecules. This involves replicating first in last out, or first in first out, as a means of resolving DNA data access issues and short fallings. Dynamic DNA data structures are a particularly interesting aspect of DNA data storage as it stays away from the highly populated avenue of archival data storage.
My research interest mostly focuses on using DNA as a material and enforcing logic on chaotic biological systems, an example of such is creating programmable biological environments. I very much believe that Synthetic Biology offers solutions to many of the problems that face a modern society, with sufficient creative thinking.
Ask Alex any questions via our contact page.
