MRC MBU postdocs
@mbu-postdocs.bsky.social
Highlighting the work and contributions of
@MRC_MBU postdocs. Views are our own.
https://www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk/mbu-postdoctoral-society
@MRC_MBU postdocs. Views are our own.
https://www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk/mbu-postdoctoral-society
Pinned
Hello, world! We are the MRC MBU Postdoctoral Society, and we are very excited to be here! 👩🔬👨🔬🧪
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Drosophila models have been highly useful in dissecting the physiological roles of PINK1 and Parkin in #mitophagy
Led by 3 talented PhD students, we wrote a review summarising recent exciting discoveries and discussed these in context of current in vitro studies
portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
Led by 3 talented PhD students, we wrote a review summarising recent exciting discoveries and discussed these in context of current in vitro studies
portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
January 5, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Drosophila models have been highly useful in dissecting the physiological roles of PINK1 and Parkin in #mitophagy
Led by 3 talented PhD students, we wrote a review summarising recent exciting discoveries and discussed these in context of current in vitro studies
portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
Led by 3 talented PhD students, we wrote a review summarising recent exciting discoveries and discussed these in context of current in vitro studies
portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Congrats to Jan whose new paper on persulfide measurement is is out now in Nature Comms
January 6, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Congrats to Jan whose new paper on persulfide measurement is is out now in Nature Comms
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
January 13, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
📝 Online now - the Review "Structural transport and inhibition mechanism of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier" from Edmund Kunji (@mrc-mbu.bsky.social) and co.
#SLC54 #MPC #EnergyMetabolism #MembraneProteinStructure #StructureBasedDrugDesign
Read it here 👉 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
#SLC54 #MPC #EnergyMetabolism #MembraneProteinStructure #StructureBasedDrugDesign
Read it here 👉 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
December 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
📝 Online now - the Review "Structural transport and inhibition mechanism of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier" from Edmund Kunji (@mrc-mbu.bsky.social) and co.
#SLC54 #MPC #EnergyMetabolism #MembraneProteinStructure #StructureBasedDrugDesign
Read it here 👉 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
#SLC54 #MPC #EnergyMetabolism #MembraneProteinStructure #StructureBasedDrugDesign
Read it here 👉 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Congratulations to @lucialugut.bsky.social who passed her PhD with flying colours last week; and with no thesis corrections ☺️🎓👏
October 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Congratulations to @lucialugut.bsky.social who passed her PhD with flying colours last week; and with no thesis corrections ☺️🎓👏
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Bluesky, I am pleased to present to you the main product of postdoc work, published in @science.org ☝️
As it turns out, the very quality control mechanism that can remove mutant mtDNA copies is the one that maintains high mutant burden, or heteroplasmy levels
As it turns out, the very quality control mechanism that can remove mutant mtDNA copies is the one that maintains high mutant burden, or heteroplasmy levels
October 10, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Bluesky, I am pleased to present to you the main product of postdoc work, published in @science.org ☝️
As it turns out, the very quality control mechanism that can remove mutant mtDNA copies is the one that maintains high mutant burden, or heteroplasmy levels
As it turns out, the very quality control mechanism that can remove mutant mtDNA copies is the one that maintains high mutant burden, or heteroplasmy levels
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Excited to share our latest work in collaboration with the @edreznik.bsky.social lab @mskcancercenter.bsky.social, where we describe functionally dominant mitochondrial DNA mutations in patient tumors. So, what is functional dominance in mitochondrial genetics, I hear you ask?
rdcu.be/eN1jm
rdcu.be/eN1jm
Functionally dominant hotspot mutations of mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes in cancer
Nature Genetics - Analysis of 14,106 tumor genomes highlights recurrent mutations in mitochondrial ribosomal RNA encoded within the mitochondrial genome. Mutations occur at hotspot positions and...
rdcu.be
November 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Excited to share our latest work in collaboration with the @edreznik.bsky.social lab @mskcancercenter.bsky.social, where we describe functionally dominant mitochondrial DNA mutations in patient tumors. So, what is functional dominance in mitochondrial genetics, I hear you ask?
rdcu.be/eN1jm
rdcu.be/eN1jm
Congratulations!
Big personal news. I'm proud to announce I've returned home to Ireland to start a tenure track Assistant Professorship in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology @tbsi-tcd.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social today. Back to where my love for #immunometabolism started, an exciting new chapter!
September 2, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Congratulations!
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Congratulations to Abigail Giles who was awarded the "The Richard J. Bing Award for Young Investigators" at the recent World Congress of the International Society For Heart Research in Japan.
Well done Abigail!
Well done Abigail!
May 24, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Congratulations to Abigail Giles who was awarded the "The Richard J. Bing Award for Young Investigators" at the recent World Congress of the International Society For Heart Research in Japan.
Well done Abigail!
Well done Abigail!
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Trinity Hall covers our discovery
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/news/unwrapp...
Molecular basis of pyruvate transport and inhibition of the human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/news/unwrapp...
Molecular basis of pyruvate transport and inhibition of the human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Unwrapping the secrets of sugar metabolism - Trinity Hall Cambridge
Ever wondered why eating something sugary gives you such an energy boost? It turns out that the secret lies within our cells, specifically in tiny structures called mitochondria, often dubbed the cell...
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk
April 25, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Trinity Hall covers our discovery
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/news/unwrapp...
Molecular basis of pyruvate transport and inhibition of the human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/news/unwrapp...
Molecular basis of pyruvate transport and inhibition of the human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
P-hacking
Removing outliers, using alternative statistical methods and running extra experiments are some methods that could be used to change the P-value. Be careful not to fall in this trap! Stay sceptical! Null results are a normal part of science.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Removing outliers, using alternative statistical methods and running extra experiments are some methods that could be used to change the P-value. Be careful not to fall in this trap! Stay sceptical! Null results are a normal part of science.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
P hacking — Five ways it could happen to you
Some data practices can lead to statistically dubious findings. Here’s how to avoid them.
www.nature.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:05 AM
P-hacking
Removing outliers, using alternative statistical methods and running extra experiments are some methods that could be used to change the P-value. Be careful not to fall in this trap! Stay sceptical! Null results are a normal part of science.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Removing outliers, using alternative statistical methods and running extra experiments are some methods that could be used to change the P-value. Be careful not to fall in this trap! Stay sceptical! Null results are a normal part of science.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss
Fifty years since its discovery, scientists have finally worked out how a molecular machine found in mitochondria, the ‘powerhouses’ of our cells, allows us to make the fuel we need from s...
www.eurekalert.org
April 18, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Huge congrats to Pavel Nash on publishing his PhD work! 🎉 We showcase a safer mtDNA gene therapy using a novel mtZFN architecture compatible with a single AAV. Thanks to the entire team! @mrc-mbu.bsky.social
@mbu-postdocs.bsky.social #MitochondrialDisease #mtDNA
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
@mbu-postdocs.bsky.social #MitochondrialDisease #mtDNA
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Clinically translatable mitochondrial gene therapy in muscle using tandem mtZFN architecture | EMBO Molecular Medicine
imageimageEfficient mitochondrial gene therapy is achieved with a novel tandem zinc finger nuclease (mtZFN) architecture delivered via adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, significantly reducing mutation loads in muscle tissue and rescuing ...
www.embopress.org
April 9, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Huge congrats to Pavel Nash on publishing his PhD work! 🎉 We showcase a safer mtDNA gene therapy using a novel mtZFN architecture compatible with a single AAV. Thanks to the entire team! @mrc-mbu.bsky.social
@mbu-postdocs.bsky.social #MitochondrialDisease #mtDNA
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
@mbu-postdocs.bsky.social #MitochondrialDisease #mtDNA
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Well done everyone! 😎
We had a great time @cambridgefestival.bsky.social with our friends @mrc-mbu.bsky.social - thanks to everyone who came! Loads more festival events coming up - check out the programme here: www.festival.cam.ac.uk
March 24, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Well done everyone! 😎
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Mitochondria differ in type and density in different parts of the brain. For example, the evolutionarily oldest brain regions have a lower density of mitochondria than newer regions.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
First map of human brain mitochondria is ‘groundbreaking’ achievement
Hundreds of cubes of human brain tissue help scientists to chart the energy-making capabilities of various brain regions.
www.nature.com
March 27, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Mitochondria differ in type and density in different parts of the brain. For example, the evolutionarily oldest brain regions have a lower density of mitochondria than newer regions.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Shared first authorship, but who gets to be first? According to this study, there is no disadvantage to sharing credit.
Weakness of the study: The test name was a gender-neutral European name. Can someone please repeat this study with female/non-European names?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Weakness of the study: The test name was a gender-neutral European name. Can someone please repeat this study with female/non-European names?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Does sharing first authorship on a paper carry a penalty? What the research says
Study dispels myth that order of names in a paper’s author list dictates perception of success.
www.nature.com
March 25, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Shared first authorship, but who gets to be first? According to this study, there is no disadvantage to sharing credit.
Weakness of the study: The test name was a gender-neutral European name. Can someone please repeat this study with female/non-European names?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Weakness of the study: The test name was a gender-neutral European name. Can someone please repeat this study with female/non-European names?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
@mrc-mbu.bsky.social all set to entertain the public @cambridgefestival.bsky.social Come and join us at CAST, Cambridge, and learn about our amazing work to understand all things #mitochondria in health and disease
March 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
@mrc-mbu.bsky.social all set to entertain the public @cambridgefestival.bsky.social Come and join us at CAST, Cambridge, and learn about our amazing work to understand all things #mitochondria in health and disease
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Thought that only purine nucleotides could inhibit mitochondrial thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue? Edmund Kunji and coworkers @mitocarriers.bsky.social @mrc-mbu.bsky.social show that pyrimidines bind and inhibit UCP1 in similar manner
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
March 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Thought that only purine nucleotides could inhibit mitochondrial thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue? Edmund Kunji and coworkers @mitocarriers.bsky.social @mrc-mbu.bsky.social show that pyrimidines bind and inhibit UCP1 in similar manner
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Glad to be a small part on this interesting paper from Milos Filipovic with actual work done by Jan Miljkovic and Alva Casey in my lab.
Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation
Petrovic et al. demonstrate that ergothioneine acts as an alternative substrate for
cystathionine gamma-lyase, an H2S-producing enzyme, leading to an increase of protein
persulfidation. The persulfida...
www.cell.com
February 9, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Glad to be a small part on this interesting paper from Milos Filipovic with actual work done by Jan Miljkovic and Alva Casey in my lab.
Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
First of two videos I made about vaccines for kids & teens!
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/KC42D0ZpqtE
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/KC42D0ZpqtE
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
Are vaccines safe?
YouTube video by Simple Science
youtu.be
February 4, 2025 at 3:54 PM
First of two videos I made about vaccines for kids & teens!
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/KC42D0ZpqtE
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/KC42D0ZpqtE
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Second of two videos I made about vaccines for kids & teens!
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/ScOQ2tt5HQQ
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/ScOQ2tt5HQQ
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
How COVID 19 mRNA Vaccines Are Made and Work
YouTube video by Simple Science
youtu.be
February 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Second of two videos I made about vaccines for kids & teens!
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/ScOQ2tt5HQQ
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
YouTube promotes videos with engagement, so likes/comments/shares help reach the right audience. Even if you're not the target, your support matters!
💙 Watch & boost? 🔗 youtu.be/ScOQ2tt5HQQ
#SciComm #Vaccines #ScienceForEveryone
Simple science videos for kids and teens. Although you are not the primary target, you can help by liking and subscribing to help these videos reach more kids!
Let’s make science fun and easy for everyone!
Let’s make science fun and easy for everyone!
Exciting news! I’ve recently launched a YouTube channel where I explain science in a simple, fun way—perfect for kids and teens!
Watch, like, subscribe and share the link!
👉 www.youtube.com/@SimpleScien...
Because science should be easy to understand and fun to explore.
Watch, like, subscribe and share the link!
👉 www.youtube.com/@SimpleScien...
Because science should be easy to understand and fun to explore.
Simple Science
We believe that knowledge is power, and our mission is to break down complex topics into simple, bite-sized explanations that anyone can enjoy. From understanding how your organs work to exploring the...
www.youtube.com
January 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Simple science videos for kids and teens. Although you are not the primary target, you can help by liking and subscribing to help these videos reach more kids!
Let’s make science fun and easy for everyone!
Let’s make science fun and easy for everyone!
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
📢Preprint alert! Very excited to share the first preprint from the lab spearheaded by stellar postdoc Eloïse Marques. An inherited mtDNA mutation remodels inflammatory cytokine responses in macrophages and in vivo. 1/n
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
An inherited mtDNA mutation remodels inflammatory cytokine responses in macrophages and in vivo
Impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics in macrophages can drive hyperinflammatory cytokine responses, but whether this may also be caused by inherited mtDNA mutations is unknown. Here, we address this q...
www.biorxiv.org
January 6, 2025 at 9:34 AM
📢Preprint alert! Very excited to share the first preprint from the lab spearheaded by stellar postdoc Eloïse Marques. An inherited mtDNA mutation remodels inflammatory cytokine responses in macrophages and in vivo. 1/n
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
Updated list.
As more and more people join bluesky, I want to share this link again. Also, it's difficult to find everyone, so react to this message if you're a (former or current) MBU member and you're not in the list yet.
go.bsky.app/9ATZngh
As more and more people join bluesky, I want to share this link again. Also, it's difficult to find everyone, so react to this message if you're a (former or current) MBU member and you're not in the list yet.
go.bsky.app/9ATZngh
January 4, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Updated list.
As more and more people join bluesky, I want to share this link again. Also, it's difficult to find everyone, so react to this message if you're a (former or current) MBU member and you're not in the list yet.
go.bsky.app/9ATZngh
As more and more people join bluesky, I want to share this link again. Also, it's difficult to find everyone, so react to this message if you're a (former or current) MBU member and you're not in the list yet.
go.bsky.app/9ATZngh
Reposted by MRC MBU postdocs
I asked chatGPT to make a video:
A 2-minute YouTube video for teenagers explaining what mitochondria are, what they do and why they are special (e.g. own DNA, inherited from mother, bacterial origin).
Here is the result:
www.nextgenseqanalysis.com/videos-1/v/m...
What do you think?
A 2-minute YouTube video for teenagers explaining what mitochondria are, what they do and why they are special (e.g. own DNA, inherited from mother, bacterial origin).
Here is the result:
www.nextgenseqanalysis.com/videos-1/v/m...
What do you think?
www.nextgenseqanalysis.com
December 18, 2024 at 12:27 PM
I asked chatGPT to make a video:
A 2-minute YouTube video for teenagers explaining what mitochondria are, what they do and why they are special (e.g. own DNA, inherited from mother, bacterial origin).
Here is the result:
www.nextgenseqanalysis.com/videos-1/v/m...
What do you think?
A 2-minute YouTube video for teenagers explaining what mitochondria are, what they do and why they are special (e.g. own DNA, inherited from mother, bacterial origin).
Here is the result:
www.nextgenseqanalysis.com/videos-1/v/m...
What do you think?