Biochemistry, University of Toronto

A novel potential approach to treat cancer: Targetting NUAK2 to block oncogenic YAP/TAZ signaling during tumorigenesis

3 October 2018|

Time-lapse imaging of Clover-YAP WT (first movie) and 5SA (second movie) in MDA-MB231 cells. Localization of Clover-YAP WT (wild type) and 5SA (mutant at all five LATS targeting sites) was monitored before and after addition of NUAK2 specific inhibitor, WZ4003. Note that the nuclear signal is gradually lost after addition of WZ4003 in cells expressing YAP-WT but not affected in YAP-5SA. Images were captured every 10 min for 2 hours. […]

18th International Conference on Retinal Proteins

Jolyn Duan2018-09-21T09:57:27+00:0021 September 2018|

Oliver Ernst (Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics) and Leonid Brown (University of Guelph) are organizing the 18th International Conference on Retinal Proteins, 24-29 September 2018, Hockley Valley Resort, Ontario (1h northwest of Toronto). The Resort is fully booked, but day registrations are still possible to get latest insight into retinal proteins, which are key to optogenetics and understanding GPCR signaling. The conference welcomes two of the 2018 Gairdner awardees. For […]

Dr. Nana Lee participates in Stanford’s University Life Design Studio

Jolyn Duan2018-09-05T09:39:27+00:005 September 2018|

Dr. Nana Lee was accepted as part of the University of Toronto’s team to attend the globally known Life Design Studio at Stanford University in June, 2018. Her four-day training in design thinking will be incorporated into her latest course in graduate professional development to help students use engineering design concepts toward their graduate experience and beyond.

Emil Pai Symposium and Retirement

Jolyn Duan2018-08-08T10:36:39+00:008 August 2018|

Emil F. Pai is retiring after more than 25 years at the University of Toronto. Emil joined the Departments of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics from the Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg in 1991 as a NSERC Industrial Research Chair following a global search for a renowned protein crystallographer to nucleate structural biology at the University of Toronto. Emil was already well-known for determining the first crystal structure of […]

Five Biochemistry Graduate Students win big at the Annual 2018 American Crystallographic Association meeting

Jolyn Duan2018-07-27T09:58:18+00:0027 July 2018|

Congratulations to graduate students: Matt McCallum, Andreea Gheorghita, and Thomas Bateman for winning the Pauling Poster Prizes and Ondrej Halgas and Natalie Bamford for winning the Taylor & Francis Biomolecular Crystallography Poster Prize and the Louis Delbaere Pauling Poster Prize, respectively, at the 2018 American Crystallographic Association (ACA) meeting held at the Sheraton Hotel, Toronto, July 22-26.

A special congratulations to Andreea Gheorghita for also winning the inaugural ACA Three minute thesis competition.

Our Politicians Need to Understand Why Science Matters

Jolyn Duan2018-07-18T09:45:25+00:0018 July 2018|

Reinhart Reithmeier and Peter Love, Vice-Chair and Chair respectfully, of the Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience) published an Op-Ed piece in the July 14 issue of the Toronto Star entitled “Our Politicians Need to Understand Why Science Matters”.

The article highlights the importance of science in driving innovation, in our educational system, and in the public and political arenas. It raises concerns about the dismissal of Ontario’s Chief […]

Molecular Dynamics of a Blood Group Antigen

Jolyn Duan2018-07-18T09:26:06+00:0018 July 2018|

In a collaborative project started during a sabbatical leave at Oxford, Reinhart Reithmeier and Antreas Kalli (Leeds) used computer simulations to characterize the dynamics of the human red blood cell anion transport protein Band 3 in a complex lipid bilayer.

The study was published on-line July 16^th in PLOS Computational Biology.

The simulations showed that the signalling lipid, PIP₂, binds to specific sites on the Band 3 protein, a hub […]

2018 Faculty Promotions

Jolyn Duan2018-07-04T16:35:04+00:004 July 2018|

The following faculty members received academic promotion this year:

Congratulation to Drs. Alex Ensminger and Roman Melnyk who have been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry.

Also, Dr. Gregory Fairn (primary appointment: Surgery) has been promoted to Associate Professor, and Drs. Walter Kahr (primary appointment: Paediatrics) and Aleixo Muise (primary appointment: Paediatrics) have been promoted to the rank of Full Professor.

Congratulations to you […]

Dysregulation of the human mitochondrial protease ClpP induces cancer cell death

Jolyn Duan2018-07-04T16:25:57+00:004 July 2018|

Acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs) compounds have bactericidal properties via dysregulating the activity of the highly conserved tetradecameric bacterial ClpP protease. In a recent publication in Cell Chemical Biology, Keith S. Wong and co-authors from the Houry group have reported on the identification of ADEP analogs that are potent dysregulators of the human mitochondrial ClpP (HsClpP). These analogs interact with HsClpP at high affinity, causing the protease to non-specifically degrade model […]

2018 Biochemistry Golf Day

David Williams2018-07-02T07:23:20+00:0027 June 2018|

This year’s Golf Day dawned bright and sunny with a cool breeze that was perfect for our Departmental tournament. A record 32 biochemists (and a sprinkling of Immunologists) headed out to the little-known jewel of mid-town Toronto – the Flemingdon Park 9-hole Golf Course. Each team had its share of beginners and ringers playing a “best ball” format that allowed everyone […]

Biochemistry Undergraduate Teaching Retreat

Jolyn Duan2018-06-27T14:54:28+00:0027 June 2018|

On June 5, 2018 faculty met in the Division of Teaching Labs new Active Collaboration Rooms to discuss active learning strategies, the biochemistry undergraduate programs and curriculum reform. The retreat generated many great discussions around teaching, with faculty sharing their experiences and working together on the vision for undergraduate education.

Malaria: Cooperating antibodies enhance immune response

Jolyn Duan2018-06-20T11:31:51+00:0020 June 2018|

Source: Steve Bryson, PhD

Malaria is one of the most inflicting infectious diseases worldwide. Each year, an estimated 200 million people contract malaria and approximately 440,000 people succumb to the infectious disease.

Scientists in the Julien lab at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and their collaborators at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany, have studied how the human immune system combats malaria infections. In this […]