Terri Attwood is a British computational biologist and professor of bioinformatics at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. She heads the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology research group within the School of Chemistry, where her work focuses on the development of methods and resources for protein sequence analysis, protein family classification, and the integration of structural and functional data.
Education and career
- Attwood earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry and subsequently completed a Ph.D. in molecular biology, concentrating on protein structure–function relationships.
- Following post‑doctoral research in computational biology, she joined the University of Manchester, where she has held senior academic positions and leads interdisciplinary projects that combine experimental and computational approaches.
Research contributions
- Development and curation of protein family databases, including contributions to the Pfam and CATH resources.
- Advancement of protein ontology frameworks that facilitate the systematic description of protein functions and relationships.
- Contributions to methods for protein structure prediction and the analysis of protein–protein interaction networks.
- Publication of numerous peer‑reviewed articles in journals such as Bioinformatics, Nucleic Acids Research, and Journal of Molecular Biology, with a high citation impact in the fields of bioinformatics and structural biology.
Professional affiliations and recognitions
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).
- Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP).
- Member of editorial boards for journals covering computational biology and bioinformatics.
- Involved in national and international scientific advisory panels, including committees that guide bioinformatics education and research infrastructure.
Terri Attwood’s work is widely cited and recognized for its influence on the tools and databases that underpin modern protein bioinformatics. Her contributions have supported both fundamental research in molecular biology and applied investigations in biotechnology and medicine.
