The Raff Lab scoops it all: Anna Caballe and Mustafa Aydogan awarded BSCB poster prizes
The Dynamic Cell series of conferences organised jointly by the British Society of Cell Biology (BSCB) and the Biochemical Society showcases latest research utilising dynamic methods to explore cell biology. At the most recent of its series – ‘The Dynamic Cell III’ – held in Manchester during 19th-21st March 2018, two Raff lab members were awarded poster prizes for their excellent work.
Dr Anna Caballe, a postdoc in the Raff Lab, was awarded a joint-1st prize for the best BSCB postdoc poster. Her winning poster titled “Mitotic Centrosome Assembly in Flies: Molecular build-up of the Cnn Scaffold” attracted attention on the new exciting data for the mechanism involved in the assembly of the scaffold that supports the mitotic centrosome. Her work also explored different models for centrosome assembly, in the light of the new phase-separation theories, a hot topic in cell biology. When asked about her award, Dr. Caballe acknowledged BSCB for recognizing the work done by early career researchers and said: “Aside from the recognition for my work, the prize means that our research on centrosome assembly is valued and considered relevant by the cell biology community. We work as a team and this award is great news for all the Raff lab members involved!”.
Mustafa Aydogan, a DPhil student from the Raff Lab, also got recognised for his work, winning the 2nd best BSCB poster prize in the student category. The winning poster titled “A homeostatic clock sets daughter centriole size in flies” showcased data on how an oscillatory clock mechanism regulates the rate and period of centriole growth in flies. The study proposes the exciting possibility of such oscillatory clock mechanisms in regulating the growth dynamics and size control of other organelles in the cell. When asked about his award, Mustafa said: “Unexpected in general terms! But, it was a pleasure for me to see that our work and the biological concept that it postulates was worth considering for the award”.
The 1st prize in the student category went to Cerys Currie from the McAinsh Lab (University of Warwick) for her work on spindle checkpoint signalling. Dr Anna Caballe shared the award with Dr Agata Gluszek from the Welburn lab (University of Edinburgh) for her work on spindle positioning.
To read more about the British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB) visit: bscb.org
Read more about research in the Raff lab.
Written by Dr Sreerekha Pillai
