Chris French

Chris French is a Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, leading the Chris French Laboratory. His research focuses on Synthetic Biology at the intersection of biology and engineering, with applications in metabolic pathway optimization, cellulose degradation, and industrial biotechnology.

• Key projects include Accelerating industrial metabolic engineering using YeastFAB, Cellulect: A Synthetic Biology Platform for Enzymatic Biomass Processing, and biosensor development for diverse applications.
• Laboratory infrastructure is based in the Roger Land Building, King's Buildings, Edinburgh.

The lab's research centers on creating standardized biological parts (promoters, ORFs, terminators) for yeast systems. Their work enables hierarchical assembly of metabolic pathways, rapid pathway optimization via combinatorial promoter analysis, and development of fluorescent reporter systems for gene expression studies. Projects span cellulose degradation, protein-mediated tooth remineralization, and synthetic consortia for biomass conversion.

Publications highlight their 2015 Nucleic Acids Research paper on YeastFab methodology, which established a Golden Gate-based assembly framework for Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This work demonstrated 95%+ cloning efficiency and provided protocols for promoter activity characterization under stress conditions.

The lab maintains collaborations across biotechnology domains, including partnerships with Qinglan Biotech and institutions in China. Funding sources include BBSRC, EPSRC, and industrial biotechnology innovation centers.

Key methodologies include computational genome partitioning, dual reporter systems (YFP-mCherry), and homologous recombination-based pathway integration. Their work supports industrial applications in biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and environmental bioremediation.