Nicola Patron

Nicola Patron is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Plant Sciences. Her research focuses on synthetic biology, gene-regulatory networks, natural products, specialised metabolism, and plant biotechnology. She employs engineering approaches to study biological complexity and advance plant biotechnology, with an emphasis on understanding how quantitative plant phenotypes arise from network functions and exploring metabolic diversity. Her work also involves techniques such as synthetic genetic circuits, genome engineering, and metabolic profiling.

Nicola J. Patron is a researcher at the University of Cambridge specializing in plant synthetic biology, with a focus on specialised metabolism, regulatory networks, and synthetic genetic circuits. Her work explores the development of tools for genetic engineering in plants, such as modular cloning systems and CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing. She has contributed to advancing plant genetic resources and synthetic biology standards, emphasizing the design of DNA parts and circuits for functional applications. Her research also investigates the evolution of metabolic pathways and gene regulation in plants and other eukaryotes, including plastid targeting signals and the genetic basis of starch biosynthesis.