Stuart MacNeill

Dr Stuart MacNeill is a Reader in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews. His research focuses on enzymatic mechanisms of DNA replication and genome stability using model systems like Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Haloferax volcanii. He also investigates bacteriophages, viral DNA ligases, and carbohydrate-active enzymes in haloarchaea. His work employs genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and bioinformatics.

Education: B.Sc. (1st class) in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow (1986), D.Phil. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford (1990).

Teaching includes courses such as BL2300 Research Methods in Biology, BL4223 Molecular and Cell Biology of Eukaryotic DNA Replication, and BL4201 Experimental Research Project.

Research grants include funding from the Wellcome Trust (ISSF3 Round 5) and the Carnegie Trust for projects on DNA polymerase architecture and MCM complex function. He has supervised PhD student Liyuan Chen and contributed to datasets on PCNA-protein interactions via RCSB-PDB.

Labs/Teams: The MacNeill Lab actively explores DNA replication mechanisms and archaeal biology, with collaborations on structural biology and enzymology.