David Balchin

Thanks Paolo!

Thanks to @chercheurjuteux.com and the other reviewers - all fair and constructive.

GroEL/ES chaperonin unfolds then encapsulates a nascent protein on the ribosome - Nature Communications The GroEL/ES chaperonin can act during protein synthesis to promote folding. Here, Roeselová et al. show how GroEL captures, remodels and sequesters nascent proteins in its central chamber, while they...

Our story on GroEL/ES action during cotranslational folding is now published @natcomms.nature.com. Led by former-student Alzbeta Roeselova, and in collaboration with Rado Enchev's lab @crick.ac.uk.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Postdoc (m/f/x) Our Research Group led by Janine Kirstein, Professorin at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, is looking for a highly motivated and talented Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x) to join a research project ...

Postdoc position available in my lab in Jena (Germany.
jobs.leibniz-fli.de/jobposting/6...
If you're interested in protein biochemistry of amyloid proteins and chaperones, this job may be for you. B2 Level German is required as the candidate will be involved in teaching in German.

Crick group leaders work across disciplines, supported by core funding and mentoring to build ambitious, curiosity-driven research.

Apply now to join us ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

I love AlphaFold—but please include PAE (Predicted Aligned Error) plots for every “interaction.” Pretty PDBs ≠ proof. If the PAE doesn’t show an interface, it ain’t one. Show the plots. Structural biology's reputation is on the line.

We're now recruiting early career group leaders at the Crick to lead ambitious research programmes and explore bold scientific questions.

Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.

Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

PhD student recruitment PhD recruitment information.

2026 PhD recruitment is now open.

As well as our main PhD recruitment, which is open to all, we are pleased to be offering scholarships for candidates of Black or mixed Black heritage. Learn more and apply on our website:

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

PhD students Our PhD programme attracts the brightest scientific minds and is an opportunity for talented people to embark on their career in biomedical research.

Motivated graduates with backgrounds in biological or biomedical sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and/or computer science are invited to apply to our 4-year fully funded PhD programme.

Apply by 05 November 2025

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-...

I am excited to share our new preprint on the CAGE complex, a mysterious hollow protein complex that I first saw years ago while surveying Tetrahymena ciliary lysate www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cilia #protistsonsky 🧬🧪

Thanks Mathieu!

Thanks to the reviewers and the editor @katciazynska.bsky.social

The human ribosome modulates multidomain protein biogenesis by delaying cotranslational domain docking - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology By studying dynamic folding intermediates on the human ribosome, Pellowe et al. show that newly made domains help each other to fold but do not stably interact until synthesis is complete, avoiding in...

Our article on human multidomain protein biogenesis is now published in @natsmb.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Time to close the EMBO-FEBS Susan Lindquist School on Proteostasis 2025 in Espoo, Finland. Four intensive days of fabulous presentations, discussions, and mentoring, fostering scientific exchange between senior and junior members of the proteostasis field. Thank you to all participants!

Why are α-synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s disease (PD) toxic at the cell biological level?

Our new study shows that α-syn fibrils hijack the ESCRT membrane repair system, triggering a feedback loop that worsens aggregation.

You can find it at: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Structural analyses define the molecular basis of clusterin chaperone function Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - The authors reveal a three-domain architecture of glycoprotein clusterin and show that the hydrophobic tails are crucial for clusterin’s functions...

Curious about the structure and functional analysis of one of the most abundant and enigmatic extracellular #chaperones and one of the highest genetic risk factor for developing late onset #Alzheimer’s disease? Check out our paper on Clusterin/ApoJ!
#proteostasis #apolipoprotein
rdcu.be/ezRLv

The Ribosome as Chaperone Noteworthy — Small, single-domain proteins usually fold correctly without much assistance. But larger proteins, often containing multiple domains need assistance. To help with protein folding, there a...

schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2...
#MicroSky

Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice Evolution has shaped the genetic code, with subtle pressures leading to preferences for some synonymous codons over others. Codons are translated at different speeds by the ribosome, imposing constrai...

This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Principles of ribosome-associated protein quality control during the synthesis of CFTR Prolonged translational arrests caused by defective mRNAs activate the ribosome-associated protein quality control (RQC) pathway, which marks harmful incomplete proteins for degradation. Multipass tra...

🚨 Happy to share our first pre-print 🎉 on the causes of ribosome-associated degradation of CFTR and other transmembrane proteins.
We explore how protein folding, ER insertion, and elongation dynamics influence translation arrests in this new class of RQC targets.👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Last call to apply for the Susan Lindquist School on Proteostasis EMBO-FEBS Lecture Course, 16-19 Sept 2025 in Espoo, Finland! Open for postdocs and PhD students. DL June 15! meetings.embo.org/event/25-pro...

Join the Hallegger Lab in Oxford! A post-doc position available to develop neuronal cell models to characterise how TDP-43 aggregation leads to its dysfunction in MND.
Highly collaborative project funded by My Name'5 Doddie Foundation
@MNDoddie5
Please repost and share widely!

This was led by Alzbeta Roeselova and Santosh Shivakumaraswamy in my lab. Cryo-EM by Gabija Jurkeviciute and Jessica He in Rado Enchev's lab, and selRiboseq from Bernd Bukau's lab.

Functional assembly starts during translation, and in a surprising way. Although our model protein is a homooligomer, assembly is directional.
One fully-synthesised subunit interacts with an incomplete subunit on the ribosome, avoiding misassembly between two incomplete chains.

A hidden hydrophobic groove on the ribosome surface, normally capped by a flexible "lid", can stabilise nascent amphipathic helices and change the pathway of domain folding.

New from our lab @crick.ac.uk, in collaboration with the Enchev and Bukau labs.
By studying a protein that is difficult to fold, we discover fascinating new mechanisms by which the ribosome supports protein biogenesis.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A hidden hydrophobic groove on the ribosome surface, normally capped by a flexible "lid", can stabilise nascent amphipathic helices and change the pathway of domain folding.

Thrilled to share our new method in-cyclo NMR that lets us watch molecular machines in action — decoding molecular machine kinetics with atomic precision and exceptional time resolution in one go! 🚀 Check it out: doi.org/10.1038/s414... #NMR #StructuralBiology

Our research group studies #ribosomes. Our favorite region of interest is the ribosomal tunnel. We realized that it has been missing a Wikipedia page until now, so we decided to create one. Read, edit, enjoy👇

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribosom...

Joint 2025 Autophagy UK and Proteostasis UK conference | University of Dundee, UK Welcome to the 2025 joint “Autophagy UK and Proteostasis UK” conference!

🚨 Deadline extended! 🚨
Registration for the 2nd UK Proteostasis Network meeting in Dundee is open until 30 April!
🧬 Plenty of chances for selected talks from abstracts
📅 3–5 June 2025
📍 Dundee
🗓️ Program now live!
Sign up and view the programme here: dundee.ac.uk/events/joint...

PhD Studentship: Structure and function of tyrosine fusion kinases in leukaemia and their regulation by the HSP90 molecular chaperone at University of Sussex Discover a PhD Studentship: Structure and function of tyrosine fusion kinases in leukaemia and their regulation by the HSP90 molecular chaperone on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other PhD opportun...

📢 New PhD Opportunity

🧬🧪 Excited to share a fully funded PhD studentship is available in my lab @gdsc-sussex.bsky.social

📅 Deadline: 2nd May 2025

👉 www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-f...

Please share with anyone who might be interested.