Perturbation of Protein-Protein Interactions
Congratulations to Zsofia on winning a poster prize at the Eighth PPSG Early Stage Researcher Meeting, July 2018. Her poster, Ligand-Directed Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry for Inhibition of Protein-Protein Interactions, outlined the development of dynamic covalent chemistry approach using peptide-small molecule hybrid structures to target b-sheet mediated protein-protein interactions.
Suzanne has joined the programme as a first year PhD student having spent some time in industry after completing her Masters Degree in Chemistry with Drug Discovery at the University of Strathclyde.
Matt has recently joined the project as a postdoctoral research associate, having recently completed his PhD at Sheffield.
On 3 May Adam Nelson took part in The University of Leeds Priestley Centre’s Festival of Interdisciplinary Science. The event showcased examples of how our researchers work across the disciplines to tackle global grand challenges and provide the chance to make new connections. Using our 3-D protein models, Adam had the opportunity to explain protein-protein interactions and demonstrate the challenges associated with their inhibition to colleagues around the University of Leeds.
On 17 April The PoPPI team took part in The Astbury Conversation Public Engagement Event with an interactive game titled ‘Protein-Matchmaking: How do proteins talk to one another, what happens when they miscommunicate and how do we deal with this through drug discovery?’ In a race against the clock, players ‘matched’ 3-D printed models of proteins to one another. If matched correctly, the proteins clicked together. The team also designed models of small-molecule inhibitors which fitted into pockets in the proteins, preventing them from fitting together. This simple game allowed … read more >
Congratulations to Kris on winning a poster prize at the RSC Chemical Biology and Bio-organic Group Postgraduate Symposium on 10 May 2018. The Symposium, hosted at the University of Leeds, was an opportunity for early career scientists from a broad range of chemical biology backgrounds to come together, share their work and discuss the latest research. Kris’s poster on experimental validation of hot residue predictions for β-strand mediated protein-protein interactions made an impression on the judges with its multidisciplinary emphasis. Kris has been with PoPPI since the start of the … read more >
Congratulations to Zsofia on winning Best Oral Presentation at the School of Chemistry Postdoctoral Conference on 15th Dec 2017. Her presentation titled ‘Ligand-Directed Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry for Inhibition of Protein-Protein Interactions’ outlined the development of a dynamic covalent chemistry approach using peptide-small molecule hybrid structures for targeting protein-protein interactions. Zsofia is a postdoctoral research fellow working with Thomas Edwards and Andy Wilson. She is funded through a personal EU Horizon 2020 Marie Curie Individual Fellowship that started in May 2017, having initially joined the group on the PoPPI programme. Her … read more >
Professor Adam Nelson has recently visited Titus Salt School in Saltaire, Bradford, and Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield. At both schools, Prof Nelson got the opportunity to talk to sixth-form Chemistry A-level students about some of the challenges associated with discovering new medicines for targets such as protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Addressing such challenges could translate into potential treatments for major societal disease. An expert in his field of Chemical Biology, Professor Nelson enjoys the challenge and rewards of inspiring and informing the scientists of the future. His visit gave the … read more >
The 4th Young Researchers Symposium on PPIs was held at the University of Leeds on the 19th of September. This symposium provides a platform for early career researchers from a broad range of backgrounds to come together, share their work and discuss the latest research on PPIs and their inhibition. The guest speakers were: Prof. Michelle Arkin – University of California, San Francisco, and Prof. Luc Brunsveld – Eindhoven University of Technology.
Som has recently joined the project as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, having previously worked at University of Geneva and Purdue University (USA).
