The Kawamura and McAllister Lab research groups hosted their annual Chemical Biology Winter Symposium, blending festive cheer with intellectual stimulation!
This event provided a platform for researchers to present their work through a series of short presentations. These presentations showcased the depth and breadth of research activities, whilst facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Amidst the scientific discussions, the event also included some festive fun. Participants enjoyed a Secret Santa gift exchange, and the Christmas quiz, complete with the exciting “Sink or Float” challenge, brought an element of playful competition and camaraderie among the attendees.
The day concluded with a dinner at Victor’s to celebrate the Chem Bio teams’ achievements. Special thanks go to Tim, Emma and Tom for their efforts in organizing this memorable end-of-year celebration.
A Recap on 2024
2024 was a great year in which:
- We continued working closely with our collaborators, within both academia and industry such as NovoNordisk and AstraZeneca;
- Team members’ artwork was featured in journals such as the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and RSC Chemical Biology;
- Our video explaining what the field of Chemical Biology entails was released;
- Tim designed a new logo for the Kawamura Research Group;
- The team fundraised for Cancer Research UK through running and cake sales;
- There were community outreach activities, like at Beamish Museum;
- And, we held a very memorable team day in Durham!
Amid all of the above engagement and team building activities, our chemical biologists also present their work at a range of academic events, helping to promote and disseminate the Chemical Biology department’s work! These events included:
- 58th International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry in Bordeaux;
- RSC Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group PG Symposium at the University of East Anglia;
- Immunology North East Research Symposium (June);
- Chemical Biology and Organic Chemistry (CBOC) group Seminar 2024;
- MosMED CDT Conference 2024;
- RSC Chemical Biology Symposium (London)
- RSC Peptide & Protein Group 2024 Webinar;
- ELRIG Drug Discovery 2024, London ExCeL
- Frontier of Bioorganic Chemistry from 2003 to 2023 in honour of Prof. Hiroaki Suga, Tokyo University.
Prof Akane Kawamura also received her Jeremy Knowles Award Chemical Biology interface division mid-career.
Additionally, over the last 12 months, the chem bio teams has had the pleasure of welcoming five new team members (Thomas, Keir, Izzy, Faye, & Ellie), hosting four summer students (Evie, Emily, Ethan & Becca), and celebrating two PhD graduations (congratulations Filo & Siddique) and three MChem graduations (congratulations Ethan, Becky & Lucy).
We’re also delighted for Dr Harriet Stanway-Gordon, who received the prestigious Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851!
