Joanna holds a MSc in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, during which time she spent a year in the process chemistry department at AstraZeneca improving the synthesis of pharmaceutical building blocks. She studied for a PhD in Biocatalysis and Chemical Biology on the GlaxoSmithKline-University of Strathclyde collaborative PhD programme, followed by post-doctoral research positions at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (University of Manchester) and the University of St Andrews, working across the fields of biotechnology, biocatalysis and Engineering Biology.
In 2019, Joanna took up a BBSRC Discovery Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh, where she led research culminating in one of the early examples of plastic bio-upcycling to a high value chemical product. Jo was awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship in 2021, when she started her independent laboratory focusing on Engineering Biology for a more sustainable plastics industry. This encompasses sustainable feedstocks and microplastic capture, through to end-of-life upcycling. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2025 and leads numerous research, industrial collaboration and STEM engagement activities to promote the circular bioeconomy.
Joanna Sadler
