The Department of Biochemistry is proud to announce that Alexa Fitzpatrick is 1 of 5 recipients of the 2022 TATP Excellence Award, recognizing the outstanding achievements of Teaching Assistants at the University of Toronto. As a TA in BCH210H and BCH311H, Alexa has taught over a thousand students in the life sciences programs, which will have a lasting impact on their careers […]
In the latest issue of Molecular Cell, the Maxwell, Davidson and Moraes labs identify and characterize Aqs1, a multi-purpose DMS3 phage protein. Aqs1 binds and inhibits LasR, which is required for quorum sensing and the release of several anti-phage defenses in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. But that’s not all. Aqs1 also binds PilB, and thereby blocks pilus assembly. Since the bacterial pilus helps phage to infect, Aqs1 prevents further […]
Congratulations to Professor Karen Maxwell who was awarded the 2020 NSERC John C. Polanyi Award. She received this award for her pioneering work investigating how bacteria like Streptomyces fight of phages by producing small molecules. This breakthrough not only reveals new biology about bacterial-phage interactions, but it also opens up a new way to screen for drugs that could be useful for the treatment of human cancers and […]
Biochemistry’s own Karen Maxwell is featured in the Globe and Mail’s feature on women in STEM. Please click here to view the details.
Featured on the cover of Cell, Biochemistry’s Dr. Alan Davidson and Dr. Karen Maxwell helped to discover how to turn off CRISPR. Read the full story.