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Sponsored award winners

The Biochemical Society and Portland Press journals are proud to support the research community through sponsorship at scientific meetings and events, particularly when we have the opportunity to highlight and promote the work of early-career researchers in the molecular biosciences. If you would like to suggest a scientific meeting or event where one of our journals could support an award, please contact the Editorial Office.

Sponsored by Biochemical Journal

Winners of Biochemical Journal sponsored prizes at the Biochemical Society 2023 DUBs (Deubiquitylases and Ubl-proteases: from fundamental principles to therapeutic opportunities) meeting.

Benjamin Foster is a postdoctoral research associate investigating the role of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like signalling in genome stability. His research has focussed on the biochemical activity of a recently discovered DUB, ZUP1, in replication-coupled DNA repair in the lab of Ian Gibbs-Seymour at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. Outside of the lab, Ben is actively involved in numerous Early Career Researcher representative activities in Oxford and in the Biochemical Society as a member of ECAP and the Research Area V: Signalling theme panel.

Pei Yee Tey is a Ph.D candidate under the supervision of Prof. Sylvie Urbé and Prof. Michael Clague at the University of Liverpool. Prior to starting her Ph.D, she studied BSc Biomedical Sciences at University College London (UCL), where she first became interested in cell biology. She later continued to study MRes in Cell Biology at UCL, during which she investigated how attenuated mutations in the envelope protein of pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus affect virological synapse formation and envelope sorting during infection, under the supervision of Prof. Mark Marsh and Dr. Scott Lawrence. Funded by a Wellcome Trust Ph.D studentship, her current research focuses on understanding how ubiquitylation governs the stability and sorting of a remarkably short-lived immune checkpoint protein, CTLA4. She aims to combine siRNA- and CRIPSR-Cas9-based screening approaches to identify deubiquitylases (DUBs) and E3 ligases that control CTLA4 stability.

As part of the Biochemical Society’s Kinases and Pseudokinases Symposium held on 26 May 2021, a Biochemical Journal sponsored prize was awarded to Florentine Rutaganira for her excellent work.

Dr. Florentine Rutaganira is an HHMI Hanna H. Gray postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratory of Professor Nicole King. She uses chemistry to generate probes to study kinases in choanoflagellates, single-celled organisms that are the closest living relatives of animals. Recent sequencing efforts with choanoflagellates have uncovered many animal genes that are present in choanoflagellates. In particular, choanoflagellates have a large number of tyrosine kinases and phosphotyrosine phosphatases, signaling proteins that regulate many aspects of animal biology including intercellular communication. Since some choanoflagellates are able to form colonies, Dr. Rutaganira is studying whether tyrosine kinase signaling regulates choanoflagellate multicellular development. By studying choanoflagellates, she hopes to uncover new insight into human biology which may lead to new approaches to treat human disease.

The Biochemical Journal sponsored an award for the best oral presentation at the 44th Indian Biophysical Society Meeting 2022, where the main theme was ‘Conceptual Advances in Biophysics and its application’. This Biochemical Journal award was presented to Aasna L Parui for a talk on ‘Inter-subunit Crosstalk via PDZ Synergistically Governs Allosteric Activation of Proapoptotic HtrA2’.

The Biochemical Journal are delighted to have sponsored two poster prizes at the Biochemical Society’s Small G proteins in cellular signalling and disease held from 12 to 15 September 2022. We would like to congratulate the winners below.

Eric Zhang is a 4th year PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Eitzen at the University of Alberta. Eric’s research focuses on how the release of proinflammatory mediators is regulated in mast cells. Specifically, Eric studies the involvement of the Rho family of small GTPases in this process and how these proteins are regulated by RhoGDIs. To study this, Eric examines how the properties of Rho GTPase activity and exocytosis of mast cells are affected by the manipulation of RhoGDIs.

Hannah Comfort is a Biochemistry PhD student in the lab of Helen Mott and Darerca Owen at the University of Cambridge. She previously completed her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Nottingham, including a year in industry at AstraZeneca which inspired her interest in molecular pharmacology. Her PhD project is funded by the AstraZeneca/University of Cambridge Programme and aims to develop peptides that inhibit oncogenic K-Ras/effector interactions through the use of protein engineering and structure-based design.

The Biochemical Journal are delighted to have sponsored the poster prizes at the Biochemical Society’s 88th Harden Conference, Beyond catalysis: kinases and pseudokinases held 31 October - 3 November 2022. We would like to congratulate the winners below.

Caroline Babisz is a 3rd year PhD student at the Barts Cancer Institute (Queen Mary University of London). She is working with Dr Tanya Soliman in the Kinase Signalling and Cancer Lab. Caroline is using experimental and computational approaches to unravel the complex mechanisms behind kinase substrate specificity. Other than her love for kinases, Caroline is passionate about science communication and in her free time she does science writing and gets involved with public engagement projects.

Kritica Sharma is a PhD Candidate in the laboratory of Prof. Sandhya S. Visweswariah in Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, India. Kritica’s work focusses on understanding the role of GUCY2C variants in gastrointestinal disorders like diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, meconium ileus etc.

Luke McAloon is a 3rd year PhD Candidate in the laboratory of Dr John W Scott at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Melbourne, Australia. His research is focused on unravelling the regulation of “dark kinases” using a combination of radiometric, proteomic and biochemical-based assays. In particular, Luke is working to further characterise the calmodulin-regulated kinase PSKH1, a golgi/splice-factor associated serine/threonine kinase recently implicated as a top 6 candidate driver for prostate cancer progression. This kinase is severely understudied, with most references in the literature being only incidental to the respective research. His hope is that by elucidating the mechanisms that regulate this kinase, further insights can be gained that progress our understanding of this protein’s role in aggressive subtypes of reproductive cancer, which collectively kill thousands of Australians every year.

Nefeli Boni-Kazantzidou is a 4th year PhD researcher in the lab of Professors Claire and Patrick Eyers at the Centre for Proteome Research/Department of Biochemistry and Systems Biology at the University of Liverpool, UK. She is supported by a North West Cancer Research studentship. Her PhD research focuses on using mass-spectrometry based proteomics and phospho-proteomics approaches to investigate drug tolerance and resistance mechanisms in cell-based models of non-small-cell lung cancer. Outside of the lab, Nefeli is passionate about science communication and making science accessible and inclusive- and is currently a member of the IUBMB’s Trainee Initiative leadership committee.

The Biochemical Journal is delighted to have sponsored poster prizes at the Binational RNA Meeting held in Uruguay, December 2-3 2022. We would like to congratulate the winners below.

Inés Beckerman is a 2nd year PhD Candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Manuel Muñoz at the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Physiology and Neurosciences (IFIBYNE) at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr. Muñoz’s group investigates the cellular response to ultraviolet-induced DNA damage. In particular, Inés is studying the mechanism that regulates the proteasomal degradation of RNA polymerase II in response to DNA damage. In addition to her laboratory work, she is passionate about the evolution of the mechanisms that control gene expression.

Andana Barrios is a 5th-year PhD student working in the Institute of Plant Science in the UniversitŽ Paris-Saclay in France and the Institute of Agrobiotechnology of the Litoral with the Universidad del Litoral in Argentina. She studies the interaction between transcription factors and long non-coding RNAs. Her research project is focused on the mechanisms regulating the transcription of genes responsible for the lateral root development of Arabidopsis thaliana, a model to study plant biology. In particular, Andana is studying how long non-coding RNAs can modulate the activity of highly conserved transcription factors combining transcriptomic, epigenetic, and phenotyping data.

Sponsored by Clinical Science

As part of Experimental Biology held 27-30th April 2021, Clinical Science are delighted to have sponsored the Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award. We would like to congratulate the winner below.

Winner of the Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award

Throughout Cam’s career, attenuation of cardiovascular diseases has been a consistent theme. Initially, this purpose was fulfilled through education in physical education and exercise science; however, since 2011, Cam has pursued training in the biomedical sciences, with particular emphasis on physiology and vascular biology. Given this background, Cam’s goal is to become a principal investigator and establish an independent research program in the fields of vascular physiology and pathophysiology of hypertension.

Within the hypertension field, Cam is particularly interested in premature vascular aging. It is well established that hypertension is a condition of premature vascular aging (relative to actual chronological age). In fact, many of the factors that contribute to the deterioration of vascular function as we age are accelerated and exacerbated in hypertension. Cam is interested in the underlying mechanisms as to why arteries from hypertensive animals and patients appear older than they actually are. He hypothesizes that a toxic accumulation of damaged organelles and cellular debris, as a result of an ineffective autophagy, causes cells in the vasculature to senesce and become dysfunctional. Furthermore, Cam is interested in elucidating novel mechanisms by which systemic upregulation/reconstitution of autophagy ameliorates the vascular aging phenotype and hypertension.

As part of the 33rd Annual Meeting Of the European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group held 21-22nd May 2021, Clinical Science are delighted to have sponsored two poster prizes. We would like to congratulate the winners below.

Poster prizes sponsored by Clinical Science at EDNSG 2021

Dr Natalie Jones is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh working on a Kidney Research UK funded project with Dr Geoff Culshaw to selectively target renal sodium transporters with the aim of restoring pressure natriuresis and circadian regulation of blood pressure in Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Natalie’s interest in renal physiology was honed during her PhD project with Professor Matthew Bailey in Edinburgh looking at the lactate receptor, GPR81, and renal haemodynamic control.

Jussi Inkeri, MD graduated from the University of Oulu in 2013. He is currently Consultant Radiologist (Abdominal Imaging) at HUS Medical Imaging Center in Helsinki University Hospital. He is also PhD student at University of Helsinki and at FinnDiane Study Group in Folkhälsan Research Center in Helsinki. His research is focused on the cerebral vasculopathy in type 1 diabetes.

The 2020 European Council for Cardiovascular Research (ECCR) Virtual Meeting held on 9-10 October was sponsored by Clinical Science. Professor Rhian Touyz, ECCR President and Clinical Science Editor-in-Chief, and the journal were delighted to sponsor several awards supporting early career researchers, and both she and Portland Press would like to congratulate all the winners below.

Category: Best Oral Presentation in the PhD student - Hamdi Jama

Hamdi Jama is a final year PhD student from Monash University under the supervision of A/Prof Francine Marques and Prof David Kaye. Her PhD research is on understanding the role of the gut microbiome in the development of cardiovascular disease. She is particularly interested in how dietary fibre intake can be used to modulate the gut microbiota and cardiovascular outcome.

Category: Best Oral Presentation in the PhD student - André Felipe Rodrigues

André F. Rodrigues is currently a PhD student in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Michael Bader at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin. His PhD project focuses on long-term blood pressure regulation, extensively exploring the interaction between the renin-angiotensin-system and the autonomic nervous system. To gain more insight on the topic, André uses an integrative physiological approach to phenotype gain and loss of function mouse models. In his home country Brazil, André obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s in biochemistry before moving to Germany to start his PhD.

Category: Best Oral Presentation in the Undergraduate student - Antonia Sanad

Antonia is a medical student at Charité Berlin. Currently, she is working on her MD-thesis in the lab of Professor Michael Bader at the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine. Her project focusses on possible renoprotective actions of the ACE2-Angiotensin(1-7)-Mas-Axis of the Renin-Angiotensin-System in chronic kidney disease. For this purpose, Antonia studies animal models with specific genetic alterations in this axis regarding cardiovascular and renal function in ageing and disease.

Category: Best Oral Presentation in the Post-Doctoral - Giacomo Rossitto

Giacomo graduated in medicine ‘magna cum laude’ in 2010 at the University of Padua, Italy. He specialised in Internal Medicine, with a clinical and research focus on hypertension, aldosteronism and cardiovascular medicine in general. Giacomo’s Ph.D. studies, investigating tissue salt accumulation and homeostasis in cardiovascular disease, were conducted at the British-Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Glasgow, UK, under the supervision of Prof. Christian Delles, Prof Mark Petrie and Prof Rhian Touyz. Giacomo is currently a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Padua, Italy and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Clinical Science are delighted to have sponsored the 2022 Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award as part of Experimental Biology held 2-5th April 2022. We would like to congratulate the winner below.

Winner of the Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award 2022

Dr Reem Atawia is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Belin de Chantemerle Lab at the Medical College of Georgia-Augusta University. Reem’s current research focuses on studying the role of dysregulated endothelial bioenergetics in vascular endothelial pathologies associated with metabolic disorders such as diabetes and lipodystrophy. Reem’s postdoctoral work was awarded the American Physiological Society (APS) postdoctoral fellowship and currently funded by the AHA postdoctoral fellowship.

As part of the Biochemical Society & BSRA Nutrition and the biology of ageing meeting, held 12-14 September 2022, Clinical Science are delighted to have sponsored the poster prize. We would like to congratulate the winner below.

Poster prize sponsored by Clinical Science at Nutrition and the biology of ageing 2022

Aygul Dagbasi is a postdoctoral researcher from Imperial College London. She started her career as a NHS dietitian at Rotherham NHS Trust. Her career took a turn towards research when she received Dean's Master Scholarship from Imperial College to do a masters of research in human nutrition. She completed her PhD under the supervision of Professor Gary Frost at Imperial College which investigated the effect of food structure on gut microbiota, ileal metabolism and appetite regulation. Aygul is also the organiser and a member of an UKRI funded ageing network called Ageing and Nutrient Sensing Network.

We would like to congratulate the winner of the 2023 Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award sponsored by Portland Press, which was presented at the APS Summit meeting in April 2023.

Winner of the 2023 Cardiovascular Section Clinical Science Young Investigator Award

Takuto Hamaoka is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Penn State University College of Medicine. He started his career in medicine as a cardiologist at Kanazawa University, Japan. During his carrier as a physician, he learned how important and difficult it is to evaluate and improve autonomic dysfunction in patients with cardiovascular diseases with the current clinical knowledge. Takuto has since shifted the direction of his career to research. Takuto has worked in Dr. Cui Jian’s lab since 2020 after completing his PhD in cardiovascular physiology and his research focuses on the role of autonomic reflexes (e.g., arterial baroreflex, mechano/metaboreflex in skeletal muscle, and peripheral venous distension reflex). Takuto’s research goal is to contribute to developing neuromodulation therapies that can improve the prognosis of patients with cardiovascular disease.