Dr Peter Oatley

To accompany his lecturing position, Peter currently works as an academic adviser and is actively involved in Medical Sciences student recruitment and retention.

Dr Oatley joins the university with over 14 years of biological research experience. He started his research by developing assays for the Cancer Research Department at AstraZeneca. His interest in membrane proteins lead him to the University of Cambridge where he used atomic force microscopy to study the structure of the polycystin complex, mutations of which can lead to polycystic kidney disease, a leading cause of kidney failure. Throughout his career, Dr Oatley has focuses his research on protein transport across membranes and membrane protein insertion via the secretion (Sec) machinery in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. During his PhD, he gained skills working with the Sec complex in yeast, then, at the University of Leeds, broadened his experience by looking at the homologous structure in E. coli. There he developed single molecule fluorescence techniques, and in collaboration with a team at the University of Bristol they were able to identify movements in the Sec machinery and propose how ATP drives protein transport through the membrane. Later, his research led him to the University of Sheffield to help understand how the pathogenic bacteria, Clostridium difficile secretes surface-layer (S-layer) proteins to generate a protective S-layer.