Ian Roberts

Biography

Ian Roberts research is in the area of yeast phylogenetics and comparative genomics and impacts curation and exploitation of the UK National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC), a globally-significant biological resource centre. Ian Roberts have over 20 years’ experience of curating the NCYC and contribute scientifically to QI strategic areas such as bioactives for health, biofilms and antifungal resistance, and industrial biotechnology. Most recently, he have managed a BBSRC-funded pilot project to genome sequence yeast strains relevant to industrial biotechnology. These studies have been performed in close association with the Waldron group (Biorefinery Centre). He have also trained around a dozen PhD students, several of whom currently hold senior positions in academia. Public engagement and industrial impact is achieved through dialogue with the NCYC user community, the Biorefinery Centre team and roles as UK Yeast Commissioner (IUMS International Commission on Yeasts), member of the Microbiology Society Eukaryotic Division committee and the Yeast 2.0 synthetic biology management board, as well as membership of several national and international culture collection organisations e.g. UK Biological Resource Collections Network, World Federation of Culture Collections.

Research Interest

Yeast phylogenetics and comparative genomics and impacts curation and exploitation of the UK National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC)