His research group takes an integrative approach to engineering biology to carry out new functions, with the long-term goal of constructing new drugs. Originally from England, Gavin received his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Wales, a PhD from the University of Leeds, and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gavin joined the Department of Chemistry at NC State in 2009, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015, and has been named a University Faculty Scholar (2015-2020). He is also recipient of the 2012 NSF CAREER Award, the 2014 Sigma Xi Research Award and is a member of the Comparative Medicine Institute at NC State.