Our series of morning lectures sharing science from across the Crick in a simple and accessible way continues.
Proteins carry out almost every important function in our body, from copying our DNA to turning the food we eat into energy. These tiny “molecular machines” are made by our cells as straight chains, like long pieces of string. However, to work properly, each protein must fold up into an intricate 3-D shape. This remarkable process of microscopic origami is the focus of David Balchin’s lab at the Crick. His talk will describe the fascinating ways our cells ensure that proteins fold correctly, and what happens when this goes awry in disease.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A session, where David will be happy to answer any audience questions.
David studied proteins and protein folding at the university of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany before starting his lab at the Crick in 2020. His team are driven by curiosity to understand the intricate workings of cells at the molecular level.
