About me
I began an MSci in Natural Sciences at York in autumn 2019, studying Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, which was whittled down to a specialism in Chemistry over three years. In the summer between my third and fourth year I completed a 10-week Generation Research studentship with Dr. Jamie Blaza. In collaboration with Thermo Scientific, we developed an improved method for imaging small targets (<100 kDa) using Cryo-EM at York. The following autumn I joined the lab of Dr. Chris Spicer in the department of Chemical biology for my MSci project. I joined a pre-existing project developing a novel method to site-selectively install a diaryl ketone photo-affinity label onto peptides and proteins. I enjoyed the reaction optimisation and the group culture to the point that I stayed on in the Spicer group for a WR BBSRC PhD continuing and extending the project I’d been working on.
My Project
Understanding protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is key to developing treatments for disease, and the intelligent design of new and interesting techniques. Many methods exist for the elucidation of strong, long-lived PPIs, however the study of transient, weak interactions remains challenging. My project’s initial focus is on developing a novel method of site-selectively installing a diaryl ketone photo-affinity probe initially onto synthetic peptides, and then onto recombinant proteins. Following irradiation with UV the diaryl ketone probe will covalently bond to any nearby Met, Gly, Ser, and Thr residues. The proximity-dependence of this bonding ensures that an interacting protein will be labelled with higher preference than non-specific interactions. Once trapped, the transient PPI can be further studied with much greater ease. Once this method is optimised, I hope to use it, and other chemical biology tools, to study the weak interaction between the intrinsically disordered algal pyrenoid protein, EPYC1, and the enzyme responsible for algal carbon fixation, Rubisco. It is hoped that greater knowledge of the algal pyrenoid would aid in a global effort to artificially engineer a pyrenoid into crop plants, improving crop yields and helping to combat world hunger.