News

7 May 2021

'GPS-like' strategies in proteomics

Josie Christopher and Kathryn Lilley, along with 13 authors from world-leading subcellular proteomics laboratories, have published a comprehensive review in Nature Reviews Methods Primers covering the major techniques in the field.Just like us, proteins have jobs. Our jobs are various and diverse, and need to be performed in specialised places (our…

8 Mar 2021

Cambridge Festival 2021

The new Cambridge Festival will take place from 26 March to 4 April 2021, with more than 350 free online events and activities available for people of all ages.This year the Festival is a virtual one and our Department has nine exciting talks on offer through our YouTube channel. All the talks will be live and followed by a Q&A session with the spe…

26 Jan 2021

Studying biology one molecule at a time

We are pleased to announce that the Department has received delivery of the C-trap, a state-of-the-art, single-molecule instrument that was purchased thanks to the generous support of the BBSRC 19ALERT scheme.The C-trap combines fluorescence microscopy, optical tweezers, and microfluidics to enable researchers to investigate the behaviour of biolog…

18 Dec 2020

Riley Brown completes his National Vocational Qualification

Congratulations to Riley Brown who has completed his National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).Riley Brown joined the Department to undertake a technician apprenticeship straight after his GCSEs at Birchwood High School at the age of 16. Riley's apprenticeship saw him spending the majority of his time in the Department learning the ropes in the teach…

20 Nov 2020

Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging from Plants project receives UKRI funding

UKRI has announced 10 university-led research projects from across the UK will receive £8M in funding from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.This investment is part of the Enabling Research competition in the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge (SSPP). It aims to help tackle plastic waste in the UK by finding solutions to existing is…

9 Nov 2020

Unwinding the secrets of the coronavirus genome, loop by loop

Omer Ziv, with the Miska Group and collaborators, has uncovered how the genome of SARS-CoV-2 uses genome origami to infect and replicate successfully inside host cells. This could inform development of effective drugs that target specific parts of the virus genome, in the fight against COVID-19.SARS-CoV-2 is one of many coronaviruses. All share the…

27 Oct 2020

The Cambridge Centre for Proteomics is relocating

The Proteomics Facility will shortly be relocating from the Milner Therapeutics Institute in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre to the Department of Pharmacology.The Facility is due to physically move the week commencing Monday 16 November and will be packing equipment in the laboratory from Monday 9 November. Therefore, the Facility is unable to …

5 Oct 2020

Richard J. Jackson 1940-2020

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our friend and colleague Richard Jackson, who passed away peacefully on Monday 21st September.Richard had a long and illustrious affiliation with the Department of Biochemistry. He graduated 1st class from Part II Biochemistry in 1962, and then carried out his PhD with Asher Korner, alongsid…

2 Oct 2020

Futureproofing crops receives £4.5M research funding

Kathryn Lilley is part of a national consortium that has been awarded a £4.5M grant to research the futureproofing of crops against climate change to protect crop productivity.Durham University will lead research into how plants adapt to their environment, alongside their collaborators from Nottingham and Liverpool universities and Professor Kathry…

24 Aug 2020

Helen Mott is getting cancer research back on track with Cycle 300

Helen Mott is calling on people of all ages and abilities, from seasoned cyclists to recent converts, to sign up to Cancer Research UK's Cycle 300 challenge.Participants in the Cycle 300 challenge can choose how, when and where to clock up 300 miles on a bike this September to raise money for life-saving cancer research.Helen will take part in Cycl…

10 Aug 2020

How to re-open a biochemistry department in a global pandemic

In the new University of Cambridge reflections series, we hear how individuals across the University community have coped with 'unexpected experiences' during the COVID-19 pandemic, found new opportunities and are looking to the future.Dr Katy Pitts could probably now write the How-To manual on re-opening a biochemistry department in a global pande…

7 Aug 2020

Green energy and better crops: tinted solar panels could boost farm incomes

The Howe Group and their collaborators have demonstrated the use of tinted, semi-transparent solar panels to generate electricity and produce nutritionally-superior crops simultaneously, bringing the prospect of higher incomes for farmers and maximising use of agricultural land.By allowing farmers to diversify their portfolio, this novel system cou…

6 Aug 2020

Steve Jackson wins Royal Society Mullard Award

Congratulations to Professor Steve Jackson on winning the Royal Society Mullard Award 2020.Steve is to receive the Mullard Award for his pioneering research on DNA repair mechanisms and synthetic lethality that led to the discovery of olaparib, which has reached blockbuster status for the treatment of ovarian and breast cancers.Speaking of the Awar…

5 Aug 2020

Andrew Grace made an Honorary Professor of the University

Congratulations to Dr Andrew Grace who has been given the title of Honorary Professor of Experimental Cardiology.Honorary Professorships are one of the most prestigious honours in the gift of the University and mark academic contribution and rare distinction.Many will know of Andrew's long association with our Department and his ground-breaking stu…

24 Jul 2020

Promoting translational frame-shifting to kill mycobacteria

The Blundell Group and their collaborators have published an article in Nucleic Acids Research identifying a new class of antibiotics against mycobacteria that target tRNA methylation.Anti-microbial resistance is a rising global healthcare concern that needs urgent attention as a growing number of infections are becoming increasingly difficult to t…