Joined the lab:
I joined the Hyvonen lab in October 2016.
Background:
Originally from Latvia, I did my undergraduate at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where I received and MSci in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry. During my degree I also spent a year on a placement at GSK in Stevenage, doing molecular modelling for a medicinal chemistry team. I am deeply interested in structural biology and its applications in drug discovery, as well as the various biophysical and computational methods that are used to investigate biological molecules.
Working on:
The focus of my research at the lab is the Rad51 recombinase protein. More specifically, I am investigating the binding of small molecules to Rad51 of protozoan parasites, with the aim of developing molecular probes that could modulate the function of these proteins. In addition, I am trying to understand some of the mechanistic aspects of Rad51.
Outside of the lab:
In my spare time I am likely to be found reading a book (most often non-fiction such as history), spending time with friends, sitting in a sauna, drinking beer, running, travelling, and, obviously, reading research papers.
Publications:
Rasina, D. et al. Fragment-based discovery of 2-aminoquinazolin-4(3H)-ones as novel class non-peptidomimetic inhibitors of the plasmepsins I, II, and IV. J. Med. Chem 2016, 59 (1), pp 374–387,doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b01558