Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
My research group focuses on the screening, design, synthesis and characterisation of peptide-based antagonists that can inhibit disease-relavant targets with high affinity and specificity. These do so by inhibiting the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) that targets require for function.
While forces driving stability are now well understood, much less is known about specificity. Towards these goals we undertake peptide library screening within the complex environmewnt of the cell. This includes Protein-fragment Complementation Assay (PCA), and 'Transcription Block Survival' (TBS) screening platforms. Both utilise semi-rational design to select peptide antagonists that can engage with a protein target and ablate function. We have further devised a Competitive and Negative Design Initiative (CANDI) technique to increase target-specificity in the PCA system by expressing potential off-targets or first generation hit sequences during the selection process.
Library derived peptides and their characterisation have allowed us to create a number of tools towards prediction of PPI stability and specificity based on primary sequence alone, and to consequently design inhibitory peptides as well as in silico libraries.
Our screening approaches have been applied to a broad range of therapeutically relevant systems that include signalling proteins, transcription factors, and amyloidogenic proteins such as β-amyloid and α-synuclein that are implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, respectively.
The research group use a range of multidisciplinary approaches that include molecular biology, chemical biology, and molecular biophysics. Our research has been funded by BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, CRUK, The Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, Alzheimer's Society, Parkinson's UK and Alzheimer's Research UK.
Willing to supervise doctoral students
I would be pleased to hear from potential applicants. We have a range of ongoing projects related to the design and characterisation of peptide-based inhibitors of proteins involved in disease.
In addition to applications from students who would like to undertake a PhD, I also support applications for external or personal postdoctoral fellowships (e.g. EMBO, HFSP, Marie Curie or government funded).
Please contact Jody Mason for informal discussions.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Biochemistry, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Bristol
Award Date: 1 Jan 2001
Biochemistry, Bachelor of Science, University of Bristol
Award Date: 1 Jul 1997
External positions
Alzheimer's Research UK Grant Review Board Member, Alzheimer's Research UK
Jul 2016 → Jun 2023
BBSRC Core Member for Panel D, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2016 → 2024
EPSRC Associate Peer Review College, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
2016 → 2023
Editorial Board: Future Medicinal Chemistry
2011 → …
Editorial Board: PLOS One
2010 → …
Keywords
- peptide
- protein
- protein folding
- amyloid
- protein misfolding
- library screening
- Alzheimer's
- Cancer
- peptide mimetics
- protein-protein interactions
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From Peptides to Mimetics: Towards Smaller More Stable Drug-like Protein-protein Interaction Inhibitors
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1/09/21 → 31/08/25
Project: Research council
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Irreversibly Silencing Oncogenic Master-regulator cMyc Using Library-derived Electrophilic Helical Peptides
1/12/20 → 30/11/23
Project: Research council
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Identification and Characterisation of Library Derived PPI Inhibitors
1/08/20 → 31/07/23
Project: Other
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An Approach to Derive Functional Peptide Inhibitors of Transcription Factor Activity
Brennan, A., Leech, J. T., Kad, N. M. & Mason, J. M., 25 Apr 2022, In: JACS Au. 2, 4, p. 996-1006 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
In vitro single molecule and bulk phase studies reveal the AP-1 transcription factor cFos binds to DNA without its partner cJun
Leech, J., Brennan, A., Don, N., Mason, J. & Kad, N., 31 Aug 2022, In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. 298, 8, 102229.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Downloads (Pure) -
Library-derived peptide aggregation modulators of Parkinson's disease early-onset alpha-synuclein variants.
Watt, K. J. C., Meade, R. M., Williams, R. J. & Mason, J. M., 15 Jun 2022, In: ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 13, 12, p. 1790-1804Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
A downsized and optimised intracellular library-derived peptide prevents alpha-synuclein primary nucleation and toxicity without impacting upon lipid binding
Meade, R. M., Watt, K. J. C., Williams, R. J. & Mason, J. M., 3 Dec 2021, In: Journal of Molecular Biology. 433, 24, 167323.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A thermodynamic model for interpreting tryptophan excitation-energy-dependent fluorescence spectra provides insight into protein conformational sampling and stability
Kwok, A., Camacho, I., Winter, S., Knight, MI., Meade, R., Turner, A., O'Hara, J., Mason, J., Arcus, V., Jones, A. & Pudney, C., 3 Dec 2021, In: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 8, 778244.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile18 Downloads (Pure)