Bioinformatics doctoral students Caroline Ross and David Penkler embark on international studies with Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. Both were graduated from one-year MSc programme in Bioinformatics with distinction in April 2015.

Caroline Ross has recently been awarded the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜB?TAK) Research Fellowship for International Researchers. TÜB?TAK awards the fellowship to highly qualified PhD students to pursue part of their research in Turkey. Caroline will be attending Sabanci University for the year 2016. Under the supervision of Prof Özlem Tastan Bishop, Prof Canan Atilgan and Dr Caroline Knox, her research focuses on the investigation into novel drug targets in Picornaviruses, including poliovirus and foot-and-mouth-disease-virus.

Dr Caroline Knox, Caroline Ross and Prof Özlem Tastan Bishop at graduation, April 2015

Right after his MSc thesis submission, David Penkler visited Sabanci University earlier this year while working on a collaborative research project with Prof Özlem Tastan Bishop and Prof Canan Atilgan. During his 8 week stay he learnt Perturbation-Response Scanning (PRS) technique, which he is currently utilizing as he continues to pursue this collaborative research project. The focus of David’s research is on the identification of key residues involved in the structural mechanics of heat shock proteins. He is particularly interested in inhibitor design against cancer.