news from biochemistry departments - canadian society for … · biology at the uchsc in denver)....

University of AlbertaDepartment of Biochemistry Correspondent: Brian Sykes

New Look Biochemistry atthe University of Alberta!

The Department ofBiochemistry at theUniversity of Alberta hasundergone tremendouschange over the last decade.On the down side we haveseen the retirement, promo-tion elsewhere, and/or depar-ture of a number of stalwartsof the department - peoplelike Cyril Kay and LarrySmillie, Neil Madsen and BillBridger (Head of AlbertaIngenuity), Vern Paetkau(Dean of Science at Victoria),Doug Scraba and DickMorgan, Carol Cass (ActingHead of the Cross Cancer

Institute) and Bob Hodges (Director of StructuralBiology at the UCHSC in Denver). These peoplewere, and are, icons on the Canadian biochem-istry scene, and leave a legacy of excellencebehind. On the other hand it has been a time ofrenewal in the department, and we have hired 8active young investigators whose presence hasadded new vitality and breadth to our program. Arecent picture of this group includes (from left toright) David Stuart, Carlos Fernandez-Patron,Andrew MacMillan, Kevin Wilson, Luis Schang,Leo Spyracopoulos, Mark Glover and HowardYoung. Their research is highlighted below.

Andrew MacMillan (Ph.D., Harvard, 1992; PDF,MIT, 1993-1996)We use the techniques of organic synthesis as well asother biophysical approaches to investigate themechanisms of gene regulation at the RNA level.Research in our laboratory is focused on the chem-istry and biochemistry of nucleic acids with anemphasis on biologically important reactions involv-ing RNA. Large RNAs and complex ribonucleopro-tein machines such as the spliceosome and ribosomeplay a key role in constitutive and regulated cellularprocesses and in the life cycle of viral pathogens.

Carlos Fernandez-Patron(B.Sc.,/M.Sc., Dresden, 1988; Ph.D., University ofHavana, 1995; PDF, University of Alberta, 1997-2001)My laboratory is characterizing novel roles playedby matrix metalloproteinases in the regulation ofvascular tone, cardiovascular remodeling andblood pressure. We are applying interaction pro-teomics to substantiate our pharmacologicalobservations. In addition, we plan to map the car-diovascular proteome and characterize its dynam-ics in hypertension, as opposed to normotension.

David T. Stuart(M.Sc., University of Waterloo, 1986; Ph.D.,University of Alberta, 1991; PDF, Scripps ResearchInstitute, 1992-1998)

84 CSBMCB/SCBBMC BULLETIN 2002

News from Biochemistry Departments

(From left to right) David Stuart, Carlos Fernandez-Patron, Andrew MacMillan, KevinWilson, Luis Schang, Leo Spyracopoulos, Mark Glover and Howard Young.

Carlos Fernandez-Patron

Andrew MacMillan

My lab studies the mechanisms that regulate DNAreplication and chromosome division duringmeiotic differentiation. We focus on the buddingyeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as sporulation inthis organism is an excellent model for mam-malian spermatogenesis. We also study the func-tion and activity of meiosis-specific kinase Ime2.We are using contemporary proteomic andmicroarray analysis in our program to gain fur-ther insight into the mechanisms that regulatemeiotic differentiation.

Howard Young (Ph.D., University ofConnecticut, 1994; PDF & Instructor, New YorkUniversity School of Medicine, 1995-2002)

Calcium is an important sig-nalling molecule, particularlyin heart muscle where abnor-mal calcium signalling con-tributes to hypertension andend-stage heart failure. ATP-dependent calcium trans-porters play a primary role inthe regulation of cytosoliccalcium. Regulation of thesetransport processes provide adynamic calcium metabolismthat is coupled to precisephysiological responses. Myresearch utilizes the tools ofstructural biology to revealfundamental aspects of calci-um transport regulationimplicated in heart disease.

Kevin Wilson (Ph.D.,University of Oregon, 1995;PDF, University of California(Santa Cruz), 1995 - 2000)My lab is studying funda-mental mechanisms oftranslation, involving theribosome and universallyconserved translation fac-tors. Our research focus is onthe mechanism of transla-tion initiation. We haverecently developed a novelmethod for watching theassembly of translation initi-ation complexes, involvingthe 30S and 50S ribosomalsubunits, fMet-tRNA, amodel mRNA, and bacterialinitiation factors IF1, IF2,and IF3. We are currentlyinvestigating the roles of thethree initiation factors in theassembly of the initiationcomplex, making use ofrecently determined x-raystructures of the ribosome.

CSBMCB/SCBBMC BULLETIN 2002 85

Mark Glover

Howard Young

Kevin Wilson (right)

Leo Spyracopoulos

Luis Schang (center)

Leo Spyracopoulos (Ph.D.,Manitoba, 1996; PDF,University of Alberta, 1996-2000)The research focus of my labo-ratory is to gain an understand-ing of biological functions car-ried out by proteins and theircomplexes, and the kinetics,dynamics, and thermodynam-ics of proteins and protein-lig-and interactions using nuclearmagnetic resonance spectro-scopic techniques. Our currentobjective is to elucidate themechanism of protein ubiquiti-nation at the molecular level bystudying the structure, interac-tions, and dynamics of thehuman UEV–Ubc13 proteinheterodimers.

Luis Schang (DVM,University of Buenos Aires,1987; Ph.D., University ofNebraska-Lincoln, 1996; PDF,University of Pennsylvania,1997-2000)We study the roles that cellu-lar proteins play in viral repli-cation and pathogenesis, espe-cially the roles of cyclin-dependent kinases in thereplication cycle of herpessimplex viruses. The threeareas of current researchinterest of the lab are: themechanisms whereby cellularcyclin-dependent kinases reg-ulate expression of viral genes,the effects of neuronal expres-sion of proteins involved incell-cycle progression, and thepossibility that pharmacologi-cal cdk inhibitors may be use-ful as antiviral drugs againstHSV, HIV and other viruses.

Mark Glover (Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1991)My lab investigates fundamental molecular mech-anisms that regulate the expression of geneticinformation. We have determined the 3D struc-ture of the BRCT domain of the breast cancer-associated protein, BRCA1. This domain is a crit-ical transcriptional activation domain that isessential to the tumour suppressor function ofBRCA1. We are probing the structure and func-tion of a novel RNA-based mechanism that con-trols the conjugative transfer of genes involved inantibiotic resistance and virulence between bacte-ria. We have determined the structure of a keyregulator of meiosis in yeast, Ndt80.

The ‘old guard’ have also been active and suc-cessful, and carry on the tradition of excellenceof our department. Our faculty have continuedto garner many honours and awards in recentyears. Chris Bleackley was awarded the 2001Robert L. Noble Prize of the National CancerInstitute and was reappointed as a HowardHughes International Scholar. Marek Michalakwon the Astra/Zeneca Award in MolecularBiology. Ronald McElhaney received the 2001Avanti Award in Lipids from the BiophysicalSociety. Brian Sykes won the Gerhard HerzbergAward of the Spectroscopy Society of Canada,and Michael James and Joel Weiner have bothwon the G. Malcolm Brown Award of theCanadian Federation of Biological Societies. Inaddition, Chris Bleackley and Carol Cass joinnine other members of the Department asFellows of the Royal Society of Canada andBrian Sykes joins Michael James as a Fellow ofthe Royal Society of London. Chris Bleackley,Carol Cass, Michael James, Brian Sykes, DennisVance and Joel Weiner have been appointed Tier1 Canada Research Chairs and Mark Glover hasbeen recently appointed a Tier 2 CanadaResearch Chair.


Chris Bleackley

Michael James

Ronald McElhaney

Marek Michalak

University of CalgaryDepartment of Biochemistry andMolecular BiologyCorrespondent: Leon Browder

The Department of Biochemistry & MolecularBiology in the Faculty of Medicine at theUniversity of Calgary is very diverse, with mem-bers belonging to ten different interdepartmentalResearch Groups. At the present time, 46 facultymembers hold primary or secondary appoint-ments in the department. Two new members willjoin the department in January. There are threeEmeritus Professors and 13 adjunct appointees.Our research activities are supported by a numberof excellent core facilities, including UCDNAServices, the Peptide Synthesis Facility, theSouthern Alberta Mass Spectrometry Facility(SAMS), the Southern Alberta Microarray Facility(SAMF), the Embryonic Stem Cell/TargetedMutagenesis Facility (ESTM), the SACRCHybridoma Facility & Cell Bank and the Bio-NMR Centre and most recently the Sun Center ofExcellence for Visual Genomics. The departmentoffers graduate training leading to Ph.D. and M.Sc.degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Faculty TransitionsDr. Phyllis Luvalle has relocated to the Universityof Florida in Gainesville. She remains associatedwith us as an Adjunct Associate Professor.

Dr. Randy Johnston is President and ChiefExecutive Officer of Genome Prairie. Randyremains a member of our department and has anactive research laboratory.

Dr. Jonathan Lytton and Dr. Joe Goren haveassumed the roles of Co-coordinators of the grad-uate program in Biochemistry & MolecularBiology.

Dr. Frank Jirik was awarded a Tier 1 CanadaResearch Chair. Frank has a diverse functionalgenomics research program involving using cell

biology, biochemistry, and transgenic approaches.

Dr. Jim McGhee was awarded a Tier 1 CanadaResearch Chair. Jim studies gut development in C.elegans (the Nobel Prize-winning worm).

New Members of our DepartmentDr. George Chaconas has recently returned toCalgary as a Professor and Alberta HeritageFoundation Medical Scientist. George obtained hisPh.D. in Calgary with Bob Church and Hans vande Sande before embarking on a very successfulacademic career at the University of WesternOntario. George studies telomere resolution, DNAreplication and mechanisms of pathogenesis inBorrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete.

Dr. Yang Yang joined the department as anAssistant Professor in July. Yang holds a presti-gious Career Development Award from theJuvenile Diabetes Foundation International. Hisresearch focuses on T cell immunology andautoimmune diabetes.

Dr. Justin MacDonald joins us in January, 2003 asan Assistant Professor and as recipient of the firstPENCE Chair in Protein Sciences Research. Justinhas been a Postdoctoral Fellow in Tim Haystead’slab at Duke University. Justin conducts proteomicinvestigations on smooth muscle function.

Dr. Shirin Bonni also joins the department inJanuary, 2003 as an Assistant Professor. She hasbeen a Postdoctoral Fellow in Jeff Wrana’s lab atSick Kids Hospital and the Samuel LunenfeldResearch Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital inToronto. Shirin studies signalling and the regula-tory mechanisms downstream of the TGFß recep-tor.

Dr. Jens Coorsen has his primary appointment in theDepartment of Physiology & Biophysics. Jens recent-ly moved to Calgary from the NIH and has estab-lished a functional proteomics research program.

Dr. Peter Vize has become an Adjunct AssociateProfessor in our department. His primary appoint-


ment is in the Department of Biological Sciences.Peter came to Calgary from the University of Texas atAustin. He studies kidney development in Xenopuslaevis and has a major interest in bioinformatics, par-ticularly in correlating gene expression withdevelopment, both chronologically and spatially.

Dr. Chris Brown has his primary appointment inthe Department of Medicine. His researchinvolves physiological and pathological analysesof hematopoietic development and function.

Dr. Mike Surette has his primary appointment inthe Department of Microbiology & InfectiousDiseases. Mike studies bacterial signal transductionand physiology within the context of the individualcells and in interacting populations of cells. Mike hasbeen awarded a Canada Research Chair (Tier II).

Training OpportunitiesMembers of the Department of Biochemistry &Molecular Biology conduct exciting, leading edgeresearch, are well funded by international, nationaland provincial agencies, and publish extensively inthe very best journals. We invite potential graduatestudents and post-doctoral fellows to give Calgarycareful consideration. Not only do we offer excellenttraining opportunities for young scientists, but thenatural beauty surrounding Calgary is breathtaking,providing year-round recreational opportunities.

We invite you to visit our website atwww.ucalgary.ca/bmb.

University of CalgaryDivision of Biochemistry,Department of BiologicalSciences, Faculty of ScienceCorrespondent: Raymond J. Turner

The past couple of years have seen some significantpersonnel changes in our division. Dr. PeterTieleman, a computational biologist, has joinedour division in 2001 whereas Drs. Barry Phippsand Leslie Tari have now both left to pursue careersin industry. Furthermore, Dr. Susan Lees-Millerhas reduced her role in the Division to be able tocontribute more actively to proteomics develop-ments with the Department of Biochemistry andMolecular Biology in the Faculty of Medicine. Thesummer of 2002 saw the addition of two new pro-tein crystallographers, Drs. Marie Fraser andKenneth Ng, and the membrane biochemist Dr.Elmar Prenner. The stability of the faculty posi-tions in our division has been significantlyimproved by the promotion of our two seniorinstructors Drs. Robert Edwards and ElkeLohmeier-Vogel to tenure-track positions.Moreover, tenure and promotion to associate pro-fessor was granted to Drs. Raymond Turner andGreg Moorhead as well. This results in the follow-ing makeup of our division: six AHFMR schol-ars/scientists, two tenured instructors, two tenuredassociate professors and one tenured full professor(Dr. Gene Huber). The division is currently beingcaptained by an AHFMR scientist, Dr. Hans Vogel.

The addition of the new faculty members waspossible through their success in obtainingAlberta Heritage Foundation for MedicalResearch Scholar positions and establishmentawards. Research in our division is well funded byNSERC and CIHR operating grants as well as sup-port from the Heart & Stroke Foundation and theAlberta and Canadian Cancer boards. Membersof our division have also been very successful inobtaining infrastructure support from CFI andthe Alberta Network for Proteomics Innovation.Additionally, some of our faculty members are


actively involved with the Alberta SynchrotronInstitute, which contributes to the developmentof the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon.

Research in the division is largely focused onstructural biology and membrane biochemistry,with some activities in the area of control ofmetabolism. Our research interests range frompurely theoretical molecular dynamics calcula-tions, protein structure determination by NMRspectroscopy and x-ray crystallography, pro-teomics and bioinformatics, to the characteriza-tion of enzymatic catalysis and membrane func-tion and architecture. Additionally, emphasis isbeing placed on various biophysical approachessuch as protein-chip technology, microcalorime-try, fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy andstop-flow kinetic studies. The Division’s Bio-NMR center has recently been enhanced by theincorporation of Canada’s first NMR cryoprobeand the installation of a new 700 MHz NMR.

Our faculty is responsible for the undergradu-ate degree program in Biochemistry at theUniversity of Calgary graduating an average of 35Biochemistry majors, with ~40% being honoursstudents. In addition to the training of biochem-istry majors, our members also contribute signif-icantly to the teaching of more general under-graduate programs in BioScience and NaturalScience. A high level of research activity is main-tained by undergraduate project students (averag-ing 20/year), summer students (16-20/year),graduate students (21 presently), and postdoctor-al fellows (14 presently).

A more detailed description of the Division ofBiochemistry and the research programs of its mem-bers can be found at www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/facul-ties/SC/BI/biochem.

University of GuelphBiochemistry Group, Departmentof Chemistry and BiochemistryCorrespondent: Frances Sharom

Preparations are well advanced in support of theconstruction to start on Phase 1 of the ScienceComplex, the second part in the SuperBuildGrowth Fund enhancements to the University ofGuelph campus. The Classroom and ScienceComplex total over 400,000 square feet of newfacilities and is one of the biggest construction pro-jects in the University's history. The new sciencecomplex will accommodate many of the biologicalscience units, including Molecular Biology,Biochemistry, Microbiology, Botany and Zoology,under one (large) roof. Partial demolition of onewing of an existing building took place in Fall 2002,and construction on the first phase of the project isslated for early 2003. Although the project will bedisruptive for several years, everyone is looking for-ward to moving into well-planned modernresearch lab space 2-3 years down the road. Thecomplex will also include completely new teachinglab facilities for biochemistry, molecular biology,and microbiology undergraduate students.

This has been another successful year for thegroup:

Alan Mellors is taking early retirement after 34years in the Department of Chemistry andBiochemistry. He joined the Department in 1968.Previously he had obtained his degrees from theUniversity of Liverpool, followed by a FulbrightScholarship at the University of California, Davis,and a research appointment with CanadaAgriculture, Ottawa. In 1975-76 he was a NuffieldScholar on sabbatical leave at the Institute forAnimal Physiology, Babraham, U.K. Subsequentsabbaticals were spent at the Hospital for SickChildren, and at the Toronto Hospital. Alan’sresearch encompassed a broad range of topics, allconnected with the interface between membranecomponents and enzymes. His interests in lipid


biochemistry included antioxidants, cannabi-noids, and phosphoinositides. He studied phos-pholipases from sources as diverse as mammalianlysosomes, lymphocytes, and African try-panosomes. He and his students described anenzyme from Mannheimia haemolytica which isstill the only known glycoprotease, that is, a pro-teolytic enzyme specific for a narrow range of O-sialoglycoproteins or O-sulfoglycoproteins. Alanhopes to be fit enough to fritter away his retire-ment years hiking, ski-ing and canoeing.

John Dawson joined the biochemistry group as ofJuly 2002. John obtained his B.Sc. at Laurier(Honours Biology & Chemistry) and moved outwest to Edmonton in 1992 to do a Ph.D. in theDepartment of Biochemistry at the University ofAlberta. There, he was the first graduate student ofa new professor, Dr. Charles Holmes. John studiedprotein phosphatases and a handful of natural tox-ins that specifically inhibit them. As part of thiswork, he used S. pombe and E. coli expression sys-tems and also learned how to culture marinedinoflagellates. John met his wife Amanda inEdmonton and one month after they were mar-ried, they moved to California. His protein bio-chemistry background was put to good use in thelaboratory of Dr. Jim Spudich in the BiochemistryDepartment at Stanford University, where hebegan postdoctoral work in 1998. There, he wasexposed to a multidisciplinary group that studiedmolecular motors using a variety of innovativeand powerful techniques. John began to studyactin, because its ability to self-assemble into longfilaments is the core problem hindering the pro-duction of atomic resolution pictures of the acto-myosin complex. In Jim’s lab, John set up a veryproductive collaboration with Drs. Sablin andFletterick at UCSF, and together they determinedthe crystal structure of an actin trimer; the firstcrystal structure of an F-actin derived fragmentever produced. As with many research projects,this work has led to unexpected and excitingavenues of study which John is pursuing here atGuelph, including the cell biology of yeast strainsthat harbour significant actin mutations, and theeffect of nucleotide hydrolysis on the structure and

regulation of F-actin. John has already obtained anNSERC Discovery Grant, and is working on CFINew Opportunities and CIHR applications.

Marc Coppolino, who arrived in the departmentin May 2001, was awarded a CIHR NewInvestigator Award, a CIHR Operating Grant, andan NSERC Discovery Grant. He has also beenawarded CFI New Opportunities funding for aconfocal microscope. Marc’s group is currentlystudying the molecular mechanisms of cell motil-ity. Specifically, they are analyzing the proteinsthat control the membrane remodelling(SNAREs), the actin reorganization (paxillin),and the adhesion (integrin-linked kinase) that arerequired for cells to spread upon or migrate overextracellular matrices.

Frances SharomThe Sharom group is continuing their studies ofmembrane proteins, including the P-glycoproteinmultidrug transporter. Fluorescence spectroscopynow plays a central role in the life of the lab in gen-eral, and has led to some exciting insights into theinteraction of the protein with its substrates, andits mechanism of action. Another project looks atthe structure, function and membrane interactionsof various GPI-anchored enzymes and adhesionproteins. Collaborations with research groups inGranada (Spain) and Lyon (France) led to the visitin Fall 2002 of two Ph.D. students, Paco Muñozand Olivier Dalmas, both supported by Europeanexchange scholarships. Together with Miguel Lugo,a visiting professor from the University of Caracas,Venezuela, on a 2-year fellowship, they greatlyadded to the multinational nature of the laborato-ry. Both returned to warmer climes beforeChristmas, but have promised to return when itwarns up next summer. Frances is looking forwardto a reciprocal visit to both European locations.

David JosephyThe focus of the Josephy laboratory is on chemi-cal mutagens and carcinogens, especially the aro-matic amines. These chemical are used industrial-ly and they also occur as natural products in theenvironment. Potently mutagenic heterocyclic


amines are formed by the grilling of protein-richfoods, especially meat and fish. Analytical chem-istry approaches are used to investigate the kindsand amounts of these substances present in theenvironment and in human biofluids, where theymay be biomarkers of human health risk. Anotherarea of interest is in the metabolism and bioacti-vation of carcinogens, especially the developmentof animal-free experimental systems.Recombinant human enzymes, such as P450 1A2,which metabolize carcinogens and other xenobi-otics, are being expressed in bacteria. This workhas led us to a detailed study of the structure andfunction of P450 and other enzyme proteins.Another system which we are investigating is theBigBlue transgenic rodent mutagenicity assay,which allows us to study the genotoxicity of car-cinogens in cultured mammalian cells.

Rod MerrillThe Merrill lab is involved in several projectrelated to protein structure-function and proteinfolding, especially as it relates to membrane-tar-geted toxins, such as the colicins. They are alsoseeking to elucidate the mechanism of mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases using a combination ofmolecular biological, biochemical, and biophysi-cal techniques, especially fluorescence spec-troscopy. They are currently investigating themechanism of an enzyme produced by thehuman pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,known as Exotoxin A (ETA). An NSERC MajorEquipment Grant was awarded to Rod this pastspring for a Fluorescence Lifetime Fluorimeter,which Rod’s research group is now putting togood use. One of Rod’s graduate students, SusanYates, received a Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Ph.D.Studentship in April 2002 to work on a CCFFproject to characterize competitive inhibitors ofPseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A.

Dev Mangroo’s research projects include identi-fication and characterization of novel proteinsinvolved in nucleocytoplasmic export of RNA inSaccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as translation-al control of gene expression in eukaryotes andbacterial protein initiation. Dev is currently on

sabbatical leave, and has been spending time inthe labs of various collaborators in the US andCanada. Bob Keates is continuing his very pro-ductive collaboration with Dev, involving pre-diction of the protein domain organization,structure and folding from amino acidsequences. His insights are allowing members ofthe Mangroo lab to test various hypotheses bysite-directed mutagenesis.

Fred Brauer’s group is using nuclear magneticresonance (NMR) imaging and spectroscopy toelucidate the mechanisms of altered energymetabolism in the livers of intact, living animalsnon-invasively. NMR imaging can provide infor-mation, in spectacular detail, about the anatomyof an organ within the body. Localized in vivoNMR spectroscopy can, at the same time, pro-vide valuable biochemical information from anydefined region determined from the NMRimage. These techniques are used to study theeffects of classical hepatotoxicants such as bro-mobenzene, the halocarbons, and chronicethanol administration on rat liver. They are alsoinvestigating how these toxic compounds alterhepatic water, lipid and electrolyte distribution,bioenergetic status, and the liver's ability tometabolize test compounds. High resolutionmultinuclear one- and two-dimensional NMRspectroscopy of in vitro tissue extracts are usedto complement the in vivo studies, and as anindependent analytical technique.

University of GuelphDepartment of Molecular Biologyand GeneticsCorrespondent: David Evans

The last eighteen months have been busy in theDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics.

Four new faculty have joined us: Joe Colasanti(plant molecular biology), Dick Mosser (heatshock), Andrew Bendall (developmental biolo-


gy) and Ray Lu (herpes virus) and all have suc-ceeded in attracting funding from the Federalgranting councils. Dick, Andrew, and Ray arealso to be congratulated for their recent successwith a CFI application. The new microscopesthey will be purchasing will significantlyimprove the advanced imaging capabilities in thedepartment. MBG also welcomed StevenRothstein back to the department. Steven left theUniversity in 1998 to take up a posting atPioneer-Hybred in Iowa. Upon his return toGuelph he was appointed a University ResearchChair in plant molecular biology.

In the last year we also noted the retirement ofDr. Stan Blecher. A long-time member of ourFaculty and co-founder of the biotechnologycompany Gensel, Stan is a medical geneticistand one-time Director of Guelph’s HumanBiology program.

On the teaching front the Department was recent-ly awarded funding from Agilent under theirColleges and Universities Grant program. Thefirst award of its kind in Canada, the funds havepermitted the purchase of several advanced piecesof instrumentation including a capillary elec-trophoresis system and LC-Mass spectrometer.This equipment will dramatically improve thequality of our advanced undergraduate instruc-tion as well as meet many of the separation andanalytical needs of our researchers.

The department has also been working to bringinto full operation DNA chip fabrication facili-ties and a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometerfunded with the assistance of the CFI and theOntario Research and Development ChallengeFund. Two new research technicians have beenhired to operate these facilities, Ms. M. Howesand Dr. D. Brewer, and as a result of their capa-ble management both operations are now fullyfunctional. Readers interested in accessing theseservices are invited to contact this correspon-dent at [email protected].

University ofLethbridgeDepartments of BiologicalSciences, and Chemistry andBiochemistryCorrespondent: Marc R. Roussel

At the University of Lethbridge, research in bio-chemistry and cell and molecular biology isspread over two departments, namelyBiological Sciences and Chemistry andBiochemistry. The two departments have aclose working relationship. Among otherthings, this benefits our graduate students whooften have substantial interactions with facultymembers in both Departments.

Good things happening in one department areoften cause for rejoicing in both. We were thusdoubly pleased to celebrate the appointments ofour colleagues Stewart Rood (BiologicalSciences) and Randall Weselake (Chemistry andBiochemistry) to University of Lethbridge Boardof Governors Research Chairs last year. TheseChairs provide Randall and Stewart withreduced teaching loads to enable them to focusmore of their attention on their highly successfulresearch programs.

Stewart’s work on gibberellins is probably knownto many readers of the Bulletin. Stewart’s recentwork in this area has focused on the involvementof gibberellins in the control of shoot dormancy.Stewart also has an active research program onthe ecophysiology of river valley cottonwoods,with particular emphasis on the effect of thewater table both on individual trees and on cot-tonwood populations. The multidisciplinaryapproach which Stewart takes to these comple-mentary research areas creates a vibrant trainingenvironment in his lab to which students arestrongly drawn, with good reason.


Randall’s research, which is again probably notunknown to many readers of the Bulletin,focuses on triacylglycerol biosynthesis inoilseeds and in cattle. On the plant science sideof his operation, Randall has been focusing onoil formation in canola and flax seeds. He isinterested in increasing seed oil content and inmodifying the fatty acid composition of oil byaltering the expression and properties of keyenzymes in the oil formation pathway. He isalso investigating the effect of environmentalstresses, such as low temperatures and drought,on oil formation in developing seeds. In hisresearch with cattle, Randall has spent a num-ber of years investigating intramuscular fatdeposition in an effort to develop predictors ofthe marbling trait which is an important deter-minant of flavor. In recently initiated research,he has also been studying aspects of milk fatproduction. This extraordinarily active researchprogram has attracted more than ß300 000 infunding in the current year alone from theAlberta Agricultural Research Institute, theAlberta Crop Industry Development Fund, theDairy Farmers of Canada, the Flax Council ofCanada, Genome Prairie and NSERC. Randallbelieves in a multidisciplinary approach andhas a number of collaborations both locally,notably at the Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada Lethbridge Research Centre, and with-in the broader research community acrossCanada and around the world. These collabora-tions create opportunities for students to traveland to experience first-hand the research cul-ture of other regions of the world.

We have hired a number of talented scientists inboth Departments in recent years. All havereceived operating grants from NSERC, and therehave been a number of successful equipmentgrant applications as well. In addition, IgorKovalchuk received an Alberta IngenuityEstablishment Grant of $230 000 in April for hisresearch on pathogen-induced plant genomeinstability. Igor used some of this money to pur-chase a plant growth chamber and a gel imagingsystem. The rest will pay for a postdoc and for

some students. Igor joinedthe Department of BiologicalSciences in 2001.

Steven Mosimann’s macro-molecular X-ray diffractionsystem became operational thisyear. This is a $500,000 Bruker-Nonius instrument which wasfunded by the Alberta HeritageFoundation for MedicalResearch and by the CanadaFoundation for InnovationNew Opportunities Fund. Theinstalled system includes a 6kW rotating anode X-ray gen-erator with confocal Osmicoptics, an Oxford Cryostreamcooler, a 4-circle goniostat,and a CCD detector builtaround a 135 mm activelycooled chip. Steven’s group isusing this equipment toinvestigate the structure andfunction of RNA processingenzymes. Steven has beenwith the Department ofChemistry and Biochemistrysince the Fall of 2000.


Stewart Rood

Randall Weselake

Steven Mosimann

Igor Kovalchuk

University of ManitobaDepartment of Biochemistry andMedical GeneticsCorrespondent: Spencer Gibson

Dr. Jane Evans, Head, has accepted the Chair ofthe Manitoba Health Research Council.

Patrick Frosk, graduate student of Dr. KlausWrogemann (Professor) discovered the gene forlimb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2H(LGMD2H). This muscular dystrophy is com-mon in the Hutterite population. The gene,TRIM32, has the structure of an E3-ubiquitinligase. Patrick also discovered a second gene forLGMD in Hutterites, the FKRP gene, causativefor LGMD2I. Klaus was invited to speak of thesefindings at the ENMC workshop on limb girdlemuscular dystrophies in Naarden Holland, at theXth International Congress on NeuromuscularDisease in Vancouver and at the 7thInternational Congress of the World MuscleSociety. Patrick also was selected to give a plat-form presentation at the Congress in Vancouverin July of this year.

Dr. Jim Davie, Professor and Director of theManitoba Institute of Cell Biology, has receivedfunding from CFI to establish the ManitobaBreast Cancer Research Centre to be housed onthe 6th floor of the CancerCare Manitoba build-ing. The mandate of the Centre is to identify bio-markers in the early detection of breast cancer.State of the art platforms in advanced cytogenet-ics, gene profiling, proteomics and functionalgenomics will be featured in the Centre. Pivotal tothis endeavor is the Manitoba Breast tumor bank,established and operated by Dr. Peter Watson,which will be housed in the Centre. Dr. Daviereceived invitations at NIH and at the DFG spon-sored meeting called “Growth Factors, TissueRepair, and Cancer”, Cadenabbia, Lake Como,Italy to present his research on the role of signaltransduction pathways in modifying the structureand function of chromatin.

Dr. Davie, as Editor of Biochemistry and CellBiology, continues to support the Society’sWinternational Symposia. The journal now haselectronic submission and review processes inplace. The journal welcomes manuscripts andminireviews. The journal would be particularlypleased if members of the Society would cite thetimely reviews in members’ research areas.

Dr. Dakshinamurti, Professor Emeritus, gave akeynote address entitled “Hypertension andMicronutrients” at the 4th Food Data conference ofthe Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) atBratislava, Slovak Republic, August 24, 2001. Hewas a member of the International ScientificAdvisory Board of the triennial 5th InternationalSymposium on Vitamin B6, Carbonyl Catalysisand Quinoproteins organized under the aegis ofthe International Union of Biochemistry andMolecular Biology at University of Southampton,U.K.(April 14-19, 2002). He gave an invited talkentitled “Neuroprotection by pyridoxine” and alsochaired a Session at this Conference. He was invit-ed by the Russian Academy of Sciences to give aCommemorative Address celebrating the 100thBirth Anniversary of the noted Russian BiochemistAkademician Alexander Braunstein at the SpecialSession of the Academy (May 28-31, 2002). Hisaddress given on May 30th was entitled “ThePharmacology of Vitamin B6 and Beyond”. He hasbeen invited by the Editors of the “Encyclopedia ofMolecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine”(with an Editorial Board of eight Nobel Laureates)to contribute a review chapter on “VitaminReceptors” to the 2nd Edition. He was a contribu-tor to the 1st edition of this encyclopedia as well.

Dr. Spencer Gibson, Assistant Professor received agrant from the Cancer Research Society to studythe role of growth factors in prevention of apopto-sis. He presented his work at the 44th AnnualMeeting of the American Society of Hematologyand at the Annual Meeting of the American Societyof Cell Biology. Dr. Gibson was also selected to rep-resent Manitoba Medical Researchers in the newlyorganized Health Researcher Society of Canadathat will advocate medical research in Canada.


Dr. Sabine Mai, Associate Professor in collabora-tion with Drs. B. Betty and J. Squire edited andco-authored the first textbook on FISH and mol-ecular imaging (Oxford University Press, 2002).The C.I.H.R. Strategic Training Program Grantentitled “Innovative Technologies inMultidisciplinary Health Research Training” wasawarded to Dr. Mai as the principle applicant.The first workshop was held on “Principles ofMicrocopy and Imaging”. Participants camefrom France, Germany, Thailand, and Canadaand enjoyed the multidisciplinary trainingatmosphere. Dr. Mai also spent a three monthresearch study leave at the German CancerResearch Centre in Heidelberg, Germany tostudy proteins that interact with telomeres. Dr.Mai presented her research on c-Myc andgenomic instability (“Les nouveaux aspects del’instabilite genomique induite par c-myc) at theCongress de la societe francaise d’hematologie,Paris. She presented new imaging tools at theEuroconference on Quantitative MolecularCytogenetics in Stockholm and a presented aworkshop on TLS and genomic stability inVancouver. Finally, she was invited to speakabout “Novel aspects of c-Myc dependentgenomic instability” at the OCI in Toronto.

Dr. Geoff Hicks, Associate Professor receivedrenewed funding for his Functional GenomicsCentre at Manitoba Institute of Cell Biologyfrom C.I.H.R. He was also Chair for the CIHRInstitute of Genetics New Principle InvestigatorsPriority and Planning Committee. This commit-tee successfully organized the first NewPrinciple Investigator Meeting held at TheBriars Resort and Conference Centre atJackson’s Point, Ontario. By all accounts it was asuccessful meeting and will hopefully be repeat-ed in the future. Dr. Hicks has presented hisresearch on TLS regulation of transcriptionalactivation at the Ewing’s Sarcoma 2ndInternational Symposium in DartmouthCollege, USA and conducted a workshop onlarge scale sequence-based screens in mouseembryonic stem cells at the 2nd InternationalGene Trap Workshop, Frankfurt, Germany.

McGill UniversityDepartment of BiochemistryCorrespondent: David Y. Thomas

The past year has been a very productive andexciting one for the Biochemistry Department.There have been new recruits, major successes infunding, and an expansion in the number ofgraduate students.

The Department of Biochemistry of McGillUniversity has 20 faculty members and 21 asso-ciate members from other McGill departmentsand from hospital research institutes. There aremajor links with McGill Cancer Centre (directorMichel Tremblay) and the Molecular Oncologygroup (director Vincent Giguere) and most ofthe members of these groups are also membersof the Biochemistry Department. There are also13 adjunct members of the Department who arelocated mainly in the biopharmaceuticalresearch industry and research institutes. Thereare close scientific ties with new MontréalGenomics (director Tom Hudson) andProteomics (director John Bergeron) buildingand with the McGill Centre for Bioinformatics(director Michael Hallett). There are presently35 post-doctoral fellows and 142 graduate stu-dents in the Department, and operating grantfunding is approximately $7.5M dollars per year.The Department has 350 undergraduate stu-dents who may enroll in the faculty, major orhonors programmes.

Research in the Biochemistry Department coversa wide variety of areas in which specialized train-ing for graduate degrees may be obtained. TheDepartment is well equipped, and with theplanned expansion. Major areas are Molecularand Cell Biology, Proteomics and Genomics,Chemical Biology, Cancer, Regulation of GeneExpression and Translation, Neurobiology, LipidBiology, Enzymology, the Function ofMembrane Proteins, and Structural Biology.Montréal has a dynamic and highly interactive


life sciences research community and a largenumber of biopharmaceutical companies.Montréal is a unique city combining NorthAmerica with European cultures to generate anunmatchable lifestyle and with its 5 universitieshas a large student community.

The Biochemistry Department plans to expand itscapabilities in Structural Biology, ChemicalBiology and Genetics.Prospective recruits, post-doctoral fellows andgraduate students should see our website fordetails http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/biochem/

KudosWe wish to share some of the achievements of ourcolleagues.Dr. Rose Johnstone, a former Chair of theBiochemistry Department and now ProfessorEmerita, has prepared a fascinating history of theearly years of the Biochemistry Department, withmany interesting facts and insights into the devel-opment of Biochemistry at McGill University inCanada. She was recently persuaded to present alecture to the James McGill Society and will pub-lish this history soon.

The Biochemistry Department held its very suc-cessful research day in May organized, by theDepartment Associate Chair Peter Braun and thegraduate students. The keynote lecturer was LeeHood from the Institute for Systems Biology inSeattle. Pictures of the event are on our website.

Philip Branton a former Chair of the departmentwho is the Director of the Cancer Institute of theCanadian Institutes of Health Research, has beenelected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Morag Park, Nicole Beauchemin, and MichelTremblay were all made full professors.

Albert Berghuis, Imed Gallouzi, William Muller,and David Thomas were all awarded CanadaResearch Chairs, together with the associatedCanadian Foundation for Innovation awards.

Philippe Gros was appointed as a DistinguishedInvestigator of the CIHR.

Jerry Pelletier and Morag Park were appointed asSenior Investigators of the CIHR.

Anne-Claude Gingras, a graduate student fromthe Sonenberg laboratory, recently graduated, andwas awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medaland the award of les Grandes Montrealaises. She isnow in the laboratory of Ruedi Aebersold at theInstitute for Systems Biology in Seattle.

Nahum Sonenberg was made a James McGill pro-fessor, a Distinguished Investigator of the CIHR, aHoward Hughes International Fellow, and has alsobeen awarded the Robert L. Noble prize of theNational Cancer Institute of Canada for hisachievements in determining the mechanism ofthe initiation of protein translation and its control.

Recent DevelopmentsNew colleagues in the Department are William Muller joined the Molecular OncologyGroup at the MUHC and is a full member of theDepartment. Bill is a former McGill graduate stu-dent welcomed back to Montréal by old friendsand new. William and his mice come to us fromMcMaster University.

Arnim Pause, a former graduate student frommany years ago, joined the Cancer Centre andBiochemistry Department after a post-doc withRick Klausner, a post at the Max-Planck atMartinsreid Munchen, and a stint as the groupleader at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Imed Gallouzi joined us from the laboratory ofJoan Steitz at Yale. He has a CRC chair and wasalso awarded a FRSQ chercheur-boursier.

Karine Auclair is a new associate member of theBiochemistry Department with a primaryappointment in Chemistry. She joins us frompost-doctoral training at Stanford and hasresearch interests in chemical biology.


Michael Hallett is a new associate member of theBiochemistry Department with a primaryappointment in Computer Science. He wastrained at the University of Waterloo and at theETH Zurich. He has research interests inBioinformatics and is acting director of theMcGill Bioinformatics Centre.

New adjunct professors are Enrico Purisima ofthe National Research Council of Canada, whohas interests in macromolecular structure model-ing, and Prabhat Arya, also of the NRC, who is aleading chemist who is interested in combinatori-al methods and is collaborating with severalmembers of the Department.

In addition to the continued success in operatinggrants and salary awards competitions, there werealso successes in renewing our infrastructure andresearch capabilities.

Dr. Kalle Gehring led two successful applicationsto the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec(FRSQ) and the Canadian Foundation forInnovation (CFI); the first application togetherwith colleagues at the Université de Montréal fora 600 MHz and 700 MHz NMR machines, and thesecond together with colleagues at the Universityof Ottawa, Université de Montréal, Sherbrooke,Laval and Dalhousie Universities for an 800 MHzNMR installation to serve Eastern Canada. Thislatter instrument will be installed in the oldPaprican building on the McGill campus, which ispresently undergoing extensive renovations.

A successful application to the FRSQ and CFI forestablishing the McGill University Life SciencesComplex was led by David Y. Thomas. This was ajoint application with the Faculty of Medicine, theFaculty of Science and the McGill UniversityHealth Sciences Complex, and together with agenerous gift from Dr. Francesco Bellini, the newBellini Life Sciences Building (BLSB) will join thevenerable McIntyre Medical Sciences and StewartBiology buildings to form the McGill UniversityLife Sciences Complex. The new BLSB will houseabout 50 principal investigators and over 500

staff. There will be thematic research pursued byresearchers from the participating departments inthe areas of chemical genetics, cancer, the geneticsof complex traits, and cell information transfersystems. The BLSB will also house an extensivemouse transgenic facility, chip fabrication facili-ties, and high throughput screening laboratories.The BLSB planning is overseen by the steeringcommittee of Michel Tremblay (Cancer Centre &Biochemistry), Paul Lasko (Biology), Alvin Shrier(Physiology), Hans Zingg (MUHC) and DavidThomas, and completion is planned for 2004.

The Biochemistry Department collaborated withthe Département de Chimie and Département deBiochimie at the Université de Montréal in anapplication led by William Lubell to theValorisation-Recherche Québec (VRQ) for theQuébec Combinatorial Chemistry Consortium.This has enabled the director Jerry Pelletier toexpand our chemical libraries and set up ourscreening facility which is now in cramped opera-tional quarters.

The Biochemistry Department led an applicationto the CIHR for a Strategic Training Programmein Chemical Biology. The objective of this pro-gramme is to produce graduate students whopursue focussed research projects in chemicalbiology while receiving training in the broader setof disciplines needed to study the interaction ofsmall molecules with proteins. Mentors for thisprogramme are in the Departments ofBiochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacolgy andthe Director of the programme is John Silvius.

Finally, last but not least, Albert Berghuis isdirecting the approval of the McGill StructuralBiology Centre through its initial developmentand approval.

We hope that during the 2003 InternationalCongress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology(IUBMB) to be held July 20-24, 2003 in Toronto,Ontario, that many former colleagues will take theopportunity to visit Montréal and theDepartment.


Memorial University ofNewfoundland Biochemistry, Molecular andCellular BiologyCorrespondent: Dr. Sean Brosnan

The past year has been one of new hirings andsome departures.

The Biochemistry Department saw the arrival ofthree new faculty members. Two of these (RobBertolo and Janet Brunton), who came from theUniversity of Alberta, work in the area ofNutritional Biochemistry, which has long been astrength of the department. Rob joins us as aCanada Research Chair in Human Nutrition.Both Rob and Janet use the piglet as a model forthe human neonate for their work on amino acidmetabolism. Kaushik Nag has joined us from theUniversity of Western Ontario, as a CIHR NewInvestigator. Kaushik works on the physical bio-chemistry of membrane lipids and lung surfac-tant. A fourth faculty member (Ross McGowan)will arrive this July from the University ofManitoba. Ross is a developmental biologist whouses zebra fish to study DNA methylation andgene imprinting. Bill Driedzic, formerly directorof Memorial’s Ocean Sciences Centre and head ofthe NCE in Aquaculture, has been awarded aCanada Research Chair in Marine Biochemistry,which he will hold, jointly, in the Ocean SciencesCentre and in the Department of Biochemistry.

In addition to these new arrivals, some of the oldhands have also been busy. Sean Brosnan wasappointed Chair of the Advisory Board forCIHR’s Institute for Nutrition, Metabolism andDiabetes as well as a CIHR Senior Investigator.Sukhinder Kaur (hardly an old hand) wasappointed a CIHR New Investigator. MargaretBrosnan, Gene Herzberg and David Heeley serveon CIHR grants committees. James Friel left us tobecome the Chair of the Department of Nutritionat the University of Manitoba. Garth Fletcher

(who, together with Choy Hew, discovered arcticantifreeze proteins at Memorial) retired. Happily,he continues his activity via AFP, the Biotechcompany that exploits this protein.

The Division of Basic Medical Sciences has alsoattracted new faculty. Bob Gendron and HeleneParadis, who work on angiogenesis and develop-mental biology, have been recruited from theUniversity of Cincinnati. Jules Dore has arrivedfrom the Mayo Clinic to work on TGF-beta sig-nalling. Mishuru Hirosawa and Ken Hirosawawill soon arrive from the University of Calgary towork, respectively, on neurobiology and rheaviruses.

On the Biotech front, Newfound Genomicsopened its new laboratories. Newfound’s scientif-ic director, Proton Rahman, will exploit thegenetic resource provided by the Newfoundlandfounder population to search for genes and poly-morphisms associated with complex diseases suchas obesity, Type 2 diabetes and arthritis.

Université de MontréalDépartement de BiochimieCorrespondent: Jurgen Sygusch

In 2001, our department introduced the firstundergraduate program in Bioinformatics, whichwas followed up by a M.Sc./Ph.D. program com-mencing in September 2002. By Fall of 2003, wealso hope to have in place a professional Masters’program in Biochemistry. This program is intend-ed to respond to the high demand for M.Sc. grad-uates by the biotechnology and pharmaceuticalsector in Montreal. In addition to the theoreticalcourses, special emphasis will be placed on devel-oping instrumentation and entrepreneurial skills.

Over the course of the last three years, the depart-ment has seen an infusion of young researcherswith the arrivals of Pascal Chartrand, MounibElchebly, Gerardo Ferbeyre, Nikolaus Heveker


and Alain Moreau. Hervac Philippe, whoobtained a Canada Research Chair inBioinformatics and Genomic Evolution, was ourlatest addition as associate professor. SylvieMader, also associate professor, was recentlyawarded a CIBC Research Chair in Breast Cancer.Another Canada Research Chair in IntegrativeGenomics went to associate professor StephenMichnick while Michel Bouvier, our chair,obtained a Canada Research Chair in Molecularand Cellular Pharmacology.

Faculty size in the department increased duringthis period with only two retirements: MargaretMamet leaving in 2000 and Rejean Morais in2001. The continuing pressure on additional lab-oratory space by our department is starting tobear fruit, and the department has been able toexpand by 25% in recent years. However we stillcovet broom closets as potential lab space. Thedepartment is particularly pleased with its highperformance in the university survey of per capi-ta research funds obtained.

Queen’s University Department of BiochemistryCorrespondent: Albert Clark

Dr. Glenville Jones became Head of theDepartment of Biochemistry on July 1st, 2002,replacing Albert Clark, who had been in theposition for 7 years (2 years as Acting Head plusa 5 year term). Dr. Jones has been a member ofthe Department since 1984. He has been a majorworld player in the field of vitamin D metabo-lism research. He is a member of the CIHRInstitute of Nutrition, Metabolism and DiabetesAdvisory Board. Dr. Clark remains in theDepartment as an active teacher andCoordinator of Graduate Studies.

Recent faculty changes include the appoint-ments in 2001 of Dr. Stephen Smith, and in2002 of Dr. Andrew Craig as Assistant

Professors. Dr. Smith is a graduate of theUniversity of Western Ontario, Department ofBiochemistry following which he undertookpost-doctoral studies at Oxford University inEngland. He brings protein NMR spectroscopyexpertise to the Department. Dr. Craig is a grad-uate of the McGill University Department ofBiochemistry. He then pursued post-doctoralwork with Dr. Peter Greer in the CancerResearch Laboratories at Queen’s University. Hebrings cell biology expertise to the department.

Two new Adjunct Assistant Professors have beenappointed - Dr. David Hyndman, who supervisesthe Protein Function Discovery equipment facili-ty and Dr. Sonoko Masuda, who is a ResearchAssociate with Dr. Jones.

Dr. Geoff Flynn, a former Head of the Department,retired in June 2002 after 33 years in theDepartment, but is still seen regularly. He is CEO ofCardiomics, a venture capitol supported companydeveloping therapeutic and diagnostic products forcardiovascular disease. Dr. Eileen Walters, anAssociate Adjunct Professor, also retired after 33years in the Department. Dr. Walters had coordi-nated and supervised the teaching laboratories,coordinated the Coop stream and taught theBiochemistry course for nursing students.

Dr. Alan Mak is Director of the recently formedProtein Function Discovery Group, a multi-disci-plinary group crossing departmental and facultyboundaries, formed in relationship to installationof new equipment funded through the CanadianFoundation of Innovation and OntarioInnovation Technology funds in the amount of $9million. The new equipment includes a 600 MHzNMR spectrometer, a mass spectrometer, and var-ious other items which will be used for proteinfunction discovery research. The departmentalshared equipment was also updated significantlyas the result of a successful CIHR multi-userequipment application.

Two successful CIHR training program appli-cations will have an impact on the


Biochemistry Department graduate program -training programs are being initiated inProtein Function Discovery and in Cancer. Anew stream has been initiated in the Honoursundergraduate program - a major programwhich has less emphasis on laboratory work infourth year and is primarily designed for thosewho don’t plan to undertake graduate work.This adds to the Subject of Specializationstream which emphasizes laboratory basedresearch and the Coop stream.

University ofSaskatchewanDepartment of BiochemistryCorrespondent: Suzanne Laferté

The Department of Biochemistry extends a warmwelcome to five new faculty members.

Dr. Kathy Hamilton, a biochemist and nuclearmagnetic resonance spectroscopist, is currentlyundertaking studies aimed at understanding themechanistic details of protein ubiquitination, animportant post-translational modification impli-cated in the regulation of many cellular processes,including cell cycle control and tumorigenesis.

Dr. Hong Wang’s research focuses on the molec-ular and biochemical mechanisms of cell cycleregulation in plants, with a current focus on afamily of plant cyclin-dependent kinaseinhibitors. He is also interested in elucidating thedifferences in cell cycle regulation between plantsand animals as well as understanding the rela-tionship between the cell cycle and other plantdevelopmental processes.

Dr. Ron Geyer will focus his research efforts ondeveloping novel approaches and tools for analyz-ing signal transduction pathways. More specifical-ly, he will use peptide-based reagents (peptideaptamers) to analyze the activities and interac-tions of proteins.

Dr. Yu Luo’s research program is aimed at study-ing signal transduction in the bacterial SOSresponse to DNA damage. Using molecular andstructural approaches, including x-ray crystallog-raphy, Dr. Luo hopes to shed light on the molecu-lar mechanisms underlying the bacterial SOSpathway and provide rational targets for design-ing antimicrobial compounds.

Dr. Stan Moore’s research program will map outinteractions between components of the flagellarexport pathway of the bacterium Helicobacterpylori by X-ray crystallography. In light of theimportance of Helicobacter pylori in gastric dis-ease, this research will provide pioneering insightsabout the function of the multicomponent pro-tein export machine in bacteria as well as providecrucial information for the development of novelanti-bacterial agents.

The Department congratulates all of our newmembers for their success in the recent HSURC(Health Services Utilization ResearchCommission) grant competition. Each facultyreceived a two-year grant of $40,000 per annumwith an additional $30,000 for equipment. Inaddition, Drs. Geyer and Wang have received$465,000 and $150,000, respectively, from theCanadian Foundation for Innovation.

Université deSherbrookeDépartement de BiochimieCorrespondent : Marcel Bastin

Récemment, le Département de biochimie arecruté deux nouveaux professeurs. Le docteurSimon Labbé s’intéresse à l’identification et à lacaractérisation moléculaire de composantes quicontrôlent l’entrée d’ions métalliques comme lecuivre et le fer. Le docteur Martin Bisaillonétudie le mécanisme moléculaire des protéinesimpliquées dans la synthèse de la coiffe desARN messagers.


University of TorontoDepartment of BiochemistryCorrespondent: David Williams

Faculty NewsWe are very pleased to announce that ReinhartReithmeier commenced a 5 year term as Chair ofthe Department beginning July 1, 2002. Reinhartpreviously held his primary appointment in theDepartment of Medicine and is a member of theCIHR Group in Membrane Biology. He takes overfrom Peter Lewis, who led the Department since1991, and David Isenman, who served as ActingChair from January - June 2002.

Peter Lewis continues to assume a leadership rolewithin the University as Vice Dean of Research inthe Faculty of Medicine, a position he assumedJuly 1, 2002.

Bibudhendra (Amu) Sarkar, who led the Divisionof Structural Biology and Biochemistry at theResearch Institute of the Hospital for SickChildren for the past 12 years, has announced thathe is stepping down as Head as of December 31,2002. Lynne Howell has been appointed as

Interim Head. Hugh Lawford retired from theDepartment this year and we all wish Hugh thebest for the future. Theo Hofmann continues toenjoy an active retirement, dividing his timebetween his two passions: in the lab studyingaspartyl proteinases, and in the field, birding. Heis currently Regional Coordinator in the collec-tion and processing of data for an Atlas of theBreeding Birds of Ontario.

David Williams became Graduate Coordinatorfor a three year term beginning Nov. 1, 2001. Hesucceeds Jacqueline Segall, who did a terrific jobin this position from 1999-2001.

On November 5th, 2001, the Department lost alongtime colleague and friend in Dr. Dorothy(Dorrie) Johnson. Dorrie was a Lecturer from1972-1976, during which time she was very activein running our advanced laboratory course forbiochemistry specialists. She was subsequently aResearch Associate at the Hospital for SickChildren, and maintained her interests in sciencewell beyond retirement. She was an enthusiasticparticipant at the CSMBCB Winternational meet-ing at Mont Ste. Anne in 2001 at the age of 79! Weall fondly remember Dorrie’s warm nature andgood humour.


Peter Lewis

Reinhart Reithmeier

Several faculty were honoured with awards in the2001-2002 academic year. The Royal Society ofCanada recognized the scientific accomplish-ments of two of our colleagues. Lewis Kayreceived the Flavelle Medal, which is awardedevery two years to a Society Fellow for “an out-standing contribution to biological science dur-ing the preceding ten years, or for significantadditions to a previous outstanding contributionto biological science”. Sergio Grinstein wasawarded the McLaughlin Medal, which isbestowed annually to recognize “distinguishedachievement in medical science in Canada”. Wewere also pleased to learn that Emil Pai andDavid Clarke were named as Tier 1 CanadaResearch Chairs this year. Amira Klip was hon-oured with the University of Toronto DalesAward, which is awarded to “a U. of T. investiga-tor of outstanding calibre whose research has hada substantive impact in the areas of basic or clin-ical sciences or community health”. A Premier’sResearch Excellence award went to Gil Privé, andEmil Pai was a joint awardee of a CFI-International Joint Venture grant.

Our congratulations also go to Chris Hogue, whowas named by the Globe and Mail as one of thisyear’s “Top 40 Under 40”. Selection is based on thecriteria of “vision and leadership, innovation andachievement, community involvement, impact,and strategy for growth”.

EventsA symposium organized by Reinhart Reithmeierwas held to honour David MacLennan’s lifelongscientific contributions, as well as his role as men-tor to many young scientists who continue his tra-dition of excellence in research. Attendees, includ-ing MacLennan alumni from around the world,gathered on October 3-4, 2002 to pay tribute toDavid’s many accomplishments. David also washonoured this year by being named an Officer ofthe Order of Canada. Our congratulations go toDavid on this exceptional achievement.

AppointmentsWe are pleased to welcome Avi Chakrabartty, aScientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute andAssistant Professor in the Department of MedicalBiophysics, who was cross-appointed to theDepartment of Biochemistry. Avi’s research is inthe area of protein folding and design, with partic-ular emphasis on amyloid fibril formation and thedesign of polypeptide mimics of helical cytokines.

We are also happy to announce that Gil Privé, alsoa Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute andAssociate Professor in Medical Biophysics, hasaccepted a cross-appointment in the Departmentof Biochemistry. As a crystallographer interestedin protein-lipid interactions, Gil is pursuing thestructures of membrane proteins and exploringthe use of lipopeptides as detergents.

Professors Lilianna Attisano, Annelise Jorgensenand Vitauts (Vic) Kalnins, formerly of theDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, haveaccepted primary appointments within theDepartment of Biochemistry. Lilianna’s lab stud-ies molecular mechanisms underlying TGFßsuperfamily signalling using biochemical andmolecular genetic approaches. Annelise is inter-


David MacLennan

ested in the structure, function, and biogenesis ofcalcium-storage-release sites of the sarcoplasmicreticulum in adult and developing cardiac andskeletal muscle cells. Vic’s interests lie in the orga-nization and function of different components ofthe cytoskeleton and the centrosome. We aredelighted to welcome them all to the Department.

Our congratulations to Hue Sun Chan, whoreceived tenure, and to Lynne Howell and JulieForman-Kay, who were promoted to the rank ofFull Professor.

Graduate StudiesThe Department held its annual graduate studentposter day on May 31, 2002. The poster day tookplace in conjunction with the annual TheoHofmann Lecture which was presented this yearby Dr. Nahum Sonenberg of the Department ofBiochemistry, McGill University. Dr. Sonenberg’slecture was entitled: “Signalling to theTranslational Machinery”.

As usual the judging was difficult but with Dr.Sonenberg’s help the following winners (whoreceive cash awards) were chosen:

Winners in the Ph.D. category were: FIRST,Arianna Rath (Davidson lab): “In vitro analysis ofAbp1p SH3 domain substitutions that alter pep-tide binding specificity”; SECOND, TonyMittermaier (Kay and Forman-Kay labs):“Studying excited states of proteins by NMR spec-troscopy”; THIRD, Roberto Botelho (Grinsteinlab): “Diacylglycerol-dependent Ras stimulationduring Fcγ receptor-mediated phagocytosis”.

Winners in the M.Sc. category were: FIRST,Urszula Wojtyra (Houry lab): “One piece of thepuzzle: Role of the zinc binding domain of chaper-one ClpX”; SECOND, Jennifer Marles (Davidsonlab): “Significance of ligand binding specificity ofthe SH3 domain for HOG pathway function”;THIRD, Linh Van (Siu lab): “Exploring the mecha-nism of neurite outgrowth from L1-v3 interaction”.

Additional Graduate Awards:The winner of the Beckman Paper of the Year

Award for 2001 was Christopher Lemke (Howelllab) for his paper entitled “The 1.6 A crystalstructure of E. coli argininosuccinate synthetasesuggests a conformational change during cataly-sis” published in Structure (2001) 9(12):1153.

The annual David Scott prize for outstanding all-round graduate student was shared this year by PaulYip and Tony Harris (both members of the Siu lab).

Congratulations to all winners for theirachievements.


Happy winners from left: Urszula Wojtyra,Tony Mittermaier, Jennifer Marles,

Chris Lemke, Arianna Rath, (David Isenman), Linh Van & Roberto Botelho

John Wang with judges Grant Brown and Nahum Sonenberg


Beckman Paper of the Year winner Chris Lemke withGrad. Coordinator David Williams

Paul Yip with supervisor Chi-Hung Siu

Tony Harris with supervisor Chi-Hung

University of WaterlooDepartment of ChemistryCorrespondent: John Honek

Gary Dmitrienko’s research group is involved inthe design, synthesis and enzymology ofinhibitors of bacterial zinc-dependent beta-lacta-mases as well as the development of new structur-al classes of HIV-1 reverse transcriptaseinhibitors. A new NSERC Strategic grant involv-ing collaborations with A.M. Berghuis at McGilland Crompton Chemical Ltd. in Guelph has beenawarded to Gary for discovery of highly specificantifungal agents for plant pathogenic fungi, tar-geting lysine biosynthesis in fungi. A new NSERCCHRP grant involving collaborations with A.J.Clarke at U. of Guelph and T. Viswanatha at UWand MethylGene Inc. has also been awarded toGary for strategies to combat bacterial resistanceto beta-lactam antibiotics.

Guy Guillemette’s research group investigates thestructure-function and mechanism of metallopro-teins including nitric oxide synthases, calmodulinand aldolases. John Honek’s group is involved in thearea of mechanistic enzymology of metalloenzymesas well as the structure-function of enzymesinvolved in methionine biochemistry. He has beenappointed to the editorial board of Letters in DrugDesign and Discovery (Bentham Press) this yearand is currently an associate editor of Biochemistryand Cell Biology (NRC). Elizabeth Meiering’sgroup is conducting research on the folding, struc-ture, function and dynamics of medically and bio-logically important proteins. Susan Mikkelsen isinterested in biosensors and bioassays. Her groupinvented the world’s first voltammetric sensor forDNA sequence detection, and is now actively devel-oping a new electrochemical antibiotic susceptibili-ty assay for microorganisms; technology availableincludes screen-printing for disposable sensordesign and atomic force microscopy for surfacecharacterization. Michael Palmer’s research isfocused on the study of novel pore-forming toxinsfrom pathogenic bacteria, and on protein-choles-

terol interactions. Biochemical research in ScottTaylor’s group involves the design, synthesis andevaluation of enzyme inhibitors, enzyme mecha-nisms and the generation of catalytic antibodies(abzymes). The inhibitors are being examined aspotential leads for the treatment of diabetes, breastcancer as well as other forms ofcancer. Collaborators on enzyme inhibitor projectsinclude Dr. Debasish Ghosh, a crystallographer atthe Hauptmann-Woodward Medical ResearchInstitute in Buffalo, Dr. Stephen Bearne atDalhousie Medical School and Merck-FrosstCanada. His CHIR-funded research on catalyticantibodies involves using abzymes to activate anti-cancer prodrugs. The Chemistry department hascompleted setting up a new 600 MHZ NMR spec-trometer and a MicroMass Q-TOF GlobalESMS/MALDI mass spectrometer. Radek Laufercompleted his Ph.D. degree and is now a seniorresearch scientist with OSI Pharmaceuticals in LongIsland NY. Jennifer Steere completed her M.Sc.degree and is now a research scientist at Xerox(Canada). Hanna Wong completed her M.Sc. thesisand is now at the University of Toronto. Justin Wucompleted his M.Sc. thesis and is now a researchscientist with Brantford Chemicals.

An OGS scholarship was awarded to HeatherMontgomery. Pei Hang and Paula Walasek havejoined John Honek’s lab this year and are involvedin studying an rRNA methyltransferase and ametzincin protease respectively. Miriam Heynen(M.Sc. in Biology at UW) has joined theDmitrienko group as a research associate.

University of WesternOntarioDepartment of BiochemistryCorrespondent: Eric Ball

Biochemistry at the University of WesternOntario consists of some 60 members and associ-ate members located at the main campus and sev-eral research institutes in the city of London,


Ontario. The Department was established in1924, initially focusing on carbohydrate metabo-lism. Later it became noted for strength in lipidsand membranes before a molecular biology sec-tion was added. Most recently a focus on physicalmethods and structural biology has been devel-oped and expansion in the area of human genet-ics is planned. The Medical Sciences Building oncampus, where a major part of the Department ishoused, has finally begun renovations forcingmany labs to move. A modern, well organizedfacility is eagerly anticipated, albeit five yearsdown the road.

The Department wished a fond farewell andbest of luck to two of our members, Drs. MarieFraser and George Chaconas, who have movedwest to take up positions at the University ofCalgary. We will certainly miss their expertiseand fellowship. We were very pleased to wel-come Dr. Fred Dick as an Assistant professor inconnection with our human genetics initiative.Dr. Dick did his graduate work at Dartmouthmedical school, followed by a postdoctoralstint with Dr. N. Dyson working on mutationsin pRB

Several faculty have taken sabbatical opportuni-ties. Dr. Ilona Skerjanc returned from a short sab-batical spent learning about transgenic approach-es to muscle differentiation at the University ofOttawa. Dr. Chris Grant is currently on sabbaticalpursuing a new interest in medical imaging. Dr.Gary Shaw is on a sabbatical sojourn to Australiauntil the new year.

In the past year both Drs. Shawn Li and IlonaSkerjanc received a Premier’s Research ExcellenceAward (PREA), the latter in combination withthe Foundation for Gene and Cell Therapy. Dr.Ken Yeung received a CFI award for NewInvestigators. Dr. Gary Shaw was awarded aCanada Research Chair.

A number of new research initiatives haverecently begun in the Department. Thus Dr. StanDunn has a lead role in setting up the London

Regional Proteomics Centre that will coordinatefacilities for both individual analyses and pro-teomics approaches. Dr. Rob Hegele is Directorof the London Regional Genomics Centre(www.lrgc.ca) that specializes in high through-put genome analysis. The Dr. Don Rix ProteinIdentification Facility is led by Dr. Gilles Lajoieand uses mass spectrometry as a major tool( w w w . b i o c h e m . u w o . c a / w i t s/bmsl/bmslhome.html; supported by grantsfrom ORDCF, CFI and Genome Canada). Dr.Lajoie is also group leader of the Ontario-wideprotein identification facility that has recentlyreceived funding from the ORDCF: Dr. KenYeung is also part of this initiative. Drs. GaryShaw and Shawn Li are part of the NMRStructural Proteomics team, while Drs. Shiltonand Fraser are part of the ProteinCrystallography for Structural Proteomics appli-cation. Dr. David Litchfield led a local group ofresearchers that recently received CFI funding toestablish facilities for molecular imaging anddynamics of cell signalling networks.

In undergraduate education, the Department ofBiochemistry has played a major role in establish-ing the new Bachelor of Medical SciencesProgram. This program is offered jointly by theFaculty of Medicine and Dentistry and theFaculty of Science. We are offering a 4 year BMScGeneral degree and BMSc Honors degrees withspecialization in six areas, includingBiochemistry. A concurrent 5 year honors pro-gram in Medical Sciences and BusinessAdministration was just approved by theUniversity Senate. This is a joint program betweenthe Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and theIvey School of Business. Departmental chair Dr.Ted Lo is the Program Director and J. Ball is theProgram Counsellor.


York UniversityBiology and Chemistry MovingForward TogetherCorrespondent: Logan Donaldson

I am one of seven new faculty members recruitedby the Departments of Biology and Chemistry atYork University since January 2000. In this article,I will begin by introducing some of the new facul-ty members at York University and highlightaspects of our interdisciplinary research andfunding activities. Finally, I will summarize someof the very notable achievements of our faculty inthe last two years.

In November 2001, I presented a poster on behalfof the York Biotechnology Network at the OttawaLife Sciences Council BioNorth conference. TheYork Biotechnology Network is represented by agroup of three senior (Drs. Ronald Pearlman,Michael Organ and Michael Siu) and six juniorresearchers (Drs. Logan Donaldson, KathiHudak, Philip Johnson, Sergey Krylov, SylvieMorin and Gary Sweeney) from the Biology andChemistry departments. As our interests share acommon foundation of molecular biological andbiochemical techniques, we have sought to amal-gamate our strengths in microscopy, spectroscopy(NMR / MS), high throughput DNA sequencingand combinatorial chemistry into a package thatis readily available to on- and off-campusresearchers.

The first wave of new recruits began in Summer2000 with the appointments of Drs. SergeyKrylov and Philip Johnson to the Department ofChemistry. Dr. Krylov uses a combination ofmicroscopy and capillary electrophoresis calledchemical cytometry to interpret biochemicalevents at a single cell level. Dr. Krylov’s research issupported by an NSERC operating grant, aCFI/OIT New Opportunities Award and anOntario Premier’s Research Excellence (PREA)award. Dr. Philip Johnson uses NMR spec-troscopy to study the structural biology of RNA

and RNA-protein interactions. His research isfunded by an NSERC operating grant. I joined theDepartment of Biology in Fall 2000. My NSERCfunded research explores the biochemistry andstructural biology protein-protein interactionsinvolved in signal transduction and gene expres-sion. At the 2002 Canadian Chemical Societymeeting, Dr. Johnson and I had the opportunityto describe our research along with a number ofjunior NMR spectroscopists from Canada at amini-symposium organized by Dr. LawrenceMcIntosh (UBC).

In 2001, Dr. Kathi Hudak and Dr. Gary Sweeneyjoined by the Biology Department to support anew Biotechnology initiative. Dr. Hudak is inter-ested in the antiviral properties of a ribonucleaseproduced by the Pokeweed plant. She is a 2002NSERC and CFI/OIT recipient. Dr. Sweeney isinterested in the molecular and cell biology ofinsulin resistance and glucose update. In additionto a CFI/OIT New Opportunities award, he holdsa Canadian Diabetes Foundation Junior ResearchFellowship. Following the appointments of Drs.Hudak and Sweeney, Dr. Patricia Lakin-Thomasjoined to the Biology Department. Dr. Lakin-Thomas is a cell and molecular biologist whostudies circadian rhythms in yeast. Her research iscurrently supported by an NSERC operating andequipment grant.

Since Fall 2002, students enrolled in the third andfourth years of the Honours Biology Programhave had the option of selecting a Biotechnologystream of studies. The jewel of this stream is alaboratory course organized by Drs. Kathi Hudakand Gary Sweeney where students gain hands onexperience with yeast two hybrid systems, confo-cal microscopy, western blot analysis, proteinpurification, and in vitro transcription / transla-tion. Lecture periods concentrate on timely issuesrelated to medical, pharmaceutical and agricul-tural applications of biotechnology.

Given the growing overlap in the research andacademic offerings by the Departments ofBiology and Chemistry, we are considering imple-


menting a degree program in Biochemistry. Asour course offerings continue to evolve, we antic-ipate the inclusion of bioinformatics, advancedmetabolism and structural biology to our com-bined curriculum.

Dr. Michael Siu, the MDS-Sciex Chair in MassSpectrometry and Dr. Diethard Bohme, theChairman of Chemistry and a recent Tier-1Canada Research Chair recipient welcome Dr.Robert Hudgins, a fellow mass spectrometrist tothe Chemistry Department. Dr. Hudgins is a spe-cialist in FT-ICR mass spectroscopy. This tech-nique couples mass spectrometry with a high fieldmagnet to provide unrivaled sensitivity and accu-racy. This year, Dr. Siu was a recipient of a 2002Ontario Cancer Institute Research Grant. As well,Funds from ORDCF and Ontario GenomicsInstitute support some of his collaborative efforts.Together, the Siu, Bohme and Hudgins laborato-ries are exploring means to integrate mass spec-trometry with structural and biophysical pro-grams at a facility-wide scale.

Many research laboratories on campus benefitfrom instrumentation housed in theBiomolecular Core Facility. Drawing on supportfrom NSERC, CIHR and the CFI, the Core Facilitysupports a nucleic acid sequencing service, geldocumentation, phosphoimaging, and real timePCR. This facility exists largely through the effortsof Dr. Ronald Pearlman. Working in conjunctionwith the Core Facility is the CFI/OIT fundedBiomolecular Expression and CharacterizationFacility. Hosted by the Donaldson laboratory, thisnew facility supports fermentation, chromatogra-phy, distributed computing and fluorescencespectroscopy. Many research laboratories in theDepartments of Biology and Chemistry appreci-ate the addition of protein-ligand interactioninstrumentation (isothermal titration calorime-try and BiaCore) from Dr. Philip Johnson and Dr.Kathi Hudak in partial fulfillment of their recentCFI/OIT New Opportunities Awards. The cellbiologists in the Department of Biology welcomea new confocal microscope obtained throughCFI/OIT funding awarded to Dr. Gary Sweeney.

The Department of Biology congratulates Dr. K.Andrew White, a molecular virologist, as a 2002recipient of a Tier-II Canada Research Chair. Inaddition, Dr. Tara Haas became a CIHR YoungInvestigator. Five year CIHR operating grantswere awarded to Dr. Ronald Pearlman and Dr.Gillian Wu, our new Dean in the Faculty of Pureand Applied Sciences. National Cancer Institute ofCanada operating grants were awarded this yearto Dr. John Heddle and Dr. Michael Siu.

Over the last two years, several researchers in theDepartment of Biology have received Premier’sResearch Excellence Awards. Funds from thisaward ($100 000 from PREA and a $50 000 con-tribution from York University) are designated tosupport the training of graduate students andpostdoctoral fellows. We congratulate Dr.Imogen Coe, Dr. Chun Peng, Dr. K. AndrewWhite, Dr. Bridget Stutchbury and our newestrecipient Dr. John McDermott. Dr. McDermott’sresearch is an excellent example of the strongrelationship between the Departments of Biologyand Chemistry. Working with Dr. Michael Siu(Chemistry) and Dr. David Cox (Biology), he hasdiscovered new phosphorylation sites in themyogenic transcription factor Mef-2 using acombination of tandem affinity tag purificationand mass spectrometry.

Dr. Ronald Pearlman is the Department’sstrongest advocate for research in genomics.Currently, his research group is sequencing ESTsfrom a variety of protists in collaboration with anumber of laboratories funded by GenomeAtlantic. Dr. Pearlman also lead a proposal withDrs. Donaldson, Siu and Morin which secured a$1 million gift from the R. Samuel McLaughlinFoundation to establish a Functional Genomicsprogram and recruit a senior level Chair.

The Departments of Biology and Chemistry aremoving forward together to further establishYork University in molecular biological andbiochemical research. We anticipate that thisinterdepartmental effort will continue to growin the upcoming years.


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