H to M

Circadian rhythms are those daily cycles of physiology and behaviour that persist when organisms are isolated from the external world. They are expressed at all levels of life, from prokaryotic blue-green algae to higher plants and animals. More…

Cells are highly compartmentalized into numerous membrane-bound organelles. The membranes that define each organelle contain unique sets of embedded proteins that impart distinct functionalities to that organelle. How are all these different proteins selectively targeted to their correct destinations? And once they get there, how are membrane proteins inserted, folded, and assembled properly into the lipid bilayer? More…

We aim to determine the atomic structure of interesting or important membrane proteins and membrane protein complexes. Although much can be done using existing methods such as X-ray crystallography of 3D crystals or electron crystallography of 2D crystals, there are still many structures that have resisted our best efforts to crystallise them. More…

A critical event in the origin of life is thought to be the emergence of a molecule capable of self-replication as well as mutation, and hence evolution towards more efficient replication. We have built a powerful in vitro system for directed evolution, called compartmentalized self-replication (CSR), which mimics this process in the laboratory. More…

Despite extracellular adaptive and innate immunity, viral and bacterial pathogens are still able to infect cells. Because of this there must be a way to neutralise pathogens once they are inside the cell. Historically, infected cells have been seen as largely helpless and only able to signal for help. More…

Our broad goal is to understand how smell turns into behaviour in the fruit fly brain. We currently use a combination of genetic labelling and manipulation, targeted in vivo whole cell patch clamp recording and high resolution computational neuroanatomy to study olfactory circuits. More…

Many types of cells can crawl slowly from place to place, guided by gradients of attractive or repulsive chemicals in their environment. Chemotaxis helps to pattern the embryo, and in later life it is required for healing wounds and attracting immune cells to infections. More…

Protein ubiquitination affects many fundamental cellular processes. This versatility is achieved by the ability of ubiquitin to form at least eight types of polymers, and cells utilise this repertoire of modifications extensively. More…

The processing of information in the nervous system depends on rapid communication at the synapse by the release of neurotransmitters contained within small vesicles. We are investigating this process in the retina to understand how synapses transmit and transform the visual signal. More…

The genome of a cell is continuously exposed to different compounds and types of radiation that can alter the chemical composition of the DNA. More…

We are involved in projects to determine the atomic structures of macromolecular complexes and membrane proteins using X-ray diffraction. More…

Many cellular processes depend on complex proteins that share characteristics with machines: they contain multiple components, and make use of mechanical devices such as lever arms. More…

Immune cells secrete a spectrum of interleukins, which play a critical role in regulating antibody production, inflammation and haematopoiesis. Dysregulation of these factors can lead to the manifestation of diseases such as asthma, autoimmunity and leukaemia More…

Cell shape is adapted to function. Organelle shape and local membrane architectures are likewise optimised for the processes that take place on and within these microenvironments. More…

The compartments of the secretory and endocytic pathways are connected by membrane-bound carriers that bud from, and then fuse with, specific organelles. The accuracy of this traffic depends on the organelles having an 'identity' by which the trafficking machinery can recognise them. More…

Proteins, nucleic acids and other biological macromolecules take part virtually in all processes within living organisms. Knowledge of their 3-dimensional structures is essential for understanding how they work. X-ray crystallography is a powerful experimental technique that gives 3D structures with high accuracy. More…

The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) is an ongoing project established in 1994. We produce and maintain the SCOP database, a “periodic table” of proteins that provides a detailed and comprehensive description of the relationships of all known protein structures. More…