Dr Rosalyn Masterton

Rosalyn is the Practical and Demonstrator Co-ordinator in Biosciences and the Lead for the Natural Sciences Foundation Year. In her role, she is responsible for teaching practical laboratory skills, providing laboratory support to both undergraduate and postgraduate taught students, and leading the development and improvement of laboratory practicals. She also line-manages postgraduate demonstrators and contributes to the teaching, training, and assessment of students across programmes. 

Rosalyn brings practical, research-informed expertise to the design and delivery of laboratory experiences, ensuring students gain the hands-on skills that are highly valued by employers. As Foundation Year Lead, she supports students transitioning into Stage 1 of Chemistry, Forensic Science, Biosciences, Conservation, and Sport and Exercise Sciences. She oversees the academic content, assessment, and delivery of the Foundation Year, adapting to sector changes and regulatory requirements while ensuring students are equipped with the skills and confidence needed to succeed in their chosen degree programmes.

Before this role, Rosalyn was the laboratory manager of the Centre for Molecular Processing and a post-doctoral scientist in the School of Biosciences. After a Molecular and Cellular Biology Degree at the University of Kent, she completed her MSc in collaboration with Pfizer at Sandwich in the UK. This was followed by a PhD in Biochemistry and then postdoctoral research at the University of Kent.

Her research interest is focused around the bioprocessing area in improving recombinant protein production from in vitro cultured mammalian cells, with projects focused on identifying the cellular limitations with regard to recombinant protein production. This covers a range of areas, skills and topics, and both genomic (proteomic) and more targeted molecular biology approaches are used to investigate and identify the key limitations upon productivity. 

Rosalyn's post-doctoral research involved identifying and manipulating key control points and participants of the recombinant protein synthesis and assembly pathway, particularly within the ER, within the context of limitations on recombinant protein productivity. During her PhD, she investigated the effects of cold-shock on in vitro cultured mammalian cells and showed that sub-physiological temperature culturing cannot only improve recombinant protein yields but also facilitate improved protein folding and activity. Before this, she completed her MSc in collaboration with Pfizer at Sandwich in the UK where she developed techniques (chiefly mass spectrometry) to dissect the phosphorylation of the protein PHAS-I.

In 2011, she completed the PGCHE and has achieved the status of Fellow of the Higher Education of Academy.

• NATS3002 Foundation of Scientific Experimentation and Data Analysis
• NATS3005 Human Biology and Genetics (convener)
• BIOS4010 Experimental Techniques and Data Analysis (convener)
• BIOS5560 Clinical Diagnostics

Rosalyn is the trade coordinator for the European Society of Animal Cell Technology (ESCAT-UK) http://www.esactuk.org.uk/ and a STEM ambassador.