2017 BSCB Newsletter BRITISH SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY Meet the new BSCB President Royal Opening of the Crick Meeting reports 2017 CONTENTS BSCB Newsletter News 2 Book reviews 7 Features 8 Meeting Reports 24 Summer students 30 Society Business 33 Editorial Welcome to the 2017 BSCB newsletter. After several meeting hosted several well received events for our Front cover: years of excellent service, Kate Nobes has stepped PhD and Postdoc members, which we discuss on The head of a Drosophila pupa. The developing down and handed the reins over to me. I’ve enjoyed page 5. Our PhD and Postdoc reps are working hard compound eye (green) is putting together this years’ newsletter. It’s been great to make the event bigger and better for next year! The composed of several hundred simple units called ommatidia to hear what our members have been up to, and I social events were well attended including the now arranged in an extremely hope you will enjoy reading it. infamous annual “Pub Quiz” and disco after the regular array. The giant conference dinner. Members will be relieved to know polyploidy cells of the fat body (red), the fly equivalent of the The 2016 BSCB/DB spring meeting, organised by our we aren’t including any photos from that here. mammalian liver and adipose committee members Buzz Baum (UCL), Silke tissue, occupy a big area of the Robatzek and Steve Royle, had a particular focus on In this issue, we highlight the great work the BSCB head. Cells and Tissue Architecture, Growth & Cell Division, has been doing to engage young scientists. We have Interaction of Cells with their Environment and several reports about exciting lab work by Polarity. As part of this, there were several fascinating undergraduate students who were sponsored by the talks from the Plant Cell Biology community. A BSCB have carried out over the summer. And an musical highlight of the meeting was the Plenary article about the STARs project held at the BCI lecture and Q and A by Uri Allon whose BSCB special London, where A level students are encouraged to dip editions of songs can be found on our YouTube their toes into the lab work for the first time. channel (youtube.com/user/BritishCellBiolSoc). For those of you who missed our excellent prize winning This year there have been a number of exciting talks, Lidia Vasileva – our Women in Cell Biology changes in the BSCB committee. We welcome and medalist – is interviewed in this issue, and Thomas interview our incoming president Professor Anne Surrey’s Hooke Medal lecture is well worth watching Ridley in this issue, and to help you get to know the on our webpage (www.bscb.org). committee better we have two members answering questions about Cell Biology. Dr Julie Welburn, who Congratulations to our Postdoctoral poster of the year administers our Honor Fell Award, also explains how prize winners: Dr Dimitra Aravani, Webb lab, we have been able to extend our travel grants and University of Leicester; Dr Kyojiro Ikeda, Freeman lab, everything we have to offer to support our members. University of Oxford; and Dr Amy Barker, Nightingale lab, QMUL, London. There was a dedicated Graduate I’d be delighted to receive articles for the 2017/8 Symposium, and several well-attended, lively and edition of the newsletter. Let me know about the stimulating poster sessions. The prize for the student news where you are. of the year went to Emma Stewart, Coverley lab, University of York; the close runners were Alex Pool, See you at the 2017 BSCB Spring Meeting. Godinho lab, Bart’s Cancer Institute, London; and Saroj Saurja, Raff lab, University of Oxford. The spring Ann Wheeler (PhD), BSCB Newsletter Editor Newsletter editor: Ann Wheeler Production: Giles Newton Website: www.bscb.org Printer: Hobbs 1 NEWS Society News BSCB President’s Report 2016 This is my last report as money organizing a fantastic the RSB, have more President of the BSCB, and so scientific meeting (often in resources. it is perhaps understandable collaboration with the BSDB) Nevertheless, I that I am in a reflective mood, with an all-star list of national remain convinced which, sadly, has been and international speakers and that the BSCB could depressed by recent political then to have to spend an be more influential events. When I became almost equal amount of time under the right President in 2011, it was and effort trying to encourage circumstances, already clear that challenging people to attend – just to although I am not times lay ahead for the UK ensure a sufficient number of sure that the community Newcastle), and also to cell biology community. attendees. We are not alone in would support this. provisionally welcome Susana Nevertheless, I was optimistic having this problem: the large Godhino (Barts Cancer that our community was EMBO and ASCB meetings are Now, for some good news: I Institute), Stephen Robinson sufficiently strong and also struggling to attract am delighted to report that (School of Biological Sciences, successful that we didn’t have attendees and have recently Anne Ridley (Kings College UEA), Sharon Tooze (Crick to worry too much about announced that the two London) has agreed to become Institute, London) and our new continuing financial support for annual meetings will merge. Is the next President of the Student Rep. Melanie Panagi the biomedical sciences. To the day of the large general BSCB. She will take over at (Biochemistry, Bristol) – all of some extent, this optimism meeting over – at least for the the Spring Meeting in Warwick whom can be officially has proved justified: basic cell and developmental biology next year (see her interview on welcomed when/if their science funding in the UK has communities? Would we be p10 of the Newsletter). Many appointments are approved at been spared from the worst of better off concentrating our of you will know Anne as a our next AGM at the Spring the widespread cuts to many efforts on smaller, more distinguished cell biologist, Meeting in Warwick (don’t other areas of Government focused, meetings that are perhaps most famous for her miss it!). Vas, David, Anne spending. Now, however, I am organised from the ground up? seminal discoveries about the and Ann deserve a special finding it hard to remain Personally, I have a strong role of the Rho family of mention as they have kindly optimistic in the face of so emotional attachment to our GTPases in regulating the agreed to act as Secretary, much uncertainty about the large annual meetings, and I cytoskeleton function when Treasurer, Meetings Secretar y, consequences of Brexit and a passionately believe that they she worked with the late Alan and Newsletter Editor, Trump presidency on scientific serve a particularly important Hall in the 1990s. Anne is respectively. research in the UK and USA, role in exposing students and steeped in BSCB (and ASCB) respectively. And the post-docs to a wide variety of history, and it is a comfort to With so many new faces consequences for science cell-biological problems and know that the BSCB will be in joining over the last couple of funding may be a relatively systems early in their careers. such capable hands. years it is inevitable that I minor problem compared to But perhaps this view is just need to say thanks and the many other potential sentimental, and it is time to I am also delighted to report goodbye to people leaving the consequences for our planet. move on. that we have recruited several committee. Kate Nobes, Buzz new committee members over Baum, Patrick Hussey, and But I will not discuss these Second, should the BSCB be the last two years, elected Grant Wheeler have all left the issues here. Instead, I will more politically active in from a pool of many excellent committee this year, as has leave you with two questions promoting the interests of the applicants. There were many our Student Rep Clare Mills. for the BSCB to think about in cell biology community? One more applications than They have all contributed in the coming years. In both of the reasons I was excited vacancies, so many thanks to many ways, but I must single cases, I am disappointed that about becoming President of everyone who expressed an out Grant for special thanks: we have not resolved them the BSCB was that I imagined interest; we have several of as BSCB Secretary, his during my time as BSCB it might be able to promote you in mind for the committee organizational skills and President. cell biology in influential over the next few years as guidance have been a great places. Unfortunately, this has places become vacant. I am help to me throughout my First, what is the BSCB for? not come to pass, mainly happy to welcome to the time as President. The BSCB committee puts in a because I have not had the committee Vas Ponnambalam lot of effort doing many things, time or energy to drive this (Faculty of Biological Sciences, As I won’t get a chance to including organizing meetings agenda. Instead, the BSCB Leeds), Anne Straube (Centre write another President’s and reviewing and disbursing has largely outsourced its for Mechanochemical Biology, Report, I also want to thank travel grants and summer political activity, by supporting Warwick), Andrew Carter the committee members who studentships, but does the groups such as Science is Vital (LMB, Cambridge), Ann will be leaving next year when community value this work, and The Royal Society of Wheeler (Institute of Genetics I retire. Caroline Austin, Steve particularly as regards our Biology—organisations that and Molecular Medicine, Royle, JP Vincent, and our meetings? It is heartbreaking are more focused on this Edinburgh) and David Elliot Post-Doctoral Rep Alexis Barr, to spend so much time and agenda, and, in the case of (Institute of Genetic Medicine, all of whom have contributed 2 NEWS many hours of hard work.