PHYSICS
Cait MacPhee
Room 2613,
The Kings Buildings,
Tel: +44-(0)131-650 5291
Email: cait.macphee[at]ed.ac.uk
I am Professor of Biological
Physics in the Condensed Matter group of the
The
I was recently elected to the
You can follow me on twitter
as @sciorama
My research can be broadly
described by the topic of:
Peptide and protein self-assembly
My research interests focus on
the behaviour of proteins: the molecules that are responsible for the vast
majority of functions in living organisms. The controlled self-assembly of
proteins into well-defined structures and functional assemblies is essential to
our well-being, however occasionally protein self-assembly takes place
inappropriately. When this happens in the body it typically causes disease, and
familial diseases as well as diseases of ageing (such as Alzheimer’s Disease,
Parkinson’s Disease, cataract and type II diabetes) are all recognised to be
the result of improper protein self-assembly.
Protein self-assembly can also cause havoc in industrial processes
including the production of biopharmaceuticals (e.g. insulin). When this
occurs, the pharmaceutical is often lost as an irretrievably tangled mass of
gelled protein. All is not lost, however: the self-assembly of proteins also
underpins the texture of foodstuffs including egg, meat and milk products. It
is understanding this process of self-assembly – to prevent or reverse disease,
or to drive the development of new materials and foodstuffs – that forms the
focus of my research efforts.
A more recent and growing
research interest of mine is in proteins that have no well-defined structure,
the so-called “intrinsically disordered proteins”, which share many of the
physical characteristics of polymers and colloids, i.e. traditional soft
matter. This class of proteins is an enigma: according to the established view
of biomolecular science they should not exist, and
where they do they should be rapidly destroyed by gatekeeper mechanisms.
Instead, they appear to be surprisingly common and responsible for a range of
essential cellular functions. Existing biophysical tools are geared towards
crystalline and folded proteins; the emerging importance of intrinsically
unfolded proteins offers an exciting opportunity for soft matter physicists to
have substantial and lasting impact on biomolecular
science.
We use solid-state NMR
techniques, spectroscopic analysis, mass spectrometry, optical tweezers, AFM
and electron microscopy to investigate self-assembly mechanisms. I collaborate
with a number of groups in Edinburgh and further afield:
The National Physical Laboratory (along with Dr Ulrich Zachariae, Dr Simon Titmuss, Dr
Marieke Schor and Dr
Jana Schwarz-Linek)
Prof Tony Watts
and Dr Peter Judge
(Oxford)
Dr Sylvia McLain
(Oxford)
Prof. Bob Griffin
(MIT, Boston)
Prof.
John Carver (Adelaide, Australia)
Click here to see a list of my publications
Click here to see a list of current projects &
vacancies
Evolution
I am also interested in
Astrobiology and the Origins of Life, including the study of extreme organisms,
the behaviour of biological molecules under extreme conditions, and the
evolution of complex structures. In this context I am currently a member of the
committee setting up the UK Centre
for Astrobiology. If you undertake astrobiology research in the
Women in Science
I am curious about the
challenges facing women in physics, and in the science, engineering and
technology (SET) disciplines more generally.
In Scotland,
women accounted for 39% of students in SET disciplines in 2008-2009. Across the
country 209,200 people hold a
For examples of women
successfully balancing a career in science with a family, see the excellent “Mothers
in Science” booklet at
The School of Physics and
Astronomy at Edinburgh has Juno Practitioner status. Project
Juno is an Institute of Physics initiative that aims to address the
under-representation of women in university physics and to encourage better
practice for both women and men.
Biology versus Physics
As someone who has crossed disciplines
(a bit unusually, I have moved from Biology to Physics rather than the reverse)
I have an interest in the interaction and the tensions between the two fields.
I am currently Theme Leader for the PaLS
(Physics and Life Sciences) theme in SUPA.
Teaching
I currently teach Research
Methods at Junior Honours level (3rd year students), Physics 1A:
Foundations (1st year) and some lecturers on Structural Biology (4th/5th
year students). I have taught Macromolecular Physics and Biological Physics at
Senior Honours/ Intermediate Masters level.
Brief CV:
1995 BSc (Hons),
Department of Biochemistry,
1999 PhD, Faculty of Medicine,
University of
1999-2000 PDRA, Oxford Centre
for Molecular Sciences, University of Oxford (Research Fellow at St Hilda’s
College)
1999-2001 Royal Society
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, University of Oxford
2001-2005 Royal Society
University Research Fellow and Lecturer, Cavendish Laboratory, University of
Cambridge (Research Fellow of Girton College, Fellow
of King’s College)
2006-2011 Royal Society
University Research Fellow, School of Physics,
Further links:
I am a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP)
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
I am a member of the committee
of the Liquids
and Complex Fluids Group of the IoP
I am a member of the Biochemical Society
I am a member of the British Biophysical Society
I am a member of the Astrobiology Society of Britain
In 2006 I was awarded “Science Woman of the Future”
For information on Ethical
Conduct and Good Practice in Research, see here
Personal
I originally come from Melbourne in Australia, in 2004
assessed as the “World’s most liveable city” according to the Economist
Intelligence Unit, but since supplanted by Vancouver. If you plan a trip to
the Antipodes, I thoroughly recommend Melbourne over Sydney, assuming I can
tempt you away from Canada. I read voraciously, enjoy movies, have an addiction
to gadgets, and spend a disproportionate amount of time exploring Edinburgh Zoo with my two small
children, mainly due to these two guests.