Projects per year
Personal profile
Administrative Posts
- Associate Dean for Employability, Faculty of Sciences (from January 2018)
- Course Director for BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry with a Year in Industry
- Module Organiser for BIO-5002A (Biochemistry)
- Module Organiser for BIO-5021Y (Work Placement)
Career
- Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, School of Biological Sciences, UEA (2020-present)
- Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader, School of Biological Sciences, UEA (2002-2020)
- University Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, UEA (1998-2002)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, South Mimms, UK (1996-1998)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas A & M University, USA (1994-1996)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Dundee, UK (1988-1994)
Key Research Interests and Expertise
Having trained as a biochemist, my research interests broadened out to encompass methodologies that involve biophysical chemistry, microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics. My research focused on macromolecular interactions of bacterial DNA repair proteins, particularly DNA and RNA ligases, with experiments performed in vitro or in bacterial model organisms.
Areas of Expertise
Teaching Interests
- Physical and Analytical Methods in the Biomolecular Sciences (BIO-4007Y)
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology (BIO-4016B)
- Biological Chemistry (BIO-4017Y)
- Biochemistry (BIO-5002A)
- Molecular Biology (BIO-5003B)
- Biology in Society (BIO-5012Y)
- Work Placement for Biosciences (BIO-5021Y)
- Molecular Enzymology in Biology and Medicine (BIO-6001A)
- Biochemistry Advanced Laboratory (BIO-6029Y)
- Supervisor for Research Projects of final year Undergraduate students from BIO and NatSci, and of Taught MSc students
Biography
Having graduated with a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield, UK, I went on to study for a PhD and this began a research career that has involved a range of studies using classical biochemical techniques, biophysical methods of analysis, and molecular biology procedures.
My Ph.D. was supervised by Dr. David Trentham, FRS, at the National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill, London, UK, where I studied the kinetics of energy transduction in rabbit skeletal muscle. My post-doctoral studies began in the laboratory of Prof. David Lilley, FRS, in the Biochemistry Department of the University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. Studies of unusual DNA structures developed into experiments that were among the first to show that the activity of neighbouring promoters can be coupled through DNA topology.
In 1994 I moved to the laboratory of Dr. Robert Wells, at the Institute for Biosciences & Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, USA. Various projects identified that repeating triplet DNA sequences undergo a high level of genetic instability in bacterial cells. From 1996 to 1998 I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Tomas Lindahl, FRS, (winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Modrich & Sancar) at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK), South Mimms, UK.
I arrived at the School of Biological Sciences at UEA in 1998 as a UEA Research Fellow. I transferred across to academic staff in 2002, gaining promotion to Professor in 2020. My research group has characterised DNA repair processes from a variety of organisms, feeding into wider interests in mechanisms that influence genome stability. The international reputation of our research is reflected in collaborations with researchers in the USA, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and India.
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Academic Background
- Ph.D. - University of London, UK (1989); research undertaken at National Institute for Medical Research, London
- B.Sc. - Biochemistry, University of Sheffield, UK (1984)
Postgraduate Research Opportunities
Click here for current PhD opportunities in Biological Sciences.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
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Biochemical links between DNA damage, inflammation and cell fate in the human lens
17/06/19 → 11/08/19
Project: Research
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Making ends meet: novel forms of bacterial DNA ligases from Paracoccus denitrificans
3/07/17 → 27/08/17
Project: Research
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Interaction of proteins with inverted repeats and cruciform structures in nucleic acids
Bowater, R. P., Bohálová, N. & Brázda, V., 1 Jun 2022, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23, 11, 6171.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
New telomere to telomere assembly of human chromosome 8 reveals a previous underestimation of G-quadruplex forming sequences and inverted repeats
Brázda, V., Bohálová, N. & Bowater, R. P., 5 Feb 2022, In: Gene. 810, 146058.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Special Issue "Impacts of Molecular Structure on Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions"
Brázda, V. (Guest ed.) & Bowater, R. (Guest ed.), 2022, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences.Research output: Contribution to journal › Special issue › peer-review
Open Access -
Evolution of diverse strategies for promoter regulation
Brázda, V., Bartas, M. & Bowater, R. P., Aug 2021, In: Trends in Genetics. 37, 8, p. 730-744 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)1 Downloads (Pure) -
GSH levels serve as a biological redox switch regulating sulforaphane-induced cell fate in human lens cells
Huynh, T. P. N., Bowater, R. P., Bernuzzi, F., Saha, S. & Wormstone, I. M., 2 Dec 2021, In: Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 62, 15, 2.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Awarded Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Bowater, Richard (Recipient), 10 Nov 2015
Prize: Election to learned society
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Biochemical Society Local Ambassador of the Year 2014
Bowater, Richard (Recipient), 2014
Prize: Other distinction
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Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB)
Bowater, Richard (Recipient), 1 Apr 2019
Prize: Election to learned society
Activities
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HUBS Fundamental Biosciences: What foundations do students need for success in their study of Biosciences?
Kelly Edmunds (Organiser), Audrey Heppleston (Organiser), Bethan Gulliver (Organiser), Richard Bowater (Organiser) & Becky Lewis (Organiser)
22 Apr 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop or seminar
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Science Cafe
Richard Bowater (Speaker)
1 Feb 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Oxford University Press (Publisher)
Richard Bowater (Peer reviewer)
2021Activity: Editorial work › Publication editorial role
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Oxford University Press (Publisher)
Richard Bowater (Peer reviewer)
2021Activity: Editorial work › Publication editorial role
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External Examiner at National University of Ireland, Galway
Richard Bowater (Examiner)
2021 → 2025Activity: Examination