Professor of Bacteriology, University of Bristol

Jim Spencer is Professor of Bacteriology in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol. Jim obtained a BSc. Honours degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, where he studied protein folding under the supervision of the late Professor Tony Clarke. After postdoctoral research at the National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill, London (the forerunner to the Francis Crick Institute) he obtained a Beit Memorial Fellowship for Medical Research to study the action of beta-lactamases, working at the Universities of Bristol and, in the laboratory of Wladek Minor, Virginia. He joined the academic staff in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol in 2005, and was promoted to Full Professor in January 2021. His current research interests focus on molecular mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, particularly beta-lactams and polymixins; while also encompassing development of novel antimicrobials and the interactions of bacteria with nanomaterials.