Helen Saibil facts for kids

Helen Ruth Saibil is a famous scientist who studies tiny parts of living things. She was born in Québec, Canada, on August 12, 1950. She is known for her important work on how proteins in our bodies work.

Helen Saibil is a Professor of Structural Biology at Birkbeck, University of London. Her main research focuses on special proteins called "molecular chaperones." These chaperones help other proteins fold into the correct shapes. She also studies what happens when proteins fold incorrectly, which can cause problems.

Early Life and Education

Helen Saibil started her university studies at McGill University in Canada, finishing in 1971. After that, she moved to London, England, to continue her education.

She earned her PhD degree from King's College London in 1977. Her research for her PhD looked at how light-sensing parts of the eye are structured.

Scientific Career and Discoveries

After her PhD, Helen Saibil worked at different research centers, including CEA Grenoble in France and the University of Oxford in England. She joined Birkbeck, University of London in 1989 and has been there ever since.

Her research explores how large groups of molecules, called "macromolecular machines," operate. She uses a special technique called three-dimensional electron microscopy. This allows her to see the detailed shapes of proteins.

Understanding Molecular Chaperones

A big part of Helen Saibil's work is understanding molecular chaperones. Think of chaperones as "helpers" for other proteins. Proteins are like tiny machines in our bodies, and they need to fold into very specific shapes to work correctly.

If a protein folds the wrong way, it can't do its job, and this can lead to diseases. Helen Saibil studies how chaperones guide proteins to fold properly and how they can even help fix proteins that have folded incorrectly.

Protein Misfolding and Disease

Helen Saibil also investigates what happens when proteins misfold. Sometimes, misfolded proteins can clump together, forming harmful structures called amyloid. Her research helps us understand how these clumps form and how they might be prevented.

Her work is very important for understanding how our bodies stay healthy and what goes wrong in certain diseases.

Awards and Recognition

Helen Saibil's important contributions to science have been recognized with several honors. In 2006, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very prestigious award for scientists in the United Kingdom.

In 2009, she also became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. These honors show how much her work has helped advance our understanding of biology and medicine.

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