معرفی
Professor Alison Baker is a distinguished academic at the University of Leeds, Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, where she holds the position of Professor of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology. Her research is centered on membrane transport processes, particularly in peroxisomes and phosphate sustainability.
- University: University of Leeds
- School: School of Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Department: Department of Biochemistry
- Academic Rank: Professor
Education:
- BA & MA, Natural Sciences (Biochemistry), University of Cambridge (1979–1982)
- PhD, Botany, University of Edinburgh (1982–1985)
- Postdoctoral Research, Biozentrum, University of Basel (1985–1988), supported by an EMBO Fellowship
Her research spans four major areas: nutrient recovery from wastewater using photosynthetic organisms, enhancing phosphate use efficiency in millets, regulation of catalase targeting, and structural-functional analysis of the peroxisomal ABC transporter COMATOSE. These projects are unified by the theme of molecular transport across membranes. Her work integrates molecular biology, biochemistry, and environmental applications, with strong interdisciplinary collaboration with Civil Engineering and Chemistry.
The recent publications reflect a strong trend in sustainable agriculture, environmental bioremediation, and fundamental plant biochemistry. Key topics include phosphate signaling, nutrient uptake in microalgae and duckweed, redox regulation of catalase, and structural studies of ABC transporters. These works emphasize sustainability, circular economy principles, and climate-resilient crop development.
Scientific Awards:
- EMBO Fellowship (1985–1987)
Professor Baker actively supervises undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students, aligning project teaching with her research. She contributes to major funded initiatives such as the H2Boost project (Department of Energy Security and Net Zero), which explores biohydrogen production and carbon capture. Her leadership in academic service includes guest editing a topical collection on millets for the journal Planta in recognition of the International Year of Millets (2023).
She is a member of the Plant Science and Cancer research groups and leads work on protein structure and dynamics. Her lab collaborates with the School of Chemistry on chemical probes for peroxisomal import and is pioneering synthetic biology approaches to engineer 'designer peroxisomes'.
