Pierce is a PhD researcher working on sustainable biocompatible chemistry reactions. He joined in 2024 on a DSTL-funded PhD with the aim of investigating greener alternative synthesis pathways for industrially relevant chemicals using bacteria such as E. coli as platforms. Pierce grew up in Dorset, and moved to the University of St. Andrews to do a BSc in Biology, before moving to London to complete an MRes in Synthetic Biology, where he worked on characterising a community of plastic-degrading bacteria isolated from mealworms for lab use. After his MRes, Pierce worked at CyanoCapture, a startup focusing on using cyanobacteria to strip carbon dioxide from exhaust streams in order to tackle the ever-growing need for carbon capture as the climate crisis develops. His main focus was on strain engineering, using tools such as CRISPR and the Cre-Lox system to create a range of marker-free GM strains for the company. After a year and a half with the company, Pierce joined the Wallace lab to continue his goal of developing sustainable biological solutions for pressing ecological issues.