On April 25, Malcolm F. White FRSE Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews Director of Research for School of Biology, guested at the “Inspiring Wisdom” Distinguished Lectures. He delivered a wonderful speech under the title “Extreme Gene Machines: how hyperthermophiles maintain genome integrity”.

Malcolm F. White FRSE leads a group in the inter-disciplinary Biomedical Sciences Research Complex at St Andrews University. His research expertise lies in the use of techniques in biochemistry, enzymology, molecular biology, proteomics, bioinformatics, biophysics and microbiology to identify and study proteins that interact with nucleic acids. One focus of his research is the study of DNA repair pathways in the archaea – an ancient lineage of microorganisms often found in extreme environments. The archaea are a group of micro-organisms often found in extreme environments. Although they resemble bacteria in most respects, they have key similarities to eukaryotes, including humans, in the way that they process information including their DNA replication and repair pathways. Archaeal proteins tend to be simpler and are often more stable than their human counterparts, making them ideal for structural and biochemical studies. Their studies are aimed at achieving an understanding of DNA repair mechanisms in the archaea. In addition to the intrinsic interest in archaeal DNA repair, these thermostable proteins have potential applications in biotechnology. A second area of his interest is the CRISPR system for adaptive antiviral defence. He published hundreds of paper in many journals, including Cell, Science and Nature. He has active research international links with groups in archaea genetics.