5 March 2010
New programme leader appointed to Dundee MRC Unit
The Medical Research Council (MRC) Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee has made its second major appointment within a week, having recruited Dr Matthias Trost as a new Programme Leader.
Dr Trost, who currently works as a Research Associate at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Canada, will take up his post in Dundee in August. Born and brought up in Freiburg, Germany, he obtained a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Manchester in 1996 and a Diploma in Chemistry from the Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, in 2001.
He then carried out postgraduate research at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology in Braunschweig, from where he received a PhD in 2004. He moved to the University of Montreal in 2005 to carry out postdoctoral research and was promoted to Research Associate in 2007.
Commenting on his appointment and research programme Dr Trost said, 'I am very excited and grateful to be appointed to the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit where I will be able to work among some of the best researchers in the world.
'The MRC Unit and the College of Life Science in Dundee offer a world-class research environment while keeping a very collegial atmosphere which will help me to establish fruitful collaborations. With my work, I will try to understand how pathogenic bacteria survive in the immune cells that are specialised in killing these microbes, by interfering with signalling cascades.
'I hope that my work will help us to identify molecular mechanisms of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and provide new drug targets in the future. On a personal level, my partner and I are looking forward to coming to Scotland as we have always enjoyed the beautiful landscapes and friendliness of the people.'
The appointment of Dr Trost represents the second major recruitment coup for the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit recently. Last week it was confirmed that Dr Ian Ganley from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, will take up a post as a Programme Leader within the Unit in August.
Commenting on the appointment of Dr Trost, Sir Philip Cohen, Director of the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit said, 'We are extremely pleased to have recruited Matthias.
'His research on how white blood cells prevent infection by 'eating' pathogenic bacteria when they invade the body is an extremely interesting and important topic, and his great expertise in the technology of mass spectrometry will enable Matthias to initiate important new research collaborations with other Programme Leaders in our Unit.'
This latest appointment means the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit now comprises 10 Programme Leaders and 130 scientific and support staff.
Notes to editors:
About the MRS Protein Phosphorylation Unit
The MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit is the only research unit in the world dedicated to the study of Protein Phosphorylation, a versatile control mechanism that regulates almost all aspects of cell life. Abnormalities in this process are a cause of many diseases including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease.
Drugs that treat abnormally high levels of phosphorylation are currently having a major impact on the treatment of cancer and over 50% of the pharmaceutical industry’s research and development budget is spent on this topic. The MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit facilitates drug discovery through a long standing collaboration with five of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies. Called the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy, it has become a model for effective collaboration between Academia and Industry.
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