Kiarash Jamali, a Ph.D. student in Sjors Scheres’ group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, and David Posner, a Ph.D. student in Menna Clatworthy’s group in the University of Cambridge’s Molecular Immunity Unit (housed at the LMB), are two of the 2024 recipients of the Ph.D. Student Awards from the Cambridge Society for the Application of Research (CSAR). The CSAR Ph.D. Student Awards are given in recognition of outstanding research with real world application in any discipline, and assist students to further pursue their research careers.
Kiarash Jamali
Kiarash’s Ph.D. work is focused on applying deep learning to electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). He has developed the ModelAngelo software which utilises cutting-edge algorithms and neural networks to build atomic models. The programme has also shown aptitude at identifying novel proteins in structures. It promises to drastically reduce the time needed for structural studies, and has already proved useful in varied applications including in drug discovery pipelines in pharmaceutical companies.
Prior to joining the LMB in October 2021, Kiarash received a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Toronto, Canada. He applied his machine learning knowledge at the Vector Institute in Toronto working with Frank Rudzicz on developing new neural network architectures. He later took a position as a machine learning scientist at the start-up Semantic Health, which applies the natural language processing (NLP) branch of artificial intelligence to medical data and documentation.
Kiarash’s research has previously been awarded with the 2023 Perutz Student Prize.
David Posner
David is a final year Ph.D. student and has focused his research on the interplay between the immune system and neurodegenerative diseases. In close collaboration with Maria Grazia Spillantini at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences, he has examined the role of the immune system in Parkinson’s Disease pathology from the perspective of a tissue called the meninges.
David grew up between Mexico and California and spent his summer breaks discovering a passion for biology and learning how to do research at various labs, including at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Dartmouth University. He followed this passion to Siena College in New York where he received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Following this, David moved to Belgium as part-time au pair and research assistant at KU Leuven for 6 months. David came to Cambridge to work with neuroimmunologist Adrian Liston at the Babraham Institute before joining Menna’s lab as a Ph.D. student.
In the coming months, David is moving to Mexico to write his thesis and do outreach work before returning to the UK to begin a postdoc at the University of Manchester.
Further references
Sjors’ group page
Menna’s page
ModelAngelo software expands cryo-EM toolkit with faster atomic model building and identification of novel proteins
CSAR Ph.D. Student Awards