Draft:Paul Dalby

Paul Dalby (born 8 August 1973) is a British chemist and biochemist. He is a professor of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology. and co-director of the Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub at University College London, where he is also Deputy Head of the Department of Biochemical Engineering.

Early life and education
Dalby was born on 8 August 1973 in Northampton, UK. He attended Sponne School (1984–1991), and read Natural Sciences at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge from 1991. Dalby was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1994, and carried out undergraduate research with Prof. D. H. Williams (chemistry). He obtained his PhD in protein folding and engineering from the University of Cambridge in 1998 under the supervision of Sir Alan Fersht at the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering.

Career
Dalby undertook post-doctoral research with Prof William DeGrado at the University of Pennsylvania (1998–2000), before accepting a Lectureship in Biochemical Engineering at University College London in 2000.

In 2013, Dalby was appointed Professor of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology at University College London, where he continues to work.

Dalby was Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Innovative Manufacturing in Emergent Macromolecular Therapies (2012-2022), Co-Director of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Emergent Macromolecular Therapies (2011-2016), and Co-Director of the EPSRC Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub (2016-2024). From 2008 to 2023 Dalby was Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Biotechnology Group.

Research
Dalby applies chemical, biophysical and process engineering methods and principles to understand the properties of proteins, and then engineer or formulate them for use as therapeutics, vaccines or biocatalysts.

He is interested in the protein aggregation mechanisms, and also how excipients stabilise therapeutic protein products for applications in biotechnology.

Dalby has pioneered several strategies for combining rational, evolutionary and computational design tools, to engineer enzymes and therapeutic proteins with altered functions or improved stability.

The current focuses of his group are in the re-engineering and formulation of proteins, including viral vectors used in gene therapy.

Awards and honours

 * 2023 – Royal Society of Chemistry Long Service Award
 * 2010 – IChemE Bioprocessing Award
 * 2010 – Royal Society of Chemistry Rita and John Cornforth Award.
 * 2008 – Evonik European Science-to-Business Award