The role played by collagen in the evolution of life
Research Area
My research focuses on palaeoproteomics - the study of ancient proteins preserved in archaeological and paleontological materials. I specialize in developing and applying mass spectrometry techniques to identify and analyze proteins that survive over geological timescales, particularly collagen, which can persist for millions of years. My work spans from developing analytical methods for species identification (ZooMS - Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) to understanding protein degradation kinetics and biomolecular preservation in ancient samples.
Key research areas include: protein survival and degradation mechanisms in bone and other biominerals; taxonomic identification of archaeological specimens; ancient DNA and protein co-preservation; and the application of biomolecular techniques to understand past human diets, animal domestication, and evolutionary processes. My laboratory has pioneered techniques for extracting meaningful biological information from degraded ancient materials, contributing to our understanding of human evolution, archaeological practices, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
I maintain strong industrial partnerships including a shared PhD program with Devro (UK's largest collagen manufacturer), an ERC Proof of Concept collaboration with Martindale Analytical Services as key end users, and my postdoctoral researcher collaborates with InstaDeep (Africa's largest AI company) following publication of our proteomics pipelines Orthrus and Anubis for automated protein sequence analysis.
Project Interests
I am building software to study collagen evolution and wish to explore the deep history of this structural protein and its degrading enzymes, which are sparsely distributed across life. I want to investigate collagen's thermal limits and how its evolution may have constrained life in ancient oceans during major extinction/expansion phases. Specifically, I'm exploring whether fibrillar collagen's thermal instability drove the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, as cooling temperatures enabled complex collagen-based body plans. Additionally, I want to examine whether collagen evolution enabled Ediacaran multicellular animals, and whether unique Ediacaran taphonomy reflects early collagenase enzyme evolution.
Potential CASE Collaborations
Martindale Analytical Services - key end user for analytical techniques
InstaDeep - Africa's largest AI company developing de novo collagen sequencing software
Devro - UK's largest collagen manufacturer providing industrial expertise