The Protein Society announces its 2024 Best Paper recipients

(Press-News.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

John Kuriyan, Editor-in-Chief

Protein Science Journal

 

Raluca Cadar

The Protein Society

Phone: (844) 377-6834

E-mail: rcadar@proteinsociety.org

 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Protein Society, the premier international society dedicated to supporting protein research, announces the winners of the 2024 Protein Science Best Paper Awards, published in its flagship journal, Protein Science. The recipients will be recognized and present their research at the 39th Annual Symposium of The Protein Society, June 26 – 29, 2025, in San Francisco, USA.

The winners of the 2024 Protein Science Best Paper awards are Jessica Lusty Beech, from Montana State University, USA and Matteo Cagiada from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Jessica Lusty Beech

Understanding the Stability of a Plastic-Degrading Rieske Iron Oxidoreductase System

First published: 09 May 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.4997

Jessica Lusty Beech 1, Anjani K Maurya 2, Ronivaldo Rodrigues da Silva 1, Emmanuel Akpoto 1, Arun Asundi 2, Julia Ann Fecko 3, Neela H Yennawar 3, Ritimukta Sarangi 2, Christopher Tassone 2, Thomas M Weiss 2, Jennifer L DuBois 1

1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.

2Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA.

3The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, USA.

PMID: 38723110                PMCID: PMC11081424                    DOI: 10.1002/pro.4997

Jessica Lusty Beech is a Ph.D. student at Montana State University. Her work, summarized: “Metalloenzymes in general, and multisubunit, multicofactor metalloenzymes in particular offer an important challenge for macromolecular redesign and engineering. Jessica’s work uses several biophysical approaches in tandem to quantify exactly how instability limits a native enzymatic system for upcycling aromatic precursors – in this case, the synthetic monomers harvested from PET plastic – into valuable products. This work sets us up to engage in a “design-test-redesign” cycle that we hope will begin to unlock the promise of technically challenging biocatalysts.”

Her mentor, Dr. Jennifer DuBois, shared: “As a high school student, Jessica was often left on her own, taking care of horses on the family’s remote Wyoming property while her father sought cancer treatment in Salt Lake City. Her inner strength and independence must have been forged in those tough times. They also made her one of the kindest, most welcoming people I have ever worked with in the lab. Jessica routinely seeks out ways that she can use her work to make people’s lives better, in big ways and small.”

 

Matteo Cagiada

Predicting Absolute Protein Folding Stability Using Generative Models

First published: 14 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.5233

Matteo Cagiada 1, Sergey Ovchinnikov 2, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen 1

1 Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2 Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

 

PMID: 39673466              PMCID: PMC11645669                    DOI: 10.1002/pro.5233

Matteo Cagiada is currently a postdoctoral researcher at University of Oxford. His work, summarized: "Thermodynamic stability is a fundamental property of proteins, and accurately predicting it is crucial for basic science, biotechnology, and understanding genetic disorders. Our paper in Protein Science describes how we can use generative AI protein models to predict the absolute stability of a protein from its structure, particularly in small to medium-sized systems. It also discusses the potential for predicting conformational dynamics, challenges in assessing larger proteins, and key data and technical hurdles in developing future stability predictors."

His mentor, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen shared: “I am delighted and proud that Matteo is being recognised for his work; it has been an absolute pleasure to work with him during his PhD here in Copenhagen. Matteo approaches science with a strong combination of curiosity, determination and technical skills, which has enabled him to collaborate with a wide range of other scientists across disciplines — both in our centre and abroad — to tackle challenging problems in protein science. The paper in Protein Science is an example of the result of allowing people to develop and work together in smaller or larger interdisciplinary teams.”

 

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The Protein Society is the leading international Society devoted to furthering research and development in protein science. Founded in 1986, the purpose of the Society is to provide international forums to facilitate communication, cooperation, and collaboration regarding all aspects of the study of proteins. In support of these goals, the Society publishes Protein Science, the premier journal in the field, hosts an annual international symposium, and facilitates the  education of early-career protein scientists across all lines of discipline. The Protein Society members represent a wide spectrum of academic, industry, government, and non-profit institutions from more than 35 countries around the world. Media inquiries can be directed to Raluca Cadar, Chief Executive Officer at rcadar@proteinsociety.org. The Best Paper winners will speak at The Protein’s Society Annual Symposium, June 26 - 29, San Francisco, California, USA. Delegates, exhibitors, sponsors, and the press can learn more about the 39th Annual Symposium on The Protein Society website - http://www.proteinsociety.org.

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