Natalie Di Bartolo is a senior researcher at the University of Bristol with expertise in protein design, recombinant protein expression, synthetic biology, and mammalian cell culture. Her work focuses on developing red blood cell-based technologies for therapeutic delivery in metabolic diseases, including innovative methods for enzyme attachment to red blood cells. During her PhD, Natalie contributed to research published in ‘Science’, where she helped demonstrate the structural potential of membrane proteins using ion mobility mass spectrometry. Currently a PDRA in Professor Toye's lab, Natalie has developed new growth factor variants, contributed to COVID-19 research by producing N proteins for viral screening, and advanced RBC-based therapeutic technologies. She is a co-inventor on a patent for technology that enables enzyme attachment to red blood cells, with potential applications for metabolic diseases and beyond. Alongside her lab work, Natalie actively promotes scientific innovation and commercialisation, pursuing entrepreneurship training to support market-driven strategies for biomedical solutions.

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