معرفی
Marshall Stark is a Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Glasgow, affiliated with the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of site-specific DNA recombination, particularly the structure and function of serine recombinases and Tn3 resolvase, which are critical for DNA manipulation in synthetic biology, biotechnology, and gene therapy.
Stark's work explores how these enzymes break and rejoin DNA strands at precise locations, enabling applications like genomic surgery and pathway engineering. His team uses innovative techniques such as single-molecule fluorescence to observe recombination in real-time, supported by crystallographic studies of enzyme-DNA complexes.
Recent scientific awards include a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, and his lab has received grants from BBSRC and the Wellcome Trust to investigate recombination mechanisms and develop engineered recombinases for zinc finger and TALE DNA-binding domains. Current PhD students (Rich Clubbe, Jumai Abioye) and former advisees (Hayley Macfarlane, Jeffrey Kentner) contribute to advancing these tools.
His research group has pioneered orthogonal serine integrase systems, mathematical models of recombination, and high-fidelity DNA assembly methods, with implications for genetic diseases and biotechnological innovations.
