Position: Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow
Research interests: I’m fascinated by bacterial proteins and how they function, especially the remarkable ways bacteria manipulate proteins to their advantage. I’m particularly excited by cryo-electron microscopy, as it is very cool being able to actually see proteins and the bacterial cell. My main research interest lies in the bacterial cell envelope and its central role in survival and antibiotic resistance.
Background: Melissa studied enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis during her undergraduate degree at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, before completing a structural biology PhD at the University of Auckland on proteins involved in viral replication. After a short break working on the family farm, she joined Professor Colin Kleanthous’s lab at Oxford, where she explored bacterial outer membrane structure and toxin import. In July 2025, she started her own lab at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Hobbies: Football, ultimate frisbee, gardening, and sewing.
Favourite quote: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”
Research interests: I’m fascinated by bacterial proteins and how they function, especially the remarkable ways bacteria manipulate proteins to their advantage. I’m particularly excited by cryo-electron microscopy, as it is very cool being able to actually see proteins and the bacterial cell. My main research interest lies in the bacterial cell envelope and its central role in survival and antibiotic resistance.
Background: Melissa studied enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis during her undergraduate degree at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, before completing a structural biology PhD at the University of Auckland on proteins involved in viral replication. After a short break working on the family farm, she joined Professor Colin Kleanthous’s lab at Oxford, where she explored bacterial outer membrane structure and toxin import. In July 2025, she started her own lab at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Hobbies: Football, ultimate frisbee, gardening, and sewing.
Favourite quote: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”