Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley

Director of Innovations and Impact

Biography

Beatrix is Director of Innovation and Impact at BAS. Her passion is to ensure that excellent research has benefit for society beyond academia, and addresses the burning issues of our time. Her remit includes innovation that underpins decarbonisation of polar operations and beyond, making most effective, collaborative use of data for evidence-based decision making, and use of inclusive, creative, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approaches to effect change.

She studied Biochemistry in Germany and then moved to Cambridge, where she obtained her MPhil and PhD in photosynthesis research. After a decade in fundamental research she moved into technology transfer and co-design of applicable R&D, with an emphasis on socio-economic impact and entrepreneurship. At BAS, she leads the Innovation Directorate with seven teams, chairs the Net Zero Carbon Strategy Group, and is a member of the Executive, Management and Science Strategy Teams. She is Diversity Champion for the BAS Directorate and co-chairs the Diversity in UK Polar Science Steering Group.

Her work has driven the development of the AURORA Innovation Centre at BAS which includes excellent conference and meeting facilities, exhibition areas and an open-plan Collaboration Space. AURORA fosters excellent research and entrepreneurial activity in the areas of climate change, environmental stewardship and technologies for challenging environments, addressing issues of global importance and helping society adapt to a changing world.

Schlarb-Ridley BG and Parker B (2013) A UK Roadmap for Algal Technologies. Commissioned by the Technology Strategy Board Algal Bioenergy Special Interest Group; available at https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/3312976/3726818/AB_SIG+Roadmap.pdf

Schlarb-Ridley BG (2011) Algal Research in the UK: A Scoping Study. Commissioned by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; available at: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/documents/algal-scoping-study-report-pdf/

Ridley CJA, Parker BM, Norman L, Schlarb-Ridley B, Dennis R, Jamieson AE, Clark D, Skill SC, Smith AG, Davey MP (2018) Growth of microalgae using nitrate-rich brine wash from the water industry. Algal Research 33, 91-98.

Gwynn-Jones D, Dunne H, Donisson I, Robson P, Sanfratello GM, Schlarb-Ridley B, Hughes K, Convey P (2018) Can the optimisation of pop-up agriculture in remote communities help feed the world? Global Food Security 18, 35-43.

Worrall JAR, Schlarb-Ridley BG, Reda T, Marcaida MJ, Moorlen RJ, Wastl J, Hirst J, Bendall DS, Luisi BF, Howe CJ (2007) Modulation of haem redox potential in the cytochrome c family. Journal of the American Chemical Society 129, 9468-9475.

Chaudhari A, Mahfouz M, Fialho AM, Yamada T, Granja AT, Zhu Y, Hashimoto W, Schlarb-Ridley B, Cho W, Das Gupta TK, Chakrabarty AM (2007) Cupredoxin-cancer interrelationship: azurin binding with EphB2, interference in EphB2 tyrosine phosphorylation, and inhibition of cancer growth. Biochemistry 46, 1799-1810.

Marcaida MJ, Schlarb-Ridley BG, Worrall JAR, Wastl J, Evans TJ, Bendall DS, Luisi BF, Howe CJ (2006) Structure of Cytochrome c6A, a novel dithio-cytochrome of Arabidopsis thaliana, and its reactivity with plastocyanin: implications for function. Journal of Molecular Biology 360, 968-977.

Hiraoka Y, Granja TA, Fialho, AM, Schlarb-Ridley BG, Das Gupta TK, Chakrabarty AM, Yamada T (2005) Human cytochrome c enters murine J774 cells and causes G1 and G2/M cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 338, 1284-1290.

Schlarb-Ridley BG, Mi H, Teale WD, Meyer VS, Howe CJ, Bendall DS (2005) Implications of the effects of viscosity, macromolecular crowding, and temperature for the transient interaction between cytochrome f and plastocyanin from the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum. Biochemistry 44, 6232-6238.

Hart SE, Schlarb-Ridley BG, Delon C, Bendall DS, Howe CJ (2003) Role of charges on cytochrome f from the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum in its interaction with plastocyanin. Biochemistry 42, 4829-4836.

Schlarb-Ridley BG, Bendall DS, Howe CJ (2003) Relation between interface properties and kinetics of electron transfer in the interaction of cytochrome f and plastocyanin from plants and the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum. Biochemistry 42, 4057-4063.

Schlarb-Ridley BG, Navarro JA, Spencer M, Bendall DS, Hervas M, Howe CJ, De la Rosa MA (2002) Role of electrostatics in the interaction between plastocyanin and photosystem I of the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum. European Journal of Biochemistry 269, 5893-5902.

Schlarb-Ridley BG, Bendall DS, Howe CJ (2002) Role of electrostatics in the interaction between cytochrome f and plastocyanin of the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum. Biochemistry 41, 3279-3285.

Crowley PB, Otting G, Schlarb-Ridley BG, Canters GW, Ubbink M (2001) Hydrophobic interactions in a cyanobacterial plastocyanin-cytochrome f complex. Journal of the American Chemical Society 123, 10444-10453.

Ponamarev MV, Schlarb BG, Howe CJ, Carrell CJ, Smith JL, Bendall DS, Cramer WA (2000) Tryptophan-heme -electrostatic interactions in cytochrome f of oxygenic photosynthesis. Biochemistry 39, 5971-5976.

Schlarb BG, Wagner MJ, Vijgenboom E, Ubbink M, Bendall DS, Howe CJ (1999) Expression of plastocyanin and cytochrome f of the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum in Escherichia coli and Paracoccus denitrificans and the role of leader peptides. Gene 234, 275-283.

Carrell CJ, Schlarb BG, Bendall DS, Howe CJ, Cramer WA, Smith JL (1999) Structure of the soluble domain of cytochrome f from the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum. Biochemistry 38, 9590-9599.Schlarb-Ridley BG, Nimmo RH, Purton S, Bendall DS, Howe CJ (2006) Cytochrome c6A is a funnel for thiol oxidation in the thylakoid lumen. FEBS Letters 580, 2166-2169.

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2023

2021

Griffiths, Huw J. , Muschitiello, Pilvi, Hough, Geraldine, Logan-Park, Nicole, Frater, Donna, Hendry, Katharine R., Schlarb-Ridley, Beatrix. (2021) Diversity in polar science: Promoting inclusion through our daily words and actions [Editorial]. Antarctic Science, 33. 573-574. 10.1017/S0954102021000584

(2021) Polar Horizons 2021 Report.

2018

Gwynn-Jones, Dylan, Dunne, Hannah, Donisson, Iain, Robson, Paul, Sanfratello, Giovanni Marco, Schlarb-Ridley, Beatrix, Hughes, Kevin , Convey, Peter . (2018) Can the optimisation of pop-up agriculture in remote communities help feed the world?. Global Food Security, 18. 35-43. 10.1016/j.gfs.2018.07.003

Ridley, Christian J.A., Parker, Brenda M., Norman, Louisa, Schlarb-Ridley, Beatrix, Dennis, Ross, Jamieson, Alexandra E., Clark, Daniel, Skill, Stephen C., Smith, Alison G., Davey, Matthew P.. (2018) Growth of microalgae using nitrate-rich brine wash from the water industry. Algal Research, 33. 91-98. 10.1016/j.algal.2018.04.018

2015

Parker, Brenda M., Davey, Matthew P., Norman, Louiza, Schlarb-Ridley, Beatrix G., Smith, Alison G.. (2015) Biomass from brine: Scale up of nitrate bioremediation experiments. (meeting abstract). European Journal of Phycology, 50. 142-143.