IUBMB announcement

The IUBMB Executive Committee has approved our application for Professor Jeffrey W. Keillor (University of Ottawa) to be the IUBMB Speaker at our FEBS Workshop on Transglutaminases and Human Disease Processes.

Prof. Keillor’s (Jeff) research interests lie at the interface of chemistry and biology. His group has addressed key biochemical questions relevant to the enzymology of the Transglutaminases. His group has produced highly potent and efficient inhibitors of the Transglutaminase reaction that block both transamidation and the additional GTP binding activity, as well as irreversible covalent inhibitors based on a novel peptidic scaffold. The most promising candidates were tested in cancer stem cell models and other cell systems through a number of active collaborations which Jeff has had with cancer cell signalling experts. Moreover, his group has been active in the discovery of activity substrates and fluorescent probes, useful to study the cellular role of this important enzyme family.

Besides being an exceptional “bio-chemist”, Jeff is also a very good lecturer and a popular mentor having supported through the years undergraduate and postgraduate students. We are not surprised to see he received several research awards through the years, including a recent teaching excellence award. Jeff is very open and collaborative and extremely rigorous in his approach, being a strong point of reference and guide for the entire “Transglutaminase” scientific community.

Well done, Jeff!

Elisabetta Verderio Edwards

Kiyotaka Hitomi

(Chairs)