Research
Our group is studying the biochemistry and cell biology of the molecular chaperone, Hsp90, in cancer and stem cell biology. We use a range of biochemical (recombinant protein expression), molecular (quantitative RT-PCR, RNA interference) and cell biological (transfection, confocal microscopy and flow cytometry) techniques in order to elucidate the activity of Hsp90 and its co-chaperone, Hop, in specific cellular processes that underpin cancer and stem cell biology. In addition to our research on human chaperones, our research group is interested in comparative studies of Hsp90 complex from other organisms. These studies are interesting in that they may identify differences between the different systems that could be useful in understanding the species specific features of chaperones and may identify exploitable differences between the structure of the human and Hsp90 from other species to complement our studies to identify novel natural product inhibitors of Hsp90.
BioBRU members:
Principal Investigator
Laboratory Manager
Ms J. Kruger
Postdocs
Dr O. Akeredolu
PhD Students
Ms A. Chakraborty
Mr D. Laming
Ms S. Maharaj
Ms P.M. Maumela
Mrs O. Oladipo
Mr W. Samson
Ms B. Twala
MSc Students
Ms L. Flax
Mr N. Hölm
Mr R. Rousseau
Ms K. Schwarz
Mr J.E. Sheldon
Hons Students
Ms E. Kirigin
Mr D. Ruck
Ms S. Wilmot
Last Modified: Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:12:20 SAST