Dr Jenny Molloy

Dr. Jenny MolloyCo-Chair Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research CentreAssociate ProfessorDept. of BiochemistryBiography

I am a Group Leader at the University of Cambridge and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Trieste, Italy. I am a molecular biologist by background with a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford on engineering genetic control of dengue vector mosquitoes. More recently I enjoy working in interdisciplinary teams alongside other biologists, engineers, lawyers, social scientists and practitioners to apply synthetic biology approaches to sustainable development challenges.

Research

My research teams develop open source tools for biomanufacturing in the Global South. We aim to decentralise supply chains and accelerate innovation for health and sustainability through building technologies, communities and mission-focused enterprises with partners in Africa, Latin America and beyond. Our research seeks to cultivate an open and equitable global bioeconomy.

Current projects include improving point-of-care CRISPR-Dx for typhoid fever, developing open source DNA toolkits and engineered cells lines to support UK and global biomanufacturing, end to end process development for enzyme expression and purification in low-resource settings, protein engineering of enzymes for nucleic acid amplification, technology transfer and training in the global South. More recently we are exploring enzyme engineering and immobilisation strategies for carbon capture, carbon upcycling and industrial sustainability.

I am a co-founder of the nonprofits Beneficial Bio and Open Science Hardware Foundation, a board member of Kenyan NGO ISAAA Africenter, a former Fellow of the WEF Global Futures Council on Synthetic Biology and a current member of the OECD Global Forum on Technology Synthetic Biology Expert Focus Group.