Principal Scientist
at Wellcome Sanger Institute
Dr. Quail obtained his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Hull. He spent two years at Quest International (a Unilever company) developing methods to produce natural food flavor compounds before pursuing a PhD investigating the cytochrome P-450 system of Botrytis cinerea at the University of Sheffield. He then moved to the laboratory of Prof. John Guest where he undertook two successive Wellcome Trust-funded postdoctoral positions working on the regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the function of iron-storage proteins in E. coli.
Dr. Quail moved to the Sanger Centre in 1997 as a senior research assistant working on subcloning for the pathogen sequencing program. He was promoted to project leader and then head of sequencing library construction. Dr. Quail was one of the early pioneers of next-generation sequencing sample preparation automation and multiplexing, and in 2010 changed roles to manage the sequencing R&D group at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
He is involved in the evaluation of new sequencing technologies, ancillary equipment, molecular biology kits, and reagents, and develops new sequencing applications. From 2019 he was principal scientific manager for sequencing R&D and as of December 2022, he is principal scientist: sequencing research.
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