LAB WIZARDS
BIOGRAPHY
Pau studied Human Biology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, before moving to Oxford, London and the Technical University of Denmark where he obtained his PhD in Computational Biology.
He then received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation to pursue his postdoctoral studies at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. After securing a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award from NIH/NCI, he established his lab at the University of Cambridge – CRUK Cambridge Institute in 2020.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
I really enjoy thinking deeply about research questions and how by doing so we can contribute towards improving disease outcomes.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Ab initio protein / peptide / drug design
MAGIC SPELL
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” - Albert Einstein
KRYPTONITE
This will never work / You can’t do it
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTES:
Perseverance
- “I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” - Michael Jordan
- "The job is not done” - Michael Jordan
- "There's a thousand other guys waiting in the wings who are obsessed with this game. Obsession is going to beat talent every time. You got all the talent in the world, but are you obsessed? Let's face it. It's you against you out there. When you walk on that court, you have to think, "I am the best guy out there". So let me ask you again. Do you love this game?” - Stanley Beren (Hustle)
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Exploiting temporal collateral sensitivity in tumor clonal evolution
Unmasking determinants of specificity in the human kinome
Kinome-wide decoding of network-attacking mutations rewiring cancer signaling
BIOGRAPHY
Mihkel is a postdoctoral research fellow who is interested in (unravelling and targeting) protein signalling networks. His PhD work in the University of Tartu in Estonia was on protein phosphorylation in yeast cell cycle. He then joined the Institute of Cancer Research in London to characterise motif-mediated protein-protein interactions in a high-throughput manner. He joined Pau Creixell’s lab with a Horizon Europe Guarantee MSCA postdoctoral fellowship to investigate the therapeutic potential of targeting dynamic protein-protein interactions.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
In my free time I enjoy hiking and exploring new areas
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Short linear motifs in signal processing
MAGIC SPELL
"Intelligence is knowing the right answer. Wisdom is knowing when to say it." - Tim Fargo
KRYPTONITE
Unmotivated people, mushy peas
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTES:
Resourcefulness
- " "There are many means", said granny when she was wiping the table with the cat." - Finnish saying
- "A bit of madness is key to give us new colors to see. Who knows where it will lead us?" - Mia in La La Land
- "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." ― Albert Einstein
The Eukaryotic Linear Motif resource: 2022 release
Multisite phosphorylation code of CDK
Cyclin-Specific Docking Mechanisms Reveal the Complexity of M-CDK Function in the Cell Cycle
BIOGRAPHY
Greta has two master’s degrees, from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, one in Chemistry and one in Pharmaceutical Science. She worked in IBM Research Europe on toxicity prediction using deep neural networks and at F. Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland. Her main expertises lie in computational chemistry and protein chemistry as well as machine learning.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
In my free time, I love baking and sharing the new creations with the lab members
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Protein design
MAGIC SPELL
- "I don’t believe there would be any science at all without intuition" – Rita Levi-Montalcini
- "If the key don’t fit, the protein won’t quit" – Ridgway Scott
- "Wingadium leviosa" – Harry Potter, by J. K. Rowling
KRYPTONITE
Science usually does not work the way you want
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTES:
"Power is gained by sharing knowledge, not hoarding it" – Dale Carnegie
"Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied" – Dale Carnegie
BIOGRAPHY
Mingxuan has recently completed studying Chemistry with Molecular Physics Master’s Program at Imperial College London, where he specialised in robotic chemistry and computational chemistry for drug design. He came top in the year – the best chemistry student in the whole of London, 2021. He is now at Cambridge Universtiy working towards his PhD in Pau Creixell’s group.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
The Medicine Buddha Pagoda in Nanjing makes me reminisce of my home far, far away. Its spirit also reminds me to dedicate myself to improving medical approaches to ease suffering in this world.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Molecular biophysics and experimental drug discovery
MAGIC SPELL
- Procrastination is the thief of all time!
- The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step
KRYPTONITE
I cannot stand long beans, especially if they are undercooked. Too rubbery!
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTE:
- Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one – Konrad Lorenz
- I like people who are motivated and free from distractions.
BIOGRAPHY
Nuo is interested in using functional and computational approaches to develop the nanobody and explore novel cancer signaling arms. Before moving to the UK, he studied and worked with colleagues at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine to discover oncogenic axes in DUX4/IGH-driven leukemogenesis.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
Like Naruto, Ramen is my soul as well.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Cancer signaling explorer
MAGIC SPELL
- No matter how high the mountains, one can always ascend to its top
- No shortcut is the best shortcut
- SNP: Simple, Naive, and Pure
KRYPTONITE
- "Give up"
- "You are not able to do it"
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTE:
"Life is not easy for any of us. But so what? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted with something and that this thing must be achieved." - Marie Curie
BIOGRAPHY
Luis is a biologist, geneticist and bioinformatician from Costa Rica. His past research was focused on human genetics, DNA repair and radiation oncology. His current research as a PhD student in the Creixell Lab is focused on the molecular evolution of tyrosine kinases. Moreover, he combines high-throughput biochemistry and structural bioinformatics in order to design less toxic and more efficient therapeutic hits to target oncogenic tyrosine kinases in paediatric brain tumours. He was awarded a PhD fellowship from the Board of Trustees of the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) in 2022 and became an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Biology in 2023.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
I am passionate about history, architecture and art. Castles are fascinating and remind me that every kingdom must one day come to an end.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Structural bioinformatics and protein biochemistry
MAGIC SPELL
Try until you achieve it
KRYPTONITE
Waking up early
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTE:
Perseverance
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit” - Will Durant (The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World’s Greatest Philosophers)
Insights into the pathogenicity of missense variants in the forkhead domain of FOX proteins underlying Mendelian disorders
Mutational survivorship bias: The case of PNKP
The Time for Chronotherapy in Radiation Oncology
DNA repair deficiency in neuropathogenesis: when all roads lead to mitochondria
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
I love sailing. Out on the open ocean, you are a free spirit. In science, the possibilities and pathways can also seem endless, so that's why both of my passions are combined in this icon.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Creating figures or powerpoints (I wouldn’t say I am particularly good at it, but I love spending time on that and improve)
MAGIC SPELL
“The world belongs to the brave” – Eva zu Beck
KRYPTONITE
English breakfast
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTE:
- Optimism
- “The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge to optimism” – Brian May
- “Optimism is the foundation of courage” – Nicholas M. Butler
Novel Small-Molecule Scaffolds as Candidates against the SARS Coronavirus 2 Main Protease: A Fragment-Guided in Silico Approach
BIOGRAPHY
James is the Creixell group’s lab manager. His background is mostly in stem cell research, where he enjoyed 11 years in Austin Smith’s group. He is excited to be exploring new pastures with Pau and the team, in cancer research and protein biochemistry. When not in the lab, he can be found with his family in Norfolk.
WIZARD FEATURES
ICON DESCRIPTION
This is our family dog, Jester, a Border Collie.
SECRET MAGIC TRICK
Cell culture
MAGIC SPELL
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” – Anne Frank
KRYPTONITE
Arrogance
FAVOURITE TRAIT AND RELATED QUOTE:
“The [person] who views the world at 50 the same as [they] did at 20 has wasted 30 years of [their] life” – Muhammad Ali
“...deprived of every right, exposed to every insult, condemned to certain death, but we still possess one power, and we must defend it with all our strength for it is the last – the power to refuse our consent” – Steinlauf
