DEPARTMENT-NAME: University of Leicester

		Department of Biochemistry


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Department Overview

The Department of Biochemistry was established in 1961 under the headship of Professor Sir Hans Kornberg FRS and is a component department of the School of Biological Sciences within the Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences. It has grown to be one of the largest and most successful departments at the University of Leicester and a leading Biochemistry Department in the UK, with a wide range of research interests and a commitment to excellent teaching at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. During the period 2005-2006, the Department moved to the new Henry Wellcome Building, which has excellent facilities and provides a stimulating environment for pursuing state-of-the-art biochemical research.

The Department has a strong international reputation in many areas of biochemistry including Structural Biology, Molecular Cell Biology, and the Biochemistry of Gene Expression. Funding for these research activities is provided from a number of sources including research councils, charities and industry. The current level of research funding stands at approximately £4.5 million per annum. The Department contributes substantially to the undergraduate degree programme of the School (a total of ~550 students), to a joint degree with the Department of Chemistry and to Medical School teaching, and to four Masters courses (a total of ~120 students) . For current funding opportunities see Faculty Research.

photo of lab

Several members of the Department are also associated with the Institute of Genetics or with the Centre for Chemical Biology.

The Department offers graduates the opportunity to study by research for the degrees of MPhil, PhD, MD and MRes.

Major Facilities in the Department

In addition to the normal equipment of a Biochemistry Department, there are extensive specialised facilities for research in structural biology, enzymology, cell and molecular biology.

The Biological NMR Centre

Macromolecular X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory

Molecular Enzymology Group

Geneta: Gene trageting and Transgenic Service

Fluorescence Microscope Imaging Facility

Protein Expression Laboratory (PROTEX)

The Department makes extensive use of the Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry Laboratory (PNACL), which provides services for protein sequencing and automated DNA sequencing. Mass spectrometry facilities (electrospray and matrix assisted laser desorption) are available in the PNAC laboratory.

The Department has dedicated laboratories for the preparation and analysis of biological macromolecules with fermentor, cell breakage apparatus, equipment for the large-scale harvesting of bacterial cells, centrifuges, HPLC and FPLC chromatography. Cold room space is amply supplied for the preparation and manipulation of biological molecules and organisms. Excellent facilities also exist for mammalian tissue culture and the handling, counting and visualisation of radioactive materials

The Biological NMR Centre
This centre, established in 1986, is superbly equipped for studies of macromolecular structure and interactions in solution. It has one 500MHz, two 600MHz and one 800MHz NMR spectrometers, funded by BBSRC, the Wellcome Trust and JREI, which are equipped for all the modern multinuclear multidimensional experiments. The Centre has an international reputation in the biological applications of NMR spectroscopy, particularly in studies of enzyme structure and mechanism and protein-ligand interactions.
Macromolecular X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory
Excellent facilities for macromolecular crystallography were established in 1995 with support from the BBSRC and substantial investment by the University. The Laboratory has achieved international recognition by solving a number of novel and important structures, ranging from domains of the integrin family of cell adhesion molecules to the explosive-degrading enzyme PETN reductase. The laboratory's interests are wide and range from proteins involved in transcription factors, cell signalling and cellular adhesion to redox enzymes involved in drug action.
Molecular Enzymology Group
The Department has excellent facilities for transient kinetic studies, having several stopped-flow rapid-mixing instruments with dual wavelength fluorescence (intensity and anisotropy), absorbance and photodiode array detection. Temperature jump and rapid quench instruments are also available. Kinetic studies on the nanosecond timescale are also possible using a laser flash photolysis instrument. This instrument is used in studies using caged substrates and photophysics of green fluorescent protein variants. Equilibrium binding reactions are investigated using isothermal calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, circular dichroism and fluorescence anisotropy. A custom-built total internal reflection fluorescence microscope, with 4 laser sources and various detection systems (dual ICCD cameras, electron multipier CCD and avalanche photodiodes), is used for single molecule kinetic investigations.
Geneta: Gene Targeting and Transgenic Service
The ‘Embryonic Stem Cell Facility’ was established in 1997 with support from the Wellcome Trust, but is now run on a self-supporting basis through contract generated income. The facility comprises a tissue culture suite with state-of-the-art equipment for culturing mouse embryonic stem cells and for generating ES cell lines with targeted genetic mutations. Working closely with the Transgenic Mouse Unit within the Division of Biomedical Services, the facility generates mouse lines containing specific genetic mutations from the targeted ES cells. The facility has an international reputation in the generation of knockout mice, with a particular strength in the generation of knockouts for mouse genes involved in cell signaling and cell adhesion. Building on the success of transgenic technology established at Leicester, and following the move to brand new facilities in the Henry Wellcome Building, the service has now been launched as *Geneta* to external as well as internal researchers. Please visit the *Geneta* web site for details of the gene targeting and transgenic services available .
Fluorescence Microscope Imaging Facility
: The Department houses a state-of-the-art fluorescence imaging facility within a dedicated suite of rooms on the 3 rd floor of the Henry Wellcome Building. The facility, primarily aimed at high resolution, multi-wavelength imaging of cultured cells, has been established through equipment grant funding generously provided by The Wellcome Trust. It comprises three widefield epifluorescence Nikon TE300 microscopes and one Leica TCS SP5 laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). The widefield microscopes are equipped with Hamamatsu Orca ER single chip CCD cameras and Ludl motorized filter wheels and shutters. Microscopes are also variously equipped with Piezo focus drives, motorized stages and microinjection equipment. OpenLab and Volocity software from Improvision are used for image capture, quantitation, deconvolution and 3D rendering. The top of the range Leica LSCM (released in 2006) consists of 5 lasers giving up to 8 tunable laser lines (including UV), a fully motorized microscope and 5 SP detectors for simultaneous imaging of up to 5 channels. Software modules are provided for colocalization, time-lapse imaging, FRET, photobleaching, photoactivation and spectral unmixing. All widefield and confocal microscopes are inverted and have temperature controlled environmental chambers to facilitate live cell imaging. Access charges are applied to maintain this facility, which is managed by a full-time Senior Experimental Officer, Dr K. R. Straatman. Interested parties wishing to make use of this facility should contact either Dr Straatman ([email protected]) or Dr. Andrew Fry ([email protected]) in the Department of Biochemistry.
Protein Expression Laboratory (PROTEX)
The protein expression laboratory will prepare protein expression clones in the vector of your choice. Multiple expression vectors from one set of primers. All you supply are two primers and a template. Contact: Xiaowen Yang [email protected]

Last updated:12 January 2009
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