Sparkling with success – Diamond fellowship awarded to Imperial life scientist

Sparkling with success ? Diamond fellowship awarded to Imperial life scientist. New professorial fellowship from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council %0A " - By Danielle Reeves - Monday 20 July 2009 An Imperial College London scientist who analyses important proteins found in the membranes of human cells has been awarded the first ever 'Diamond Fellowship' of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), it is announced today. The Diamond Professorial Fellowship of approximately £2 million has been awarded to Professor So Iwata from Imperial's Division of Molecular Biosciences, for a five-year project to study the structure and behaviour of 'transporter' proteins embedded in the oily membranes that coat the cells in our bodies. The new Diamond Fellowship is named after the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, the UK's national synchrotron facility, where Professor Iwata's membrane protein lab is based. The Diamond Light Source consists of a doughnut- shaped building the size of five football pitches, around the centre of which electrons are accelerated to almost the speed of light. When electrons are accelerated on a circular path like this, they lose energy in the form of extremely powerful X-rays which are guided to a series of experimental stations. Professor Iwata and his colleagues will use these X-rays to perform extremely high-resolution analysis of proteins' structures.