Luke Mackinder is a Professor of Plant Biology at the University of York, UK. Luke’s research focuses on understanding the cellular processes that drive global carbon fixation. His Lab (www.mackinderlab.com) is applying high-throughput microscopy, systems and synthetic biology to rapidly dissect, predict and build CO2 fixing pathways in algae and cyanobacteria. A primary focus of the lab is understanding the structure and function of the alga pyrenoid – a liquid-liquid phase separated organelle responsible for ~30% of global CO2 fixation. Data generated from the Mackinder Lab is being used to guide the engineering of photosynthesis in plants to enhance crop yields. Luke gained his BSc in Natural Sciences from Durham University in 2007, completed a Marie Curie Funded PhD in 2012 (GEOMAR/Kiel University, Germany) followed by a Barbara McClintock Fellowship in the Jonikas Lab at the Carnegie Institution for Plant Sciences, Stanford, USA. He took up a Lectureship at the University of York in 2016.