Peptides, Aggregation and Toxicity: Kings Links Colloquium

Programme

• Dr. Rosalind Allen, School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh
• Dr. Tilo Kunath, Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Christopher M. Dobson, John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology, Master of St. John's College, University of Cambridge 

Followed by refreshments and networking in the Swann building foyer.

Abstract for Professor Christopher M. Dobson

The Phenomenon of Amyloid Formation: From New Forms of Protein Structure to Novel Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disease

Interest in the phenomenon of amyloid formation by polypeptide molecules has developed with extraordinary rapidity in recent years, such that is now a major topic of research across a wide range of disciplines. The reasons for this surge of interest arise primarily from (i) the links between amyloid formation and a range of rapidly proliferating medical disorders including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and type II diabetes, (ii) the insights that studies of the amyloid state provide about the nature of the functional forms of peptides and proteins within living systems and (iii) the opportunities that could exist for generating new types of materials with novel and potentially useful properties. This lecture will give an overview of this topic, and discuss our current understanding of this phenomenon and the opportunities that such knowledge provide for the future.

Kings Links

Kings Links is a group whose aim is to encourage greater mixing and collaborations within and between the Colleges of Science & Engineering, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. We have a series of events planned from now until the end of June, including four colloquia planned on the themes of: Research and the Environment; Peptides, Aggregation and Toxicity; Tissue Engineering and Synthetic Biology. For further information please see our wiki page or kingslinks [at] ed.ac.uk (subject: Kings%20Links) (email us).

Further information