Rate My Professor Jennifer McManus

Professor Jennifer McManus is a Professor and Head of the School of Physics at the University of Bristol. She earned her BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry from University College Dublin, with her doctoral work centered on the assembly and structure of non-cytotoxic DNA–lipid complexes for non-viral gene delivery. After her PhD, she pursued postdoctoral research in Switzerland and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Professor George Benedek, where she developed expertise in protein phase diagrams and protein assembly. Returning to Ireland, she joined Maynooth University as a Science Foundation Ireland Stokes Lecturer, establishing a research group focused on soft matter and biophysical chemistry. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016 and served as Head of Department from 2017 to 2020. In 2020, she joined the University of Bristol School of Physics and was appointed Head of School. Additionally, she holds a position as Visiting Associate Professor at the School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, since September 2020. Jennifer McManus serves as Co-Investigator and EDI Champion for the Engineering Biology Centre for Doctoral Training.

As a soft-matter scientist, Professor McManus investigates the self-assembly of biological macromolecules, particularly how intermolecular protein interactions govern the formation of crystals, gels, and demixed liquids. Her work utilizes protein phase diagrams to measure and understand these assembly processes, with a focus on anisotropic protein-protein interactions. Key research areas include liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins, membrane protein crystallization, peptide assembly, rational design of protein-based materials, mechanical properties of protein gels and tissues, and protein formulation and stability. Her research group is part of the Quantum & Soft Matter group in the School of Physics. She has authored numerous publications, including "Assembling membraneless organelles from de novo designed proteins" in Nature Chemistry (2024), "The physics of protein self-assembly" in Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science (2016, cited 327 times), "Altered phase diagram due to a single point mutation in human γD-crystallin" in PNAS (2007, cited 132 times), and "Cavitation rheology of the vitreous: mechanical properties of biological tissue" in Soft Matter (2010). As Principal Investigator, she led the BBSRC International Institutional Award (2022–2023) and the RAMP Marie Curie Innovative Training Network (2020–2021).