Dr Sathish Kurusamy

Research interests

Dr. Sathish Kurusamy is a molecular biologist with expertise in RNA translation, recombinant protein production, and synthetic biology. He earned his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Wolverhampton in 2017, where he investigated the role of Plasma Membrane Calcium ATPase 4 (PMCA4) in endothelial cell signaling and blood vessel formation.

Since 2020, he has been a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Kent in Prof. Mark Smales’ group, working on RNA translation biology, cell engineering, and transient gene expression (DNA and in vitro transcribed mRNA) in mammalian cells. His research focuses on optimizing protein production systems for RNA vaccines and biotherapeutics.

Dr. Kurusamy has led and contributed to projects funded by Innovate UK, the Wellcome Trust, Wellcome Leap, and UKRI, gaining extensive experience in interdisciplinary research and biopharmaceutical development. His interests include mammalian cell culture, overcoming cellular constraints on recombinant protein productivity, and regulating mRNA translation to enhance therapeutic production.

As part of the Elemental Project, he applies synthetic biology approaches to manipulate metal transporter expression in CHO cells, aiming to improve cell growth, recombinant protein yield, and drug quality.

List of publications: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-7314-5313