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Emma Presents at the RSC CBBG Symposium

This June, Emma Wadforth had the exciting opportunity to present her PhD research at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group (CBBG) Postgraduate Symposium in Aberdeen, UK.  As she nears the completion of her PhD journey—funded by the European Research Council (ERC)—Emma’s oral presentation marked a proud moment of sharing her work with the wider scientific community. The CBBG symposium provided a great opportunity for connecting with fellow researchers in chemical biology, exchanging ideas, and celebrating the progress of early-career scientists. Emma’s PhD project synthesised and characterised a selection of novel cyclic peptides from mRNA display against NEU2. This work led to the discovery of some of… Read More »Emma Presents at the RSC CBBG Symposium

Joanna Delivers Talk at the RSC Chem Bio Symposium 2025

In London, the RSC’s Chemical Biology Symposium 2025 showcased the latest advancements in chemical biology, bringing together leading experts from around the world. We’re delighted that Dr Joanna Bonnici‘s flash talk, “JmjC catalysed histone H2a N-methyl arginine demethylation & C4-arginine hydroxylation,” was featured within this event, alongside her poster on this work.  “It was fantastic to finally be able to present, share and discuss my recent publication. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was inspiring to learn from, and connect with, leaders in the field – all within such a historic and beautiful venue.” – Joanna Bonnici  The paper (Bonnici J, et al. Commun Biol. 2024 ) is available to read… Read More »Joanna Delivers Talk at the RSC Chem Bio Symposium 2025

Attending the RICT2024 in Bordeaux

Akane Kawamura, Siddique Amin and Filomena Saulino attended the RICT2024 (the 58th International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry) held in Bordeaux this July – a conference focused on the intersection of chemical biology and drug discovery.  Akane Kawamura gave a talk on cyclic peptides as chemical tools to probe biology, and our PhD Students presented their posters relating to work on cyclic peptides (Siddique), and inhibitor development against epigenetic reader domains (Filomena).   The event was a fantastic experience, with plenty of discussions with other medicinal chemists and chemical biologists from around the globe.  

International Women’s Day 2024

Friday 8th March 2024 marked International Women’s Day, which is a time to celebrate the contributions of women in various fields, including scientific research and chemical biology. Female scientists have been led ground-breaking research, contributing to our understanding of complex biological systems and the development of innovative medical treatments and drug discovery.  International Women’s Day also reinforces the importance of supporting and encouraging women in science to ensure a diverse and inclusive future for all scientific endeavours.    Emma Wadworth (PhD Student):  “To any young women, from any background, thinking of a career in science, definitely push yourself! Working towards new scientific discoveries is a challenging and rewarding experience.”   … Read More »International Women’s Day 2024

Oli Returns from Maternity Leave

In November 2023, Oli Curry – a PhD student – returned from maternity leave. Oli will be continuing her research into chemical probes for Targeted Protein Stabilisation (TPS), and the team are excited to have Oli return as a new mum.     Oli:  “It’s unbelievable I spent a big chunk of this year changing nappies and breastfeeding – maternity leave was a special time in my life, but it’s time to do some cool science again!” 

Joanna & Harriet Return from Maternity Leave

In June 2023, Joanna Bonnici and Harriet Stanway-Gordon – two of our Post Doctoral Research Associates – returned to work after maternity leave. The team is excited to have them back, and looking forward to plenty of baby photos and supporting them in balancing work and home life as parents.   Joanna:   “I’m excited to return to work to face new challenges that don’t involve changing nappies or deciphering the meaning behind my baby’s cries.”  Harriet:   “Can’t believe I’m heading back to work already – feels like only yesterday Ziggy arrived! Looking forward to getting back to some semblance of normality (although I am going to miss spending most of… Read More »Joanna & Harriet Return from Maternity Leave

Emma Wins RSC CBBG Travel Grant

Emma won an RSC CBBG travel grant which enabled her to visit the lab of our collaborator Professor Frances Platt (Department of Pharmacology) in Oxford for two weeks in January 2023.   The visit enabled Emma to test her cyclic peptide compounds in next stage assay models including against mouse brain homogenates and cell lysates. This enabled cross-screening against different isoenzymes of the disease target for selectivity studies, helping accelerate hit compound progression for lysosomal disorders and neurodegenerative therapy. As well as advancing the PhD, the visit helped strengthen collaborations with a world-leading laboratory in the disease field, with future collaborative work already in place in the coming months. Image Description(… Read More »Emma Wins RSC CBBG Travel Grant

RSC Interest Group for Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry Postgraduate Meeting

Some great talks and networking at the Royal Society of Chemistry Interest Group for Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry postgraduate meeting at York University on 4th April. Great to be back to in-person conferences! It was a great opportunity for our early career researchers to share their latest research with colleagues from across a broad range of chemical biology backgrounds.

Welcome to our new PhD Students

A warm welcome to our new PhD students who joined us on 1st October 2021. Emma Wadforth, Oliwia Rebacz, Tom Smith, and Tim Bell will be working across a number of exciting projects funded by BBSRC, EPSRC MoS Med CTD, ERC.