Cutts Lab

Erin is a Sheffield University Physics of Life and Quantitative Biology Fellow. Erin prides herself of having a broad background in biophysics and biochemistry; check out the previous projects for more details. She has undergraduate Bachelor Degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science (majoring in pure and applied mathematics) and Science (majoring in biochemistry and chemistry). After attaining her Bachelor’s degrees, she spent time in the Shearwin Lab, as a research assistant and for one year research honours, looking at phage transcriptional switches, then did a Wellcome PhD in Structural biology at the University of Oxford, using computational structural biology, NMR and Xray crystallography to look at interactions between disordered malarial proteins and host red blood cell proteins.

During her post-doctoral work, her focus shifted to chromatin organising machines. Working in London, first at the Institute of Cancer Research then the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, she used electron microscopy, biochemistry and single molecule approaches to understand human condensin complex regulation and gain new insights into TOP2a mechanism.

Current vacancies:

Post-doc positions opening 2026, get in touch to find out more!

UK competitively funded PhD projects:

• How do DNA sequences affect DNA structure and DNA acting enzymes? A collaborative project using cutting edge biophysics and DNA binding drugs:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/mrc-dimen-doctoral-training-partnership-understanding-and-targeting-disease-causing-dna-interactions/?p189355

• How do condensin complexes move? A collaborative project using FRET sensors on SMC complexes to determine how structural changes allow these complexes to make DNA loops:

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=190034