Project details

Cytokines are small protein messengers that transmit information from the outside of the cell to the inside of the cell. They are important regulators of the immune system, and when these messengers misfire, it can result in inflammatory disease, autoimmunity or cancer. Our research is focused on determining what these molecules look like, how they function and how the signals they send are regulated.

This project will involve the expression and purification of recombinant proteins involved in cytokine signaling and visualisation of these proteins using cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography techniques. It will also involve detailed biochemical analyses of the proteins and their interaction partners. 

About our research group

The Kershaw lab combines structural biology (X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM) with detailed mechanistic biochemistry and protein chemistry to study these processes, with the view that a detailed mechanistic understanding of protein function will reveal new opportunities for drug design. 

The Kershaw lab works in close collaboration with the Babon lab.

Reference:  

Morris, R, Kershaw NJ, Babon JJ, The molecular details of cytokine signaling via the JAK/STAT pathway, Protein Sci, 2018 27(12):1984 PMID: 30267440