About me

My motivation for undertaking a PhD stems from my lifelong fascination with the deep complexities of life and my ambition to make meaningful contributions to the world. I graduated from the University of Leeds with a Master of Biology (MBiol) degree in Medical Biochemistry, with my Master’s research project focusing on determining the protein-protein interactions that make up the complex yet highly organised structure of the centriole. It was my Masters year that helped nurture a strong foundation in academic research with that experience cementing my desire to work in a laboratory setting. Furthermore, my placement year and summer internship at Vertex Pharmaceuticals allowed me to develop in an industry lab, as well as being the Lab technician/Science educator for the Oxford Learning lab. My legacy from my time there includes a database that analyses the socio-economic metrics of areas within Oxfordshire which allows for outreach efforts to targeted towards under-resourced areas and underrepresented groups. Improving diverse representation in science is something I have a passion for, so I hope to do more throughout my PhD.

My Project

Aurora-A is a serine/threonine kinase crucial in the cell cycle with roles in mitotic entry and spindle assembly. Aurora-A is a promising target for cancer therapy since its dysregulation has oncogenic consequences implicated in a wide variety of cancers. Nevertheless, there are issues with traditional small-molecule kinase inhibitors, such as resistance, off-target effects and low efficacy, which calls for the investigation of alternative strategies. Affimers, synthetic non-antibody binding proteins derived from a consensus sequence of phytocystatins, offer an effective way to target Aurora-A with accuracy and specificity, due to their ability to mimic protein-protein interactions; alongside its small size providing access to smaller, hard-to-reach epitopes. My project aims to isolate Affimers against a variety of Aurora-A interfaces to characterise Aurora-A specific interactions and the phenotypic consequences of these interactions. Identified Affimers are anticipated to provide a nuanced perspective on Aurora-A’s interactome, its ever-expanding biological function and serve as the basis for future therapeutics.

Connect

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-shami-inkindi-themolecularbiologist/