Nodwell, Justin - University of Toronto - Department of Biochemistry

个人简介

I became interested in science when I was 15 years old. I was watching ‘the Nature of Things’ on TV and a stop action film of dividing plant cells came into view. The voice of David Suzuki announced that people were trying to understand how this process and I was hooked. It was an extraordinary moment – how do those irregular yet organized biological shapes work? I went on to a BSc in genetics and a PhD in molecular biology. I have been fortunate to have outstanding mentors, Jack Greenblatt as a PhD student and Richard Losick when I was a postdoctoral fellow. My first independent position was at McMaster University (1998-2013) and I arrived at the University of Toronto in 2013 intent on continuing with the work I had started at McMaster and to take on the additional role of Chair of Biochemistry. I have never looked back – I love my job and the life of a scientist.

研究领域

All bacteria secrete small organic molecules that have biological activities. Some serve as signals that coordinate group activities, others are toxic to competing organisms and serve to protect the producer and define its niche, still others bind and sequester rare nutrients. Our goal is to understand the biological roles and biochemical activities of these molecules. Importantly, these molecules are extremely useful as drugs. Our research therefore straddles the line between fundamental questions on the chemical biology of microbial life and the quest for new medicines. This is important both because there is a significant need for new therapeutic approaches to infectious disease – due in part part to the inexorable increase in antibiotic resistance, and for other diseases such as cancer. By harnessing the chemical biology of microbial life therefore, we aim to have an important impact of the development of new, life saving medications.

近期论文

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The nut site of bacteriophage lambda is made of RNA and is bound by transcription antitermination factors on the surface of RNA polymerase. Nodwell JR, Greenblatt J. Genes & development. 1991; 5(11):2141-51. PubMed [journal] PMID: 1834523 Select item at position 2 Recognition of boxA antiterminator RNA by the E. coli antitermination factors NusB and ribosomal protein S10. Nodwell JR, Greenblatt J. Cell. 1993; 72(2):261-8. PubMed [journal] PMID: 7678781 Select item at position 3 Transcriptional antitermination. Greenblatt J, Nodwell JR, Mason SW. Nature. 1993; 364(6436):401-6. PubMed [journal] PMID: 8332211 Select item at position 4 An oligopeptide permease responsible for the import of an extracellular signal governing aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces coelicolor. Nodwell JR, McGovern K, Losick R. Molecular microbiology. 1996; 22(5):881-93. PubMed [journal]