A molecular view of gene regulation:
protein structure, function and engineering
BLOG / Photo Gallery
Xmas stroll in the Royal National Park
Joel and Jacqui took advantage of the cool weather to head down the RNP and see what the wildflower situation was lik...
You don’t get this aesthetic beauty from Alphafold…
We have just solved a structure working with SOLES colleague Tara Christie (not to mention Toby Passioura and Rich Pa...
Beautiful, but CruEL…
Well, it’s one of those classic structural biology stories… Scientist (Anjumara) purifies and crystallize...
Ngaio, Mario and Martina
Although the proud parents missed the opportunity to give the new addition to their family a name ending in “o&...
Joels NBD…
…which means New Bike Day in bike geek lingo… Joel has spent a bit of time (well, quite a bit of time) bu...
Our first mRNA display paper hits the internet in PNAS
A big paper for us – out now here! Working with Louise Walport and Toby Passioura, who were themselves working ...
Jason heads to Blighty
Former lab member Jason Schmidberger (postdoc 2015-6) has packed up his Akubra (and his family) and made a big move t...
Big news (x2) for Michael Webster in Strasbourg
Michael – an Hons student in the lab in 2012 – has been extra productive in his postdoc in Strasbourg lat...
Lab alum Kaavya smashing it in GPCR world
This week’s edition of Science magazine features an article on which Kaavya Krishna Kumar – PhD student w...
Lab Members
Prof. Joel Mackay
PI with longstanding interests in gene regulation, structural biology, statistics/data analysis, bike touring, rogaining, trail running – and cats.
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Prof. Jacqui Matthews
PI with personal chair – hooping name “Alpha Helix” and currently President of the ASBMB.
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Dr Ron Hill
Honorary Associate with a ton of experience (at CSIRO) in insect transcription factor structure and function – hoping to do some fundamental biochemistry and drug discovery.
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Dr Mohammadreza Nassiri
Sabbatical visitor from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in Iran – here to learn some protein structure and design in Joel’s lab.
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Angela Nikolic
Our lab manager (the person who *really* runs the lab). Watch out if you aren’t wearing your lab coat!
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Dr Jason Low
Postdoc in the Mackay lab – fresh from a PhD at UNSW with Prof. Marc Wilkins – continuing on a theme of gene regulatory proteins (with less yeast). Now with added baby!
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Dr Ingrid MacIndoe
After BSc Hons with Joel, a PhD with Margie and a schoolteaching sabbatical in Japan, Ingrid is back (and blonder than before) to get a bit more cellular…but with a structural twist. Temporarily on hold while she creates a family!
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Dr Hakimeh Moghaddas Sani
Visiting scientist who was *previously* a visiting student! Who can blame her for coming back?!
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Dr Ngaio Smith
PhD student with Jacqui. Tried to escape but is stuck with us for the time being!
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Dr Chandrika Deshpande
Membrane protein crystallography afionado working with Joel on a collaboration with Prof Michael Kassiou to design new modulators of P2X proteins.
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James Woodmansey
PhD student working with Jacqui *and* Joel. Tricky position!
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Maryam Sana
PhD student working with Joel. Has taken a little (but only a little!) time out to join the ranks of motherhood.
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Charlotte Franck
Joint PhD student working with Richard Payne in Chemistry and Joel. Should become an expert in connecting proteins to peptides – and has the distinction of being our second Belgian lab member…
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Jessica Zhong
PhD student working with Joel. Currently focused on beating nucleosomes into shape.
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Karishma Patel
PhD Hons student with Joel. Bravely venturing across the Tasman for her PhD. Doubling the number of people in the lab who know what jandals are.
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Paul Solomon
PhD student with Joel following on from TSP project. Wants to rebuild protein NMR data analysis from the bottom up – and fly planes.
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Kim Woollett
PhD student with Joel who has made the jump from membrane proteins to transcription factors – very sensible!
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Xavier Reid
Previously known as “BSc Hons student working with Joel and Jason” – now promoted to PhD student!
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Rezwan Siddiquee
Intern/Hons student/RA/web designer/Taylor’s other half. Truly a man for all seasons.
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Natasha Jones
Research assistant working with Joel on a collaborative project with Alyson Ashe – on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Enjoyed her BSc Hons year with Joel and Ana and her undergrad project before that so much we couldn’t keep her away.
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Angus Hawken
Undergraduate student with an interest in protein design and engineering – working with Jason on the new and exciting monobody project…
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Eve Borbilas
Hons student working in Joel’s lab on transcription factor PTMs – ably supervised by Ingrid and Kim.
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Aaron Misquitta
Undergraduate student digging into the mechanism of chromatin remodelling under Jessica’s watchful eye.
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Nuren Tasneem
Intrepid MSc student working with Yu Heng Lau in Chemistry on the very cool encapsulin family of proteins and spending some time in Joel’s lab to flex her protein biochemistry muscles.
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Thu Vu
Research Assistant with Jacqui
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