Congratulations to Yung-Chieh CHEN on the acceptance of his thesis!
His work, supervised by Bruno KLAHOLZ
is entitled : Biochemical and structural analysis of exon junction complexes and human ribosome complexes.
Summary of her research work:
The exon junction complex (EJC), a multiprotein complex deposited on the mature mRNA by the spliceosome during pre-mRNA splicing, plays a pivotal role in translation regulation during the pioneer round of translation. The EJC enhances the translation efficiency through interacting with the ribosome and regulates the nonsense mediated decay. Despite its multifaceted role in translation control, the underlying mechanism remains elusive.
Hence, the objective of the project is to elucidate the mechanism through integrative structural biology approach. In my thesis, I combined the-state-of-the-art cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and the super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (dSTORM) to study the 3D structure of the endogenous EJC-ribosomal complexes in vitro and the localization of the complexes in cellular environments.
In parallel, I performed cryo-EM-based drug design and development to optimize cycloheximide derivatives for cancer treatments and research in protein synthesis. The work lays the foundation for characterizing the EJC-mediated translation regulation and contributes to the development of novel translation inhibitors.
Skills acquired at the IGBMC:
Throughout my PhD, I have acquired and refined problem-solving skills and evolved into a truly independent learner. The nature of scientific research taught me the importance of being persevere and resilient, especially during those moments when experiments didn't work out as expected. These challenges were not setbacks, but rather opportunities that shaped my ability. Moreover, I have learnt to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams and manage various projects simultaneously.
Life at the IGBMC:
Strong and supportive platforms and infrastructures as well as the top-notch research environment
Collaborations :
Dr. Arnaud Poterszman, Dr. Jean-Paul Concordet, Prof. Jean-Yves Winum, Dr. Jean-Francois Peyron
Funding and partners:
IMCBio Phd program, La ligue centre le cancer
Future projects:
I will stay in the lab for one year as a postdoc researcher.