News & Events

Angus McQuibban awarded major funding for anti-neurodegenerative diseases drug discovery by AI

24 October 2019|

Professor G. Angus McQuibban has just been awarded a $2.3-million Genome Canada grant.

The GAPP grant in a partnership with Cyclica and Rosetta Therapeutics (founded by Professors Angus McQuibban and Peter Lewis) will support drug discovery related to treating people with the long-term neurodegenerative diseases and will involve the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. (full story here)

Pai lab visualize the inner workings of an enzyme

27 September 2019|

Researchers from the Emil Pai Lab in collaboration with the Miller Lab (Depts. of Chemistry and Physics, University of Toronto) have pieced together a time-lapse movie revealing all the major steps during the catalytic cycle of an enzyme. This study, published in Science, is the most detailed depiction of such a process to date.

The communication between the protein units is accomplished via a water-network somewhat akin to a […]

Lewis Kay received an honorary degree from UBC, Okanagan!

12 July 2019|

Professor Lewis Kay was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from UBC, Okanagan campus, for his “pioneering research in biochemistry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy” at the 2019 Spring Convocation. Congratulations!

Click here to read the full announcement

2019 Biochemistry Golf Day

5 July 2019|

The forecasted rain stayed away for our 2019 Golf Day and golfers enjoyed a beautiful cloudy day with the sun making an appearance near the end of the round. Twenty-eight students, admins, Faculty and more than a few ringers headed out to the Flemingdon Park 9-hole Golf Course in mid-town Toronto. Each team had its share of novices and experienced players […]

The inaugural Proteostasis Researchers in Canada (PRinCE) symposium

3 July 2019|

The Proteostasis Researchers in Canada (PRinCE) inaugural meeting was held at the University of Toronto on June 10-11, 2019. The aim of this first symposium was to establish a network of researchers working in the field of protein homeostasis in Canada and to promote collaborations between labs working on topics relevant to proteostasis. These include (but are not limited to) protein folding, protein trafficking, protein degradation, and neurodegenerative diseases – […]

Photos from the 2019 Benjamin Schachter Event!

17 June 2019|

On May 3, 2019, over 200 faculty, alumni, students, gathered at Hart House to celebrate Dr. Benjamin Schachter’s legacy and reunite our Department in appreciation for all of our alumni. Some of the captured moments are shown below…with more photos to come.

Thank-you to all those who attended, planned, participated, and helped make this day a memorable one!

Structure of human mitochondrial ClpP protease – drug complex gains cover of Cancer Cell

24 May 2019|

The crystal structure of ClpP protease activated by the experimental Phase 2 anti-cancer drug ONC 201, as determined by graduate student Ondrej Halgas in Emil F. Pai’s lab, was featured on the cover of the current issue (May 13th, 2019) of the journal Cancer Cell. Together with the laboratories of Walid Houry, Aaron Schimmer (Medical Biophysics) and Michael Andreeff (MD Anderson, Texas), they identified ClpP as the […]

Scott Prosser named UofT Distinguished Professor

22 May 2019|

Professor Scott Prosser has been awarded the title of UofT Distinguished Professor of Biophysical Chemistry. This award recognizes individuals with highly distinguished accomplishments who exhibit and maintain an extraordinary level of activity in their research and scholarly work, and have achieved pre-eminence in their field in line with the University’s stated objectives and emerging priorities.

Congratulations!

The Ion Transporter NKCC1 Links Cell Volume to Cell Mass Regulation by Suppressing mTORC1

15 May 2019|

Wael Demian from the Rotin lab at Sickkids, recently published a Cell Reports paper showing that the ion transporter NKCC1, known to regulate cell volume, forms a complex with the leucine transporter LAT1 and the Gln transporter ASCT2, and regulates mTORC1 activation via LAT1 and growth factors signaling. Thus, the work of Demian, et al. provides a long-sought link between […]

Summer Student Enrichment Program in Biochemistry (SSEPB) 2019

13 May 2019|

Each year the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto provides a program devoted to enriching the overall experience of undergraduate students doing research in labs over the summer. The students learn and practice communication skills through a Three-Minute Thesis competition and by presenting there work at a research poster day. The Program also features faculty speakers talking about the breadth of research interests in the Department, and have […]

Dr. David Andrews’ latest discovery highlighted

12 April 2019|

By Matthew Pariselli

In a new eLife paper, Dr. David Andrews, a senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and his lab show how an interaction between proteins promotes cancer cell survival.

Andrews, who is also a professor in the department of biochemistry at the University of Toronto, discovered that Bim, a pro-cell-death protein, binds to anti-cell-death proteins at two sites, rendering it “double-bolt locked.” Previously, it was thought there was […]

10,000 PhDs Project Highlighted in Science

15 March 2019|

A March 12th article in Science Careers on the changing career landscape for PhD graduates highlighted the 10,000 PhDs Project and the importance of determining the career outcomes of PhD graduates.

The 10 founding universities in the Coalition for Next Generation Life Sciences, including UCSF, Johns Hopkins and Cornell, have now released data on their PhD students, including times to completion and their career choices within 1 year after graduation, 5 […]