Phosphorylation is a reversible post-translational modification bestowed on proteins, by which phosphate is added or removed from protein substrates. Reversible phosphorylation is capable of regulating proteins in virtually every conceivable way.

Researchers have uncovered multiple phosphorylation sites in the protein Shp1/p47 that are altered in response to cell stress. This finding could be important for understanding the regulation of cellular quality control pathways linked to diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration.

Dario Alessi has been named as the winner of the 2023 Jeantet-Collen Prize for Translational Medicine. The award is given by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mark Peggie, Head of the MRC PPU’s cloning team for many years, who died suddenly on January 17th 2023 at the age of 54.

We are delighted to announce that our latest MRC PPU group leader, Chiara Maniaci, has now opened her laboratory.

Tom Williams, who has been working as a postdoctoral researcher in Adrien Rousseau’s group since 2019 has been awarded the British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB) postdoctoral researcher medal for 2023.

For many years, it has thought that eight types of ubiquitin chain can be formed in cells in which the C-terminal carboxylate of ubiquitin forms isopeptide bonds with the ε-amino group of any of the seven lysine residues in another ubiquitin molecule or a peptide bond with the α-amino group of the N-terminal methionine residue of another ubiquitin (Met1-linked ubiquitin).

Dr. Mahima Swamy from the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU) in the University of Dundee has been chosen to join the prestigious EMBO Young Investigator network, recognizing her as one of the rising stars in biology in Europe.

Dr Greg Findlay and Professor Satpal Virdee, Principal Investigators in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, have been awarded Wellcome Discovery Awards. The 8-year funding that totals ~£4.2M will support their research in Intellectual Disability and E3 ligase enzymes, respectively.

Nick Brewer, Ian Ganley, and Yogesh Kulathu have been promoted to Personal Chair (Professor) as part of the 2022 Annual Review process for academic staff.

Nick Brewer