News & Events

Alex Palazzo wins award for excellence in graduate teaching

2 February 2020|

Alex Palazzo was awarded a 2019-2020 Faculty of Medicine Graduate Teaching Award for Mid-Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship.

Professor Palazzo was one of two recipients honoured with the faculty teaching award in this category, to recognize and celebrate outstanding contributions to graduate education.  Candidates are nominated by their Graduate Unit through a student (or recent graduate) – initiated process and the awards are adjudicated by the Faculty of […]

How bacterial invaders are sensed in the gut

25 October 2019|

A new paper in the latest issue of Science describes how the bacterial-sensing proteins, NOD1/2, are recruited to the membranes of our gut cells for them to function to initiate a proper immune response. This involves the addition of a lipid, palmitoyl, to NOD1/2 by the palmitoyl-transferase ZDHHC5. Importantly variants of NOD2 that are associated with Crohn’s disease are unable to be palmitoylated.  This work involved an international collaboration […]

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)

Red Cell Anion Exchanger Makes the Cover of Biophysical Journal

1 October 2019|

Dario De Vecchis, a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Antreas Kalli at Leeds, University, in a collaborative project with Reinhart Reithmeier used molecular dynamics simulations to build the first atomic scale model of the red cell anion exchanger in a complex lipid bilayer that mimics the native membrane. This work appeared in the latest edition of the Biophyisical Journal.  The modelling revealed the dynamic nature […]

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 […]

Biochemistry Department Retreat 2019

7 September 2019|

The 2019 Biochemistry Retreat was a huge success. Members of the department spent September 4th to the 6th up at Geneva Park where they heard talks from students, postdocs, faculty and invited speakers. In the midst of all this, department members partook in a scavenger hunt, fireside singing and other group activities. the department also distributed awards to its trainees for their accomplishments.

Here are some highlights:

Sarah Kronheim from the […]

Enzymatic Activity Regulated by Phase Separation

24 August 2019|

In the latest issue of Science the Forman-Kay lab demonstrate that as proteins transition from the bulk solution to a phase separated condensate in a test tube, this regulates their ability to affect translation and deadenylation in the same manner observed in the cell. Partitioning of components of the translational machinery away from the mRNA can block translation while the unique condensate environment can activate deadenylation.

A previous dogma […]

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 […]