糖心原创

Contact

• workRoom B86 Biodiscovery Institute
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• Rochelle.Aw@nottingham.ac.uk

Research Summary

Rochelle Aw is an Assistant Professor in Microbiology whose research focuses on developing cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) and in vitro glycosylation platforms for the rapid and flexible… read more

Selected Publications

• DEREK A. WONG, ROCHELLE AW, SOPHIA W. HULBERT, YUFAN QIN, ZACHARY M. SHAVER, KATHRYN A. MYERS, ASHTY S. KARIM, MATTHEW P. DELISA and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, 2025. ACS Synthetic Biology. 14(12),
• RYAN N. REZVANI, ROCHELLE AW, WEI CHAN, KRISHNATHREYA SATISH, HAN CHEN, ADI LAVY, SWECHHA RIMAL, DIVYESH A. PATEL, GOVIND RAO, JAMES R. SWARTZ, MATTHEW P. DELISA, ERIK KVAM, ASHTY S. KARIM, ANTJE KR脺GER, WESTON KIGHTLINGER and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, 2025. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 122(8), 2241-2250
• ROCHELLE AW, CHARLOT DE WACHTER, BRAM LAUKENS, RIET DE RYCKE, MICHIEL DE BRUYNE, DAVID BELL, NICO CALLEWAERT and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2021. Traffic. 22(3), 48-63
• ROCHELLE AW, ALEX J. SPICE and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2020. Current Protocols in Protein Science. 102(1), e115

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Current Research

Rochelle Aw is an Assistant Professor in Microbiology whose research focuses on developing cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) and in vitro glycosylation platforms for the rapid and flexible production of biotherapeutics. CFPS enables protein expression within hours and can be stored in a dehydrated form, requiring only water to activate-offering a powerful tool for on-demand protein manufacturing.

Her work leverages the yeast Pichia pastoris (syn. Komagataella phaffii) to produce both target proteins and engineered glycans that can be transferred onto these proteins to enhance their stability and functionality. By designing human-like glycosylation patterns, Rochelle aims to improve the performance of protein-based drugs and accelerate the development of next-generation therapeutics.

Research vision: To create modular, scalable CFPS systems that integrate glycoengineering for precision biomanufacturing, enabling faster, more cost-effective production of complex biologics.

Past Research

Rochelle Aw's previous research spans synthetic biology, microbial engineering, and biomanufacturing, with a strong focus on developing innovative platforms for protein and vaccine production.

During her time in Michael Jewett's group at Stanford University and Northwestern University, Rochelle worked extensively on cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) using Escherichia coli. Her projects included genome engineering to improve CFPS yields, production of full-length antibodies, and in vitro glycosylation with human-like glycans. She collaborated with Vaxcyte Inc. on chlamydia vaccine development and contributed to major DARPA and DTRA initiatives aimed at reimagining protein manufacturing.

Prior to this, Rochelle spent nearly a decade in Karen Polizzi's group at Imperial College London as a Research Associate in the Centre for Synthetic Biology. She pioneered the first CFPS platform based on Pichia pastoris. Her work supported the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub, including producing viral antigens such as Chikungunya virus-like particles, rabies glycoprotein, and HPV proteins, and contributing to the COVID-19 response by expressing spike protein and RBD in Pichia pastoris. She also developed CRISPR-based tools for glycosylation control, novel biosensors, and collaborated with industry partners to enhance vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries.

Rochelle's PhD in David Leak's group at Imperial College London, funded by a BBSRC CASE studentship with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, focused on factors affecting the productivity of Pichia pastoris, combining molecular biology, bioprocess optimisation, and transcriptomic analysis.

• MEAGAN L. OLSEN,, CAROLINE E. COPELAND, CHAD A. SUNDBERG, ROCHELLE AW, ZACHARY M. SHAVER, GOVIND RAO, JAMES R. SWARTZ, ASHTY S. KARIM and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, 2026. Nature Communications. 17, 3478
• DEREK A. WONG, ROCHELLE AW, SOPHIA W. HULBERT, YUFAN QIN, ZACHARY M. SHAVER, KATHRYN A. MYERS, ASHTY S. KARIM, MATTHEW P. DELISA and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, 2025. ACS Synthetic Biology. 14(12),
• RYAN N. REZVANI, ROCHELLE AW, WEI CHAN, KRISHNATHREYA SATISH, HAN CHEN, ADI LAVY, SWECHHA RIMAL, DIVYESH A. PATEL, GOVIND RAO, JAMES R. SWARTZ, MATTHEW P. DELISA, ERIK KVAM, ASHTY S. KARIM, ANTJE KR脺GER, WESTON KIGHTLINGER and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, 2025. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 122(8), 2241-2250
• ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2025. Biotechnology Progress. 41(4), e70005
• ERIK J. BIDSTRUP, KYLE HILL, CHANDRA K. BANDI, D. NATASHA OWITIPANA, ALINA CHISTI, ROCHELLE AW, XU YANG, PARASTOO AZADI, MICHAEL C. JEWETT, LAI-XI WANG, WESTON KIGHTLINGER and MATTHEW P. DELISA, 2025. ACS Synthetic Biology. 14, 6
• ROCHELLE AW, FARZANA ALAM, ALEX J. SPICE and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2025. A Pichia pastoris Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Platform. In: XAVIER GARC脥A-ORTEGA, ANTON GLIEDER, KARIN KOVAR and LUKAS RIEDER, eds., Pichia pastoris 2697. Humana. 609鈥�626
• ERIK J. BIDSTRUP, YONG HYUN KWON, KEEHUN KIM, CHANDRA KANTH BANDI, ROCHELLE AW, MICHAEL C. JEWETT and MATTHEW P. DELISA, 2024. Cell-Free Systems for the Production of Glycoproteins. In: STEVEN B. BRADFUTE, ed., Recombinant Glycoproteins 2762. Humana. 309-328
• CHILEAB REDWOOD-SAWYERR, ROCHELLE AW, ROBERTO DI BLASI, IGNACIO MOYA-RAM脥REZ, CLEO KONTORAVDI, FRANCESCA CERONI and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2024. High-Throughput Spectroscopic Analysis of mRNA Capping Level. In: FRANCESCA CERONI and KAREN POLIZZI, eds., Mammalian Synthetic Systems 2774. Humana.
• ALEX J. SPICE, ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2022. Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Using Pichia pastoris. In: ASHTY S. KARIM and MICHAEL C. JEWETT, eds., Cell-Free Gene Expression 2433. Humana. 75鈥�88
• GIULIANA MASTROPIETRO, ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2021. Chapter Three - Expression of proteins in Pichia pastoris. In: WILLIAM B. O鈥橠ELL and ZVI KELMAN, eds., Methods in Enzymology 660. Academic Press. 53-80
• ROCHELLE AW, MUKTADIR R. ASHIK, ARIFUL A.Z.M. ISLAM, IMRAN KHAN, MOHAMMAD MAINUDDIN, MD. ASHRAFUL ISLAM, MOHAMMAD M. AHASAN and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2021. Vaccine. 39(51),
• ROCHELLE AW, CHARLOT DE WACHTER, BRAM LAUKENS, RIET DE RYCKE, MICHIEL DE BRUYNE, DAVID BELL, NICO CALLEWAERT and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2021. Traffic. 22(3), 48-63
• ALEX J. SPICE, ROCHELLE AW, DANIEL G. BRACEWELL and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2020. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 8, 72
• ALEX J. SPICE, ROCHELLE AW, DANIEL G. BRACEWELL and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2020. Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology. 5(3), 137-144
• ROCHELLE AW, ALEX J. SPICE and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2020. Current Protocols in Protein Science. 102(1), e115
• ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2019. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 116(3), 656-666
• SIMON J. MOORE, JAMES T. MACDONALD, SARAH WIENECKE, ALKA ISHWARBHAI, ARGYRO TSIPA, ROCHELLE AW, NICOLAS KYLILIS, DAVID J. BELL, DAVID W. MCCLYMONT, KIRSTEN JENSEN, KAREN M. POLIZZI, REBEKKA BIEDENDIECK and PAUL S. FREEMONT, 2018. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 11(19), E4340-E4349
• ROCHELLE AW, PAUL F. MCKAY, ROBIN J. SHATTOCK and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2018. Protein Expression and Purification. 149, 43-50
• FELIX R.H. JONAS, KATE E. ROYLE, ROCHELLE AW, GUY-BART V. STAN and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2018. Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology. 3(1), 64-75
• ROCHELLE AW, GERAINT R. BARTON and DAVID J. LEAK, 2017. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 101, 5045鈥�5058
• GREGORY D. TREDWELL, ROCHELLE AW, BRYN EDWARDS-JONES, DAVID J. LEAK and JACOB G. BUNDY, 2017. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 44(3), 413鈥�417
• ROCHELLE AW, PAUL F. MCKAY, ROBIN J. SHATTOCK and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2017. AMB Express. 7(1), 70
• ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2016. Microbial Cell Factories. 15(29),
• KEITH S. ROBINSON and ROCHELLE AW, 2016. Trends in Microbiology. 24(8), p665-680
• BRYN EDWARDS-JONES, ROCHELLE AW, GERAINT R. BARTON, GREGORY D. TREDWELL, JACOB G. BUNDY and DAVID J. LEAK, 2015. PLoS One. 10((3)), e0119637
• ROCHELLE AW and KAREN M. POLIZZI, 2013. Microbial Cell Factories. 12, 128