Chemistry Webinar Series

Keynote speaker: Dr Jerelle A. Joseph - How cells form compartments without walls

Most people are familiar with membrane-bound compartments inside cells, such as the nucleus and mitochondria. However, there are many compartments inside cells that are not enclosed by physical membranes. In this talk I will discuss the formation of “membraneless organelles” via the process of liquid-liquid phase separation. Although these compartments may play vital roles in cells, the mechanisms that lead to their formation and dissolution are still not well understood. I will demonstrate how, together with experiments, we have designed multiscale computational approaches to better elucidate the molecular details of intracellular phase separation.

Undergraduate speakers:

• Haldrian Iriawan (he/him)
  The fundamental limitation of electrocatalytic N2 oxidation to enable green nitrate synthesis

• Eleanor Teather (she/her)
  A little introduction to iron-pnictide superconductors

Chair:

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Keynote speaker: Lara Lalemi - Decolonising my mind and my environment

Decolonising my mind and environment stems from learning from social scientists, academics around me and my personal experiences as well as background. Not only did I have to face my own self imposed barriers to getting into a PhD, I also faced the challenges presented by the education system in the U.K. With this in mind, I sought to change the environment around me (School of Chemistry, University of Bristol) to becoming more inclusive, diverse and innovative. My talk will explore this journey and the lesson learnt along the way.

Undergraduate speakers:

• George Vines (he/him)
  Bromodomain proteins in histone modification

• Charlotte Marie Istance (she/her)
  Double Dagger - A transition of life and gender.

Chair: Dr Binuraj Menon (he/him)

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Keynote speaker: Jaime Pitts - Transitioning, Crosslinking & Kinases: a PhD Student's Perspective

In the field of chemical biology, understanding the structural basis for protein-protein interactions is critical for the development of therapeutics. This task is made more complex when the interactions and proteins themselves are dynamic. This talk will demonstrate the utility of crosslinking mass spectrometry in studying the dynamic interactions of cancer proteins, alongside traditional crystallographic and biochemical methods. In addition, it will discuss what it means to be interdisciplinary, as well as sharing a perspective on what it means to transition while completing a PhD, and the issues associated with being transgender in STEMM.

Undergraduate speakers:

• Tihana Stefanic (she/her)
  Forever Chemicals: the magnitude, dangers, and future of PFAS compounds

• Livia Maskos (she/her)
  Quantum effects in biology

Chair: Prof Bhavik Patel (he/him)

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Keynote speaker: Dr Jenny Zhang - Integrating worlds: natural and artificial photosynthesis

Nature has mastered the art of sustainable and large scale solar-to-chemical conversion and storage approximately 3.5 billion years ago with the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis. Currently, scientists are striving to mimic and out-compete this process using purely synthetic regimes in a field known as artificial photosynthesis, which has the aim of delivering fossil-free renewable energy solutions. However, sustainable and large-scale artificial photosynthetic systems have not yet been demonstrated. Here, I propose how we can integrate the strengths from both natural and artificial photosynthesis to result in a new renewable biohybrid approach for solar energy conversion.

Undergraduate speakers:

• Mohamed Katish (he/ him)
  Minority Making Major Contribution in Renewable Energy

• Clare Xie Yijia (she/her)
  My unexpected encounter with computational chemistry

Chair: Prof Karen Faulds