Queenstown Research Week this year was bustling with Otago Biochemistry researchers, who contributed as invited speakers, poster presenters, general delegates, and organisers.
The biological science extravaganza is a cluster of meetings co-ordinated into one week, held each September. Attendees come to learn about the latest research carried out around New Zealand, do a little science networking, and enjoy the bonus of some of New Zealand's most spectacular scenery.
This year, the Queenstown Molecular Biology Meeting included a scenic cruise on board the vintage TSS Earnslaw. Photo by Chun Shen Lim.
Members of Otago Biochemistry were invited to talk at the main Queenstown Molecular Biology meeting and three of the QMB satellites, including academic staff Professor Catherine Day, Dr Peter Mace, Dr Paul Gardner, and Dr Sarah Diermeier (see talk titles below).
Many more researchers from the Department shared their research in the accompanying poster sessions. Congratulations to Cameron Reddington and Jasper Struwig from Peter Mace's lab, who both won poster prizes at the Biomolecular Interactions Satellite.
Cameron Reddington (left) and Jasper Struwig next to their winning posters.
Researchers from the Department also played an important role in putting these meetings together, particularly Kurt Krause with the Infectious Diseases and Membrane Proteins Satellite, Stephanie Hughes with the Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, and Associate Professor Mik Black and Dr Paul Gardner with the Genome Data Science Satellite.
Talks at QRW 2019 from Otago Biochemistry
Queenstown Molecular Biology Main Meeting
Professor Catherine Day - Building chains: regulation of ubiquitin transfer by TRAF E3 ligases
QMB Satellite on Biomolecular Interactions and Engineering
Dr Adam Middleton - Discovery of two inhibitors of ubiquitin chain growth and their future in cells
Dr Peter Mace -Using helices to cope with stress
Dr Paul Gardner - Protein expression is controlled by the accessibility of translation initiation sites
QMB Satellite on Epigenetics
Amber Helliwell - DNA Methylation Changes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Dr Sarah Diermeier - Long non-coding RNAs as regulators of gene expression in cancer
Dr Rowan Herridge - Pseudouridine in small RNAs
QMB Satellite on Genome Data Science
Ben Te Aika, Vision Mātauranga Co-ordinator of Genomics Aotearoa - Understanding genomic data management – an indigenous perspective of “data protection” and “data sovereignty.”