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Engagements are the flavour of the last month or so!
We finished off 2024 with one current lab member getting engaged and one former lab member also getting engaged! Recently completed BSc Hons student Simone is now engaged to her partner Shay (who recently completed a Film Studies degree at USyd and is hoping to head to drama school in 2025), while former Hons student and research assistant Tash was the recipient of an elegant (and practical) silicone ring from her engineer partner Harrison. Both romantic gestures, but it's likely that only Tash's ring will be able to be used to reseal a leaking camp stove when in the bush... I should also add that Harrisoin's proposal was made when they were half-way up a 270-m, eight-pitch climb in the...
Structural biology’s annual Xmas croquet picnic – 2024 edition
Perfect weather and a newly renovated lawn greeted us upon arrival at the Marrickville Croquet Club - and of course our resident croquet host-tutor, the recently un-retired Prof. Gareth Denyer. A total of 28 of the Structural Biology cooperative turned up, many bringing home-made food, including some national specialties; I was quite partial to the Georgian Nigvziani Badrijani (cheesy flatbread) and Kachapuri (eggplant and walnuts), Clement's potato salad and Shahnaz' fishcakes [with Alysha's Kourabiedes (Greek Xmas cookies) and Jacqui's Australasian pavlova - kiwifruit on one half and mango on the other - getting special mention for dessert. OK - I had some of Milad's baklava too...]....
Honours ice cream celebration!
The BSc Hons students for 2024 have given all the talks, submitted all the theses and generally ticked all the boxes that are required for the year and have had the chance to enjoy a well deserved gelato from Messina up in Newtown. Well done Simone, Jenny and Angela from the Mackay lab and Caitlyn, Esther and Sienna from other parts of Structural Biology - time for a breather!
Wanted: postdoc biochemist/structural biologist to work with Richard Payne, Sydney/US startup INSAMO (and me). Goal: use cyclic peptide mRNA display to design cell-permeable peptide-based protein degraders: https://usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/USYD_EXTERNAL_CAREER_SITE/job/Darlington-Campus/Postdoctoral-Researcher-in--Peptide-Based-Drug-Discovery_0131612-1
Email for more info: joel.mackay@sydney.edu.au
Have been off X for months but had to log in to see response to AF3. I am much less smart than the authors - but am I (and Erin) the only ones to think that the helical afros that it makes out of IDRs is totally weird? Am I missing something?
This is supercool, but it does like folding everything, even things that are probably disordered... As always, use with caution, and consult your friendly structural biologist before investing too much in low confidence predictions.
Oscar’s Hut2Hut 2022
Oscars Hut2Hut is a 100-km trail run in the Victorian Alps with epic amounts of ascent and descent (5800 m of each) and a *lot* of technical sections. A good chunk of it is above the treeline with spectacular 360-degree views - on a good day... which is the...
Taylor and Rezwan become truer and bluer
Congratulations to former Mackay lab PhD student Taylor Szyszka and current Ataide lab researcher Rezwan Siddiquee for having their Australian permanent residency just confirmed. They will be saying "that isn't a knife..." and sandpapering cricket balls before you...
Lab Xmas bbq and croquet afternoon
As has become our custom, we twisted Gareth's arm to book us an afternoon at the Marrickville Croquet Club for our Xmas do. It is a most excellent location - as well as the obvious croquet lawn, it features a lovely parkland setting, our own bbq, kitchen, covered...
Our first step into the world of invertebrate transcription factors…
As part of a collaboration with Ron Hill (formerly CSIRO - now part of the structural biology discipline here at USyd), Jason and Joel helped out (well, mostly Jason) with Ron's characterization of the insect juvenile hormone receptor. Along with the ecdysone...
Joel successful with NHMRC Ideas Grant (hooray!)
Grants from NHMRC and ARC are becoming a bit harder to come by in recent years, so we were very relieved to secure an Ideas Grant working in collaboration with Dr Alex Norman - a peptide chemist and existing collaborator with the group of Richard Payne in Chemistry...
It’s raining babies!
Recent PhD graduate Mehdi and his wife Diba have just welcomed a new family member - their daughter Rosha who was borne at 00:34 on 9 August this year. All are healthy and raring to go on their latest project. And you thought the NuRD complex was challenging,...
Jason wins drug discovery seed grant
Jason has been successful in winning a $15,000 grant from the ECR seed funding program of the USyd Drug Discovery Initiative. This grant will help him pursue his mRNA-display based hunt for inhibitors of oncogenic transcription factors. Super stuff Jason!
Did I already mention that there are a lot of lab babies appearing lately?
Announcing the arrival into the world of Oren Lucev O’Connell, born on last Saturday morning at 3:49 am (GMT -4) and weighing in at 8lb 2oz. Direct report from new dad Mitch: "Mum (Annabelle) and baby are doing wonderfully, and we’re having fun adjusting to our new...
*Another* lab baby! Where are they all coming from?
Well, this one is coming to us courtesy of Jason and his wife Mel (mostly Mel) - he hasn't been given a name yet, so I think we'll just call him X. Actually, that could be quite a cool name... Here is is pictured with his elder brother Michael - who looks much...
Welcome to Adnan Shaik!
Dr Anjumara Shaik, who has been working with our collaborator Alyson Ashe on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, has just become a new mother on 3 June - and here you can see her husband Asif Pasha and her new son Adnan (who doesn't look that pleased about...
Joel’s Braidwood-Bermagui bike weekend
With the lack of international bike touring possibilities at the moment, Joel's been looking for options closer to home. Last weekend, he loaded up his gravel bike and headed south to do a loop from Braidwood to Bermagui on the coast, and back a different way...
Lorna weaves (well, knits) her magic!
Lorna has been busy preparing for the Sydney Royal Easter Show - and has come up with the goods. Her knitted fingerless mittens have snared first prize at the Show in the Adult Knitted Accessories division. Storming work Lorna. I'm expecting a lab coat...