Alumni
This person is a member of Sanger Institute Alumni.
The majority of proteins do not work in isolation. Instead they organise in stable multiprotein assemblies or engage in dynamic interactions with other proteins in order to perform their roles. Understanding proteins interactions is therefore crucial for elucidating protein function and regulation.
I use affinity purification in combination with mass spectrometry to characterise multiprotein complexes and protein-protein interactions. In collaboration with the Skarnes and Bradley labs I developed the endogenous tandem affinity purification technology in mouse embryonic stem cells. Much of my work using this strategy has focused on the study of chromatin-associated proteins important for embryonic stem cell biology and development. Another of my interests are enzymes that introduce post-translational modifications on proteins, especially those that are less well-known. More recently I have started using other complementary approaches to investigate protein complexes, mainly biochemical fractionation techniques such as blue native electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography.
As part of my job I collaborate with several researchers here at the Sanger Institute and also in other research institutions in their quest to identify protein interactions. My role involves advising on experiment design, training on the experimental techniques, performing experiments, problem solving, and data analysis and biological interpretation.
I am also involved in training other scientists through the Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses. Here I teach a module comprising affinity purification and mass spectrometry in different contexts: Functional Genomics and Systems Biology, Protein Interactions and Networks, and Genome-wide Approaches with Fission Yeast (now discontinued).
My timeline
Senior Staff Scientist, Proteomic Mass spectrometry, WTSI
Staff Scientist, Proteomic Mass Spectrometry, WTSI
Joined the Proteomic Mass Spectrometry team at WTSI as Research Associate
Post-doctoral fellow in the Cell Cycle Lab at Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, under the supervision of Sir Paul Nurse
PhD in Microbiology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Spent 4 months as visiting student in the Bussey Lab at the Department of Biology, McGill University, Canada
Joined the Department of Microbiology at the School of Pharmacy (UCM, Spain) as PhD candidate, under the supervision of Drs Nombela and Gil
BSc in Pharmacy from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain