Oliver Beckstein

Oliver joined the Wellcome program in 2000 after a degree in physics and worked with Professor Mark Sansom. He used molecular dynamic approaches to provide insight into ion channel permeation and gating [1]. After a Research Fellowship at Merton College, Oxford, Oliver is now running his own group in the Physics Department at Arizona State University, applying molecular simulations to study membrane protein systems.

[1] Beckstein O and Sansom MSP. The influence of geometry, surface character and flexibility on the permeation of ions and water through biological pores. Phys. Biol. (2004) 1, 42–52.

 

Thomas Bowden

Thomas joined the Wellcome program in 2005 and worked with Professors David Stuart and Yvonne Jones. He used X-ray crystallography to understand how proteins from the emerging Nipah and Hendra viruses interact with cell surface glycoproteins during the process of viral invasion [1]. Thomas is now holder of a prestigious Sir Henry Wellcome fellowship, allowing him to continue to work on invasion in Oxford, St Andrews and the Scripps Institute in California.

[1] Bowden TA, Ariescu AR, Gilbert RJ, Grimes JM, Jones EY, and Stuart DI. Structural basis of Nipah and Hendra virus attachment to their cell-surface receptor ephrin-B2. Nat Struct Mol Biol. (2008) 15, 567-572

 

John Briggs

John joined the Wellcome program in 2000 and worked with Professor Stephen Fuller. He used electron microscopy to investigate a variety of retroviruses, in particular HIV-1 [1]. John is now leading a research team at the EMBL in Heidelberg where he uses cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to understand the structure and life cycle of pathogenic asymmetric viruses including Ebola and HIV-1, as well as the structures of cellular vesicles.

[1] Briggs et al. Structural organization of authentic, mature HIV-1 visions and cores. EMBO J (2003) 22, 1707-1715

 

Charlotte Coles

Charlotte joined the Wellcome program in 2006 and worked with Dr Radu Ariescu and Professor Yvonne Jones. She used X-ray crystallography, amongst other biophysical techniques, to study receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs), in particular the mechanisms by which their interaction with proteoglycans modulates nerve regeneration [1]. In her postdoctoral studies, Charlotte is investigating the role of RPTPs in regulating synapse formation, also in the group of Professor Yvonne Jones.

[1] Coles CH, Shen Y, Tenney AP, Siebold C, Sutton GC, Lu W, Gallagher JT, Jones EY, Flanagan JG, and Aricescu AR. Proteoglycan-specific RPTPσ clustering as a molecular switch for neuronal outgrowth. Science (2011) 332, 484-488