Uni given £1.7m for protein study

The research will be carried out at the University of Kent

A biochemistry professor from Kent has been awarded more than £1.7m to enhance understanding of biological processes.

Mike Geeves, professor of physical biochemistry at the University of Kent, has been handed £1,728,990 by the Wellcome Trust for a five-year study.

The project will investigate proteins behind functions as diverse as cell division, hearing and heartbeats.

Professor Geeves said he would be able to examine molecular "events" in cells to less than 1/1000th of a second.

The research will compare the myosin family of molecular motors.

Unknown adaptations

Professor Geeves, who is the Canterbury-based university's head of biosciences, said: "While we have a clear idea of how the myosin in muscle does its job, we do not know how the same basic motor protein is adapted for such a wide range of behaviours.

"This is what we plan to find out using methods that allow us to follow the fundamental molecular events that myosin goes through on a timescale of less than 1/1000th of a second."

He said there were more than 20 types of myosin involved cellular movements, from the very fast wing beat of insects to the slow crawling of white blood cells.

Sandford Bernstein, professor of biology at San Diego State University, will work with him on the project, which is expected to start in January.