The group
We're a structural biology group within the Microbes in Health and Disease theme at Newcastle, working at the interface of cryo-EM, microbiology and membrane biochemistry.
Principal Investigator
Dr Kate Beckham
Kate is a structural biologist studying how bacteria assemble and cross their cell envelope. She holds a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in the Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, where she leads an independent group on mycobacterial secretion systems and outer-membrane transport proteins. Before Newcastle she was a Staff Scientist and postdoctoral fellow at EMBL Hamburg (2014–2023), following a PhD in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Glasgow and a degree in Molecular Biology at the University of St Andrews. Her work combines cryo-EM, microbiology and biochemistry to turn structures into mechanism.
PhD Students
Aaron Scott
Aaron is a PhD student exploring novel outer membrane proteins in mycobacteria. His approach combines cryo-EM and biophysical techniques with bioinformatics, functional assays and -omics screens. Before starting in the Beckham lab, he investigated Gram-positive protein secretion systems and related machineries during his Integrated Masters at Newcastle.
Harry Flower
Harry grew up in Southwest Scotland and carried out both his BSc and MSc at the University of St Andrews, before moving to Newcastle in October 2025 to begin his PhD. He is interested in diderm bacteria and the role that outer membrane proteins play in physiology, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance. His research is currently focussed on the structural and functional characterisation of mycobacterial outer membrane proteins, combining microbiological, biochemical, and biophysical techniques with the ultimate goal of determining their structures using X-ray crystallography or cryo-EM to help elucidate mechanisms of transport.