Dr Natasha Murphy

Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
School Physical Sciences Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Email npm35@cam.ac.uk

Natasha is a postdoctoral researcher whose research revolves around circularity: the design of enzymes, reaction pathways, and processes that transform waste into valuable materials.

Natasha studied Biochemistry at the University of York, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge (Corpus Christi College). She was awarded a BBSRC Fellowship partnered with AstraZeneca to undertake her graduate studies focused on the structural and functional optimization and characterization of cyclized peptide inhibitors of a small GTPase. Subsequently, her postdoctoral research at the United States National Laboratory of the Rockies focused on enzymatic recycling technologies to recycle waste plastics, with an emphasis on process design and optimization.

In 2026, she joined Wolfson College as a Junior Research Fellow, continuing her research focused on circularity, based in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry (CEB). She is also an early-career member of the American Society of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and the Biochemical Society.

There is an urgent need to develop new technologies that can address the environmental challenges of this century, such as climate change, resource depletion, and waste management. As a biochemist, Natasha uses molecular tools to address these challenges. Incorporating computational and directed evolution techniques, her work focuses on designing, engineering, and testing biocatalysts for real-world applications. Her current research interests include: 1) engineering biochemical reactions, for example, for the efficient recycling of polymers, with a particular emphasis on poly(ethylene) terephthalate; 2) engineering biocatalysts for the upcycling of captured CO₂ emissions into industrially relevant products, and 3) developing a new toolbox of methods for automating, downscaling, and miniaturising biochemical engineering.

Natasha previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Gregg Beckham at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) to optimise the process conditions of enzymatic polyester recycling. More recently, funded through a partnership with Hitachi Cambridge labs (& Hitachi Europe Ltd.), her research focuses on developing biocatalytic cascades for transforming, and upcycling, captured CO₂ into high-value chemicals. The aim is to accelerate progress towards net-zero chemical manufacturing.

Overall, her research is at the intersection of biochemistry and chemical engineering and integrates fundamental molecular design of biocatalysts with process engineering to advance sustainable biotechnologies.

What's on

Event Type (field_event_type)

Abstract painting featuring a simplified yellow outlined figure beside a faint sepia-toned face rendered on textured canvas.

Art Exhibition: 'Images and Other Conversations'

11/07/2026 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'Images and Other Conversations', featuring work by artists Suleman Aqeel Khilji and Charlotte Winifred Guérard, winners of the Wolfson Royal Academy Schools Graduate Prize.

Wolfson College Sculpture Trail: Richard Bray

11/07/2026 at 10.00

Wolfson College is delighted to showcase the work of acclaimed Cambridgeshire-based artist and sculptor, Richard Bray MRSS, in collaboration with Cambridge Open Studios Festival in July.

Hong Kong Drinks Reception

17/07/2026 at 18.00

Join Wolfson President, Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, and Wolfson Bye-Fellow Carol Yuen for a special alumni drinks reception at the American Club in Hong Kong!