Mark Wells

Dr Mark Wells is a biological chemist and researcher for EcoNexus, a public interest research organisation, where he focuses on new genetic technologies. He has experience in the sustainability sector, most recently at the Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol, and prior to this nine years of research experience in molecular biology and protein chemistry. Mark completed his PhD studies in the biochemistry of prion diseases (of which BSE, or mad cow disease, is the best known example) at the University of Sheffield. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Medical Research Council Centre for Protein Engineering in Cambridge, before joining a biotechnology startup developing new biofuel technologies. He holds an M.Chem. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Sheffield, and a P.G.Cert. in Sustainable Development in Practice from the University of the West of England.

Selected publications

Wells, Mark A., James Mercer, Richard A. Mott, Ana G. Pereira-Medrano, Adam M. Burja, Helia Radianingtyas, and Phillip C. Wright. 2011. “Engineering a Non-Native Hydrogen Production Pathway into Escherichia Coli via a Cyanobacterial [NiFe] Hydrogenase.” Meta-bolic Engineering 13 (4): 445–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2011.01.004

Wells, Mark, Henning Tidow, Trevor J. Rutherford, Phineus Markwick, Malene Ringkjobing Jensen, Efstratios Mylonas, Dmitri I. Svergun, Martin Blackledge, and Alan R. Fersht. 2008. “Struc-ture of Tumor Suppressor P53 and Its Intrin-sically Disordered N-Terminal Transactivation Domain.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America105 (15): 5762–67. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0801353105

Wells, Mark A., Clare Jelinska, Laszlo L. P. Hosszu, C. Jeremy Craven, Anthony R. Clarke, John Collinge, Jonathan P. Waltho, and Gra-ham S. Jackson. 2006. “Multiple Forms of Copper (II) Co-Ordination Occur throughout the Disordered N-Terminal Region of the Prion Protein at PH 7.4.” The Biochemical Journal 400 (3): 501–10. https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20060721

Wells, Mark A., Graham S. Jackson, Samantha Jones, Laszlo L. P. Hosszu, C. Jeremy Craven, Anthony R. Clarke, John Collinge, and Jon-athan P. Waltho. 2006. “A Reassessment of Copper(II) Binding in the Full-Length Prion Pro-tein.” Biochemical Journal 399 (Pt 3): 435–44. https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20060458