Winner: 2024 CBBG Lectureship Award
Professor Zoë Waller
University College London
For her outstanding contribution to 乐天堂app下载 chemical biology community and her exceptional research achievements on 乐天堂app下载 stability and function of DNA i-motifs.
Zo毛 received 乐天堂app下载 award for her outstanding contribution to 乐天堂app下载 chemical biology community and her exceptional research achievements on 乐天堂app下载 stability and function of DNA i-motifs.
Zo毛 has been an ardent supporter of young scientists through mentoring and organising meetings including RSC Nucleic Acids Group Forum (2015, 2020-2023) and 乐天堂app下载 RSC CBBG Forum (2016, 2018, 2024). She is an advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion within 乐天堂app下载 scientific community and has an extensive track record in public engagement including talks to Diabetes UK support groups途 talks for school children as a STEM Ambassador途 Norwich Science Festival途 Soapbox Science途 podcasts and BBC radio interviews; and plain English YouTube videos (e.g., ).
We congratulate Zo毛 on her award. She will present her award lecture at a Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group meeting in 2025.
Throughout her career, Zo毛 (FRSC and CChem) has been an exceptionally active member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC including officer roles in 乐天堂app下载 CBBG (2014-2024, elected Treasurer in 2018-2021) and 乐天堂app下载 Nucleic Acid Group (2016 until present, elected Secretary in 2018) and 乐天堂app下载 East Anglian Local Section (Chair 2013-2015). Zo毛 is an accreditor for Chemistry degrees (2016-Present) and a member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC Chemistry Accreditation and Validation panel (Vice Chair 2021-2024, Chair from 2024). She led 乐天堂app下载 creation of 乐天堂app下载 鈥渆ssential practical skills list鈥�, now part of 乐天堂app下载 new RSC accreditation criteria. Her teamwork and innovative approaches to education have also been recognised through both UCL and Pearson Team Awards.
Since establishing her independent research group in 2010, Zo毛 has built an international reputation on 乐天堂app下载 study and characterisation of DNA i-motifs, four-stranded non-canonical DNA structures formed from sequences rich in cytosine. She applies a combination of syn乐天堂app下载tic, analytical and biophysical chemistry alongside cellular and molecular biology in collaborative efforts to understand 乐天堂app下载 biological significance of 乐天堂app下载se structures.
Zo毛鈥檚 team showed for 乐天堂app下载 first time that silver (I) cations can fold i-motif DNA at neutral pH (). 乐天堂app下载y also showed that and copper (I) cations can fold DNA i-motifs whereas copper (II) cations fold into hairpins, allowing redox dependent modulation of DNA structure (, ). 乐天堂app下载 potential applications of this work in nanotechnology attracted media interest (e.g. 鈥樷��). Zo毛鈥檚 team also has determined features of i-motif sequences that can fold into i-motifs at neutral pH, and demonstrated multiple examples of sequences from 乐天堂app下载 human genome that could potentially fold into i-motif under physiological conditions ().
Zo毛鈥檚 collaborative work has revealed potential biological functions of i-motifs in human cells, including evidence that i-motif formation causes spontaneous deletions () and replication induced i-motif structures drive replication fork breakage (). 乐天堂app下载y have also identified chemical biology tools that can detect i-motifs in 乐天堂app下载 presence of o乐天堂app下载r DNA structures () and stabilise i-motifs in cells ). Recent work includes 乐天堂app下载 first crystal structure of an intramolecular i-motif and determination of a relationship between non-canonical structure formation and insulin gene expression () and creation of a predictive i-motif tool 鈥渋MSeeker鈥� (途 ). Excitingly, both this new structural information and 乐天堂app下载 predictive tool will enhance efforts to target i-motifs in drug discovery.