Queen's Now

Viewing archives for Biochemistry

About me

Hi, I’m Ellie and I’m currently in my third year studying Biochemistry. I went to a state school in York, and first decided I wanted to study Biochem towards the end of year 12. Biochemistry interested me as I wanted to be able to study life at a molecular level, and was particularly interested in the wide range of topics covered at Oxford, and in particular the fourth year research project!

College experience

One of my favourite things about Queen’s is the friendly atmosphere. I’ve met so many people from a variety of backgrounds and it definitely feels like a tight-knit community! Before coming to Oxford, I was a bit apprehensive, but I quickly found that Queen’s is a very welcoming place. It’s also been really nice to make friends with people in college doing my course, and definitely makes the degree more enjoyable! Another benefit is the location – Queen’s is right on the High Street so everything is super walkable!

Oxford life

In the mornings I tend to have lectures in the Biochemistry department, before I go to college lunch where I can catch up with friends. In the afternoons, I might have a tutorial or a practical, and if not, I’m probably studying in the Upper Library, especially if there’s a deadline coming up. To break up the day, I like to go for a run or to the gym, as it’s really important to do something outside of academics! In the evening, I’ll either grab tea in college or cook my own meal now that I’m living off-site. After eating, I try to unwind and avoid any more work for the night – usually doing something social or relaxing with friends.

Advice for applicants

If you are passionate about your subject, just apply! You never know what could happen 🙂

Research

My research group uses the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the nematode worm, Caenhorrhabitis elegans as model organisms in which to study how transcription, non-coding RNAs, higher order structures in chromatin, and histone modifications influence the response to changes in nutrient availability, metabolic state and ageing. Caloric restriction is known to increase lifespan in a wide range of organisms, including yeast, and may ameliorate the effects of age-related diseases but the mechanism involved are poorly understood.

Yeast and worms offer powerful tools for dissecting the pathways that allow cells to switch from active growth into a long-lived quiescent state. We use bioinformatics, 3C analysis, RNA-FISH, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, nascent transcript mapping and most standard wet techniques. In addition, we produce models of cellular events such as gene expression and metabolic cycles in collaboration with physicists and mathematicians.

Publications

  • Mellor, J., Woloszczuk, R. & Howe, F.S. The Interleaved Genome. Trends Genet 32, 57-71 (2016).
  • Murray, S.C., Haenni, S., Howe, F.S., Fischl, H., Chocian, K., Nair, A. & Mellor, J. Sense and antisense transcription are associated with distinct chromatin architectures across genes. Nucleic Acids Res 43, 7823-37 (2015).
  • Nguyen T, Fischl H, Howe FS, Woloszczuk R, Serra Barros A, Xu Z, Brown D, Murray SC, Haenni S, Halstead JM, O’Connor L, Shipkovenska G, Steinmetz LM, Mellor J.
  • Transcription mediated insulation and interference direct gene cluster expression switches.
  • Elife. 2014 Nov 19;3:e03635. doi: 10.7554/eLife.03635. PMID:25407679
  • Howe FS, Boubriak I, Sale MJ, Nair A, Clynes D, Grijzenhout A, Murray SC, Woloszczuk R, Mellor J.
  • Lysine acetylation controls local protein conformation by influencing proline isomerization.
  • Mol Cell. 2014 Sep 4;55(5):733-44. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2014.07.004. Epub 2014 Aug 7. PMID:25127513
  • Murray SC, Serra Barros A, Brown DA, Dudek P, Ayling J, Mellor J.
  • A pre-initiation complex at the 3′-end of genes drives antisense transcription independent of divergent sense transcription. 
  • Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 Mar;40(6):2432-44. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkr1121. Epub 2011 Nov 28. PMID:22123739

Biography

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent ultrices nisi vitae arcu mollis, et condimentum enim efficitur. Phasellus placerat dictum eros eu molestie. Etiam in purus pretium, dignissim ligula nec, facilisis sapien. Morbi id orci vitae mauris pretium ultricies. Pellentesque luctus risus magna, at pharetra lorem venenatis quis. Vivamus rutrum elit vitae justo fermentum bibendum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Duis sit amet faucibus massa, in imperdiet erat. Ut ultrices libero in ipsum aliquet finibus. Maecenas in urna sed lectus congue vehicula ac ac sem. Integer cursus tincidunt ligula ut tincidunt. Nullam quis dui sollicitudin, pharetra nisi in, tempus felis. Aenean eu felis luctus, tempor tellus volutpat, porta quam. Phasellus nec tristique ipsum. Maecenas accumsan ac nibh a ullamcorper.

Teaching

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent ultrices nisi vitae arcu mollis, et condimentum enim efficitur. Phasellus placerat dictum eros eu molestie. Etiam in purus pretium, dignissim ligula nec, facilisis sapien. Morbi id orci vitae mauris pretium ultricies. Pellentesque luctus risus magna, at pharetra lorem venenatis quis. Vivamus rutrum elit vitae justo fermentum bibendum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Duis sit amet faucibus massa, in imperdiet erat. Ut ultrices libero in ipsum aliquet finibus. Maecenas in urna sed lectus congue vehicula ac ac sem. Integer cursus tincidunt ligula ut tincidunt. Nullam quis dui sollicitudin, pharetra nisi in, tempus felis. Aenean eu felis luctus, tempor tellus volutpat, porta quam. Phasellus nec tristique ipsum. Maecenas accumsan ac nibh a ullamcorper.

Publications

Courses

  • MBiochem in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (a four-year integrated Masters course)

The course

The University syllabus reflects the breadth and multi-disciplinary nature of Biochemistry, which is practised in one form or another in most of the science departments. The Department of Biochemistry is probably the largest in the country and provides most of the lectures and classes for the four-year course, although the opportunity is often taken to use the special expertise of colleagues in other departments when they are available. A particular feature of the Oxford course is the opportunity to specialize progressively, so that during the last year students spend almost half of their time on their own research project in one of the many research laboratories of the University, and also study in depth, by advanced lecture courses and seminars, two selected branches of Biochemistry.

College teaching

The College is responsible for tutorial teaching, and many of these tutorials will be with either the Tutor or the Lecturers in Biochemistry, whose specialties are complementary. Further specialist topics may be dealt with by tutors from other colleges, but there is no rigid plan of tutorial teaching; we try to balance the interests and abilities of individual students with the requirements of the course and its examinations.

Admissions

We appreciate that Biochemistry is not taught at school in a systematic way, and therefore we look for applicants with enthusiasm for the subject rather than deep understanding of much of the field. However, a good grounding in Chemistry is important (to A-level or equivalent), together with an interest in applying aspects of Chemistry to the study of biological systems. The course also has significant maths and biology content, and some physics. The first-year course provides the necessary background in biology, physics and mathematics for those who have not studied these subjects beyond GCSE, however Biology and Mathematics to at least AS-level or equivalent can be helpful.

Contact

The Queen’s College,
High Street, Oxford,
OX1 4AW

Find on map

Tel: 01865 279120

© 2025 The Queen's College, Oxford

Site by One