Dan's Research and Other Interests
I graduated from Imperial College London in 2004 with a BSc in Biochemistry and started my PhD later that year. Working under the supervision of Xiaodong and Prof. Martin Buck, and with funding from the BBSRC, I studied the structural basis of σ54-dependent transcription initiation in bacteria.
Research...
Using cryo-electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction techniques, I solved a reconstruction of a complex between the σ54 holoenzyme and the AAA ATPase activator PspF, trapped at an intermediate stage of the initiation process. Together with independent reconstructions of a number of mutant and wild-type RNAP-σ54 holoenzyme complexes, the structures provided a mechanism for ATP hydrolysis driven, activator-dependent transcription initiation at σ54 promoters.
I recently completed my PhD in November 2008, and I'm currently working to characterise the latter stages of the transcription initiation process and the changing DNA conformations during initiation using cryo-EM, as well as pursuing high resolution data using X-ray crystallography. We have also recently started a collaboration to characterise complexes between the more common σ70 class of σfactors and their cognate activators.
In the long term I hope to use an interdisciplinary approach for the study of macromolecular complexes. I am especially interested in intracellular signalling pathways and how they regulate transcriptional responses to external stimuli.
...and other interests
With my free time I try to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by London. I listen to as much live music as possible and often get lost in one of the many museums and galleries. Sometimes we all need fresh air and a horizon, so I regularly escape for walks in the country. I am also a keen cyclist, and enjoy building (re-building) and restoring classic racing cycles.
Education Summary
BSc in Biochemistry, Imperial College London (2004).
PhD, Imperial College London (2008). 'Structural studies of an intermediate transcription initiation complex', supervisors Prof. Xiaodong Zhang and Prof. Martin Buck.