Tanille Awarded 2024 Student Award in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion by SWAAC

May 2, 2024: Tanille was recently out in Vancouver to accept the 2024 Student Award in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) given by the Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC). Each year, this award is presented to a female university student who demonstrates commitment and excellence in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion either within or beyond their academic institution, through dedication to community outreach and activism. Learn more about the award and Tanille’s work in EDI here.

2024 BSC Early Career Investigator Award announced!

The Biophyscial Society of Canada (BSC) is delighted to announce that Dr. Justin MacCallum is the recipient of the 2024 Early Career Investigator Award. This award recognizes emerging leaders in biophysics who are still within 10 years of their first independent researcher appointment.

Dr. Justin MacCallum is the Canada Research Chair in Biomolecular Structure and Design at the University of Calgary. His work transcends traditional biophysical research, seamlessly integrating theoretical, computational, and wet-laboratory-based techniques to establish an integrative structural biology program aimed at enhancing our understanding of protein structure and functions. Dr. MacCallum also boasts an impressive track record of mentoring trainees, actively participating in outreach activities, and generously contributing his expertise to the scientific community.

Dr. MacCallum also boasts an impressive track record of mentoring trainees, actively participating in outreach activities, and generously contributing his expertise to the scientific community.

Source: https://biophysicalsociety.ca/news/2024-bsc-early-career-investigator-award-announced/

2023 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition | Chemistry at the Edge

June 8, 2023:  This past week MacCallum Lab group members attended the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC 2023) at the Vancouver Convention Center. It was a busy week presenting, listening to talks, connecting with colleagues, and exploring the city’s art and attractions.

Presentation list:

Justin MacCallum — Efficient Protein Structure Validation through Machine Learning and NMR Spectroscopy Integration

Stefan Lenz — Elucidating the structures of protein complexes using AlphaFold single domain predictions and PRE and RDC experiments

Tanille Shandro — Gout Biosensor: Exploring peptide interactions with monosodium urate crystals

Marielle Uy — Characterization of the temperature sensing diguanylate cyclase enzyme, TdcA

Stefan is awarded a 2021-2022 Excellence in Research for Senior Research Affiliates

September 9, 2022: Stefan was awarded the Graduate Students’ Association Excellence in Research for Senior Research Affiliates. This award honours research affiliates (Postdoctoral Fellows, research associates, lab technicians, and core facilities staff) working at the University of Calgary who assist graduate students in their research. He was nominated by graduate students in the MacCallum lab for all his help and support throughout their programs. Congratulations!

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2022 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition | Diversity and Innovation in Chemistry

June 20, 2022: The 2022 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition was a busy week where 5 talks were given by members of the MacCallum group!

 

Justin MacCallum — Rapid validation and refinement of predicted structures using NMR and Bayesian physical modelling

Stefan Lenz — Development of Crystal Arthropathy Biosensors using a Combined Experimental and Molecular Modelling Approach

Kari Gaalswyk — A Bayesian approach to infer the quality of experimental data during integrative modeling

Tanille Shandro — Gout Biosensor: Developing a molecular-level, precision medicine diagnostic for crystal arthropathies

Milad Shamsi — Nano-porous gold electrodes for Toll like receptor (TLR)-based electrochemical biosensors

ConGRADulations Iulia Bodnariuc, MSc.

Thursday, April 29th, 2021: We are proud to announce that Iulia Bodnariuc successfully defended her thesis (Examination of Brain-Fatty Acid Binding Protein interaction with hydrophobic ligands and micelles) and graduated from her Master of Science in Biophysical Chemistry. Congratulations! She is now off to work as a researcher in Industry in the Netherlands. Good luck on your future endeavors Iulia, you will be greatly missed in the MacCallum lab.

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Tanille was Re-elected as the Graduate Students' Association President

Tanille was Elected as the Graduate Students' Association President for a Second Term. She will continue to be the official spokesperson of the GSA and represents the collective voice of nearly 7000 graduate students at the University of Calgary at municipal, provincial and federal levels.

Read more about the election results here

The GSA is pleased to congratulate the elected officials: Keira Gunn as the AVP Labour; Mary Zhang as VP Finance and Services; Alex Paquette as VP Academic; Tanille Shandro as President; and Kabita Baral as VP Student Life.

The GSA is pleased to congratulate the elected officials: Keira Gunn as the AVP Labour; Mary Zhang as VP Finance and Services; Alex Paquette as VP Academic; Tanille Shandro as President; and Kabita Baral as VP Student Life.

New publication in Nature communications

Our joint work with Dr. Joe Harrison (UCalgary Biological Sciences) and many others was recently published in Nature Communications.

The Harrison Lab discovered a new temperature-dependent di-guanlyate cyclase enzyme that regulates biofilm formation in a variety of bacteria. This new enzyme is called TdcA. One of the remarkable things about TdcA is its extreme sensitivity to temperature. It changes in activity by more than 100-fold over a 10 degree change in temperature. A typical enzyme would change by 2- or 3-fold.

We’re really excited about our ongoing biophysical studies of this protein aimed at unravelling its novel mechanism. This will provide a better understanding of biofilm regulation, a potential new avenue for therapeutic development, and has potential applications in biotechnology.

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The Art of Science

As part of Chinook Blast, the Art of Science exhibition features artwork done by Alberta University of the Arts students/graduates that is inspired by scientific research happening at the University of Calgary. Mary Haasdyk, a graduate of Alberta University of the Arts, partnered with Tanille Shandro from the MacCallum group to feature a mural at 136 8 Ave SE, Calgary. The mural highlights Tanille’s research identifying Monosodium Urate Crystals, the cause of gout, using engineered peptides with fluorescent properties. The project will be up until February 28th, so if you’re looking to get outside go for a walk in Downtown Calgary and check it out!

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We’re Back!

We’re back! After 85 days working remotely Maggie, Julia and Tanille received Extended Research Designation to continue their wet lab research. Don’t be fooled, behind these masks there are some very big smiles. View the following posts to see all of the exciting things that have happened while we’ve been away from the lab.

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