PHYSICS
Cait MacPhee
Room 2613,
The Kings Buildings,
Tel: +44-(0)131-650 5291
Email: cait.macphee[at]ed.ac.uk
I am a Royal Society University Research
Fellow (RS-URF) and Professor of Biological Physics in the Condensed Matter
group of the
The
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:
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.
Women in Science
I am curious about the
challenges facing women in physics, and in the science, engineering and
technology (SET) disciplines more generally.
Apparently,
forty-one percent of scientists, engineers, and technologists on the lower
rungs of the career ladder are female, but over the course of their careers
more than half of these leave SET. These figures represent
the situation in the US, but I doubt things are much different in the UK.
According to data on the IoP website, 33.3% of assistant professors in all
subjects in the UK are women, but this figure drops to 8.5% for full professors
(and only 3% in physics). That’s an awful lot of highly trained people we’re
failing to support.
For examples of women
successfully balancing a career in science with a family, see the excellent “Mothers
in Science” booklet at
The
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 teach Macromolecular Physics
and Biological Physics at Senior Honours/ Intermediate Masters level (4th
and 5th year in the Scottish system). I also teach Research Methods
at Junior Honours level (3rd year students) and I have taught
Physics 1A: Foundations (1st year).
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-present Royal Society
University Research Fellow, School of Physics,
Further links:
I am a Member of the Institute of Physics
I am a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
I am Honorary Secretary of the
Liquids and
Complex Fluids Group of the
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