Irish Area Section Biochemical Society Award for UCC Student
Run Yan, PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry and Analytical and Biological Chemistry Research Facility (ABCRF), has been awarded first prize for his research work presented at the Biochemical Society Irish Area Section Annual Meeting , 鈥淧rotein folding and misfolding: mechanisms and consequences鈥� hosted recently at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Run obtained his B.Sc. in Applied Chemistry at Beijing University of Chemical Technology which is one of the top five Universities in Chemical Technology in China. He subsequently completed a research Masters in Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Justin McCarthy, Department of Biochemistry and ABCRF. Given that Run had obtained First Class Grades throughout his undergraduate studies and was ranked in the top percentile of class graduates, which clearly demonstrated his international academic competitiveness, Run secured an EMBARK Postgraduate Scholarship from the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET) to continue his research and pursue a research PhD under the supervision of Dr. Justin McCarthy, Department of Biochemistry and ABCRF.
Research in Dr. McCarthy鈥檚 group is focused on determining the involvement of the presenilin proteins and regulated intramembrane proteolysis in the pathogenesis of cancer and inflammatory disease. Run鈥檚 research has identified a novel mechanism for the regulation of presenilin function, which significantly advances our knowledge of the functional regulation of presenilins, but also offers potentially new avenues for therapeutic intervention. Research in Dr. McCarthy鈥檚 group is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, IRCSET, The Health Research Board and through and SFI Healthcare Innovation Award by Johnson & Johnson.Picture: Irish Area Section Biochemical Society Award recipient Run Yan.