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James Birrell

@jamesbirrell.bsky.social
53 followers 36 following 26 posts

Lecturer at University of Essex. Interested in metalloenzyme structure and spectroscopy.

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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Day 2, over and out! 🥳 Our final session of the day featured talks from Stephen Ragsdale, Noémie Lalaoui, Christine Cavazza, Laura Opdam, Henrick Land and Manon Lachmann! What better way to round off the day than with a poster session? ☺️👩‍🔬 #ICH2026 #leicester
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Another day filled with brilliant talks and great discussions! 🤩 Thank you to Serena DeBeer for delivering a fantastic plenary to kick off! Thank you as well to all of our speakers, poster presenters and sponsors for making Day 3 such a success! 👏🔬 #ICH2026 #leicester
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
The votes have been counted... Are you a winner? 👀🤭 #ICH2026 #leicester
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
A big congrats to all poster prize winners and the Best ECR Talk winner, Manon Lachmann!!! 🥳👏 #ICH2026 #leicester
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
That's a wrap on ICH2026 in Leicester! 🎬 What an incredible few days it's been! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for making this a memorable one! We hope you've enjoyed ICH Leicester as much as we have! Until next time, Hydrogenators! 👋🧪 #ICH2026 #leicester
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Session 1 has wrapped! 🥳 What a great morning of science we've had! We heard from two invited speakers and also heard two oral presentations! We also enjoyed some exciting flash poster presentations and heard from our sponsors!✨🧪 Time to refuel over lunch! 🍽️ #ICH2026 #leicester
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Session 2 is all done! ✅ We've just enjoyed five amazing talks from Kirstin Gutekunst, Holly Reeve, Filipe Pinto, Aniket Banerjee and Karen Trchounian! Let's keep the flow of electrons going... right into Session 3!⚡️😊 #ICH2026 #leicester
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Day 2 is off to a great start! 🎉 We’ve already enjoyed a very interesting opening plenary from Chris Greening, followed by a great keynote lecture from Thomas Happe, and there’s still plenty more to come! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the day brings! Stay tuned! 😉😊 #ICH2026 #leicester
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
🚨Helpful Hydrogenators spotted🚨 Don’t be afraid to ask any of our Helpful Hydrogenators for help around campus!📍😊 #ICH2026 #leicester
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Day 1, complete! ✅ A brilliant opening day at #ICH2026, with a warm welcome, inspiring opening talks, and a fantastic reception to round it all off. Bonus points if you can spot one of our organisers in Prof. Kylie Vincent's plenary... 👀 On to Day 2! 🚀 #ICH2026 #leicester
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
1 more day until #ICH2026! We’re so excited to welcome everyone and hear about all the amazing research underway! In true Leicester fashion, expect a little rain tomorrow🌦️ so a bring a light jacket or an umbrella! The rest of the week is looking sunny! ☀️ See you tomorrow! #ICH2026 #leicester
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Who's interested in time-resolved serial crystallography on [FeFe]-hydrogenase?? Check out Moritz' new preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The only thing more coordinated than our metallocentres is our conference prep 😏🥳 See you soon at #ICH2026 in #leicester!
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Any questions you may have about the conference or the registration, let me or my co-organizers know! We are looking forward to seeing you at Leicester very soon! 😃
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Last two days for Early-bird registration to come to the exciting International Conference on Hydrogenases and other redox Metalloenzymes! Please, don’t miss this amazing opportunity to discuss great science!
le.ac.uk
International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes 2026 | School of Chemistry | University of Leicester
Web page for the International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes. The conference will be held in Leicester in Summer 2026.
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
See you in Leicester 🙌🏻
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
👇👇👇👇 Please register now! It is going to be an amazing event!
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
🚨🚨Extension Alert!🚨🚨 There is still time to catch early-bird registration for ICH2026 - deadline extended until 17 May. We have been working hard to prove that the sun does shine in the UK, and look forward to welcoming you to Leicester this Summer! le.ac.uk/chemistry/re...
A diverse array of students walking along a paved path between a grass lawn and a traditional British university brick building. There are red and white standing banners with the text 'welcome'.A photograph of Simone, James, Philip, and Patricia, standing in the sunshine in front of a traditional red brick building at the University of Leicester.
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Probably the best conference for biocatalysis & bioinorganic chemistry this year!
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Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology @leicstructbio.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Registration is now open! The 14th edition of the International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes (ICH2026)e at the University of Leicester 26 to 30 July 2026. @jamesbirrell.bsky.social @rmlab.bsky.social @ir-paash.bsky.social le.ac.uk/chemistry/re...
le.ac.uk
International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes 2026 | School of Chemistry | University of Leicester
Web page for the International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes. The conference will be held in Leicester in Summer 2026.
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Reposted by James Birrell
ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
The International Conference on Hydrogenase and Other Redox Metalloenzymes takes place @uniofleicester.bsky.social in the UK, 26-30 July 2026. A reminder that there is still time to submit an abstract and register for this exciting conference! le.ac.uk/chemistry/re...
A cartoon image of the Leicester skyline, showing buildings such as the clock tower and National Space Centre. Across the top of this are the words ICH 2026, and Register Now!!!
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Thank you to my amazing collaborators and the PhD student doing the work, Sam! Please have a read, it is a really interesting paper!
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Reposted by James Birrell
Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
An elegant engineering strategy to perform step-wise truncations of the iron-sulfur cluster domains in semi-synthetic [FeFe] hydrogenases to investigate in detail the influence on the catalytic properties of the enzyme and the inhibitors binding!
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
I couldn't be happier to see this nice piece of work out! It is like my baby project, which I dedicated a lot of time and effort! lnkd.in/eKpyxrM5http...
pubs.acs.org
Engineering the Electron Relay in [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Enhances Electrocatalytic H2 Evolution
H2 is an ideal energy vector, but catalysts for its clean production from water are inefficient or expensive. [FeFe]-hydrogenases are the most active H2-converting catalysts in nature, using a unique ...
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Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology @leicstructbio.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Congratulations @rmlab.bsky.social ! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org
Engineering the Electron Relay in [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Enhances Electrocatalytic H2 Evolution
H2 is an ideal energy vector, but catalysts for its clean production from water are inefficient or expensive. [FeFe]-hydrogenases are the most active H2-converting catalysts in nature, using a unique ...
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Reposted by James Birrell
Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Vincent, Morra, and Rodríguez-Maciá demonstrate that truncating the electron transfer domain of [FeFe]-hydrogenase does *not* diminish their catalytic efficiency (via ACS Catalysis). doi.org/10.1021/acsc...
doi.org
Engineering the Electron Relay in [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Enhances Electrocatalytic H2 Evolution
H2 is an ideal energy vector, but catalysts for its clean production from water are inefficient or expensive. [FeFe]-hydrogenases are the most active H2-converting catalysts in nature, using a unique ...
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Jonathan Worrall @jarworrall.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Our first foray into the P450 world. Thanks to @bellp450enzyme.bsky.social for sharpening our GC-MS skill set @jamesbirrell.bsky.social for the microwaves😃 and Lewis for persevering 🧪
sciencedirect.com
The cytochrome P450 decarboxylase from Staphylococcus aureus can produce a diene from a C18 monounsaturated fatty acid: A spectroscopic, structural and kinetic characterisation
Certain members of the bacterial cytochrome P450 152 family (CYP152) are peroxygenases that catalyse the decarboxylation of fatty acids into terminal …
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
1️⃣ 𝗠𝗜𝗕𝗧𝗣-𝗕𝗕𝗦𝗥𝗖 - 𝟮𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... 2️⃣ 𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔-𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗖 - 𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: centa.ac.uk/studentship/... Any questions or more information? Please email me, happy to help! #metalloenzymes #biohybridcatalysts #sustainablechemistry #greenchemistry
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Reposted by James Birrell
Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Are you excited about #metalloenzymes and #biohybridcatalysts? Are you interested in investigating new approaches for #sustainable and #greenchemistry? If so, I have 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗣𝗵𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to join my group in 📅 Sept 2026 under the schemes. 👇+Info👇
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
We have a 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 (𝗣𝗗𝗥𝗔) position for a project in collaboration with my colleagues Phil Ash & James Pickering, via the AMBER Postdoctoral Programme funded by MSCActions. Come and join us at @uniofleicester! 👇+info👇
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Information about the project here: le.ac.uk/research/ins... Information about the position and how to apply: jobs.le.ac.uk/vacancies/11... Deadline 7 Dec 2025! For any enquires please send an email!
le.ac.uk
Research opportunities | Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology | University of Leicester
Postdoc opportunities at the Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Delightful combination of spectroscopies (electronic, microwave) and protein crystallography in @jarworrall.bsky.social's new paper on cytochrome P450 decarboxylase from Staphylococcus aureus 🤩 doi.org/10.1016/j.ji...
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ICH2026 @ich2026.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
We are delighted to confirm that the and Other Redox Metalloenzymes will take place from 26-30 July 2026 at the University of Leicester, UK. Details of the conference, including regularly updated confirmed speakers, are available on our website (link in bio).
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Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology @leicstructbio.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Congrats @rmlab.bsky.social and co-authors on "Two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy as a tool to reveal the vibrational and molecular structure of [FeFe] hydrogenases" in Chemical Science pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
pubs.rsc.org
Two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy as a tool to reveal the vibrational and molecular structure of [FeFe] hydrogenases
[FeFe] hydrogenases are Nature's most efficient catalysts for the cleavage and evolution of molecular hydrogen. Despite decades of research, key aspects of the catalytic cycle and the underlying geome...
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Reposted by James Birrell
Michael Hurst @chemhurst.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Join us next Tuesday May 27 for a Desktop Seminar on the Chemistry of Inorganic Clusters! Featuring talks and live Q&A from Stephen Ragsdale (University of Michigan) and Patrick Holland (Yale University), this is one you don't want to miss! Register and find more details rsc.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Promotional poster for an event from the Royal Society of Chemistry titled "RSC Desktop Seminar: Chemistry of Inorganic Clusters" on Tuesday May 27 at 2pm EDT and 7pm BST
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Reposted by James Birrell
Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
We probed both directions, and it really seems to be the F-domain that modulates the on/off dynamics. We didn't investigate DdH tho...
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
We have positions for pCNF SDM of CpI in a recent grant application... Very encouraging to see Kylie's data!
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Reposted by James Birrell
Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
We believe that these protein-protein-interactions propell fast & repeated one-electron-transfer reactions, driving multi-electron redox catalysis with a one-electron mediator. In hydrogenase, and other oxidoreductases as well. Find all the details in the paper: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Uli's brilliant microscale thermophoresis experiments show that *only* reduced ferredoxin binds to hydrogenase, which facilitates assigning the secondary structural changes to redox changes and a shift from an "attractive" to a "repulsive" configuration.
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Infrared difference spectra reveal that the reduction of ferredoxin is accompanied with larger secondary structural changes - clearly associated with the "F-domain" of [FeFe]-hydrogenase, as reference experiments with "minimal hydrogenase" CrHydA1 lack this spectral feature. A surprise‼️
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Interestingly, in the ferredoxin from C. pasteurianum, reduction alone does *not* affect the nitrile frequency. Only in complex with [FeFe]-hydrogenase CpI, redox changes affect the artificial amino acid...
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Ross @milton-group.bsky.social came up with a very similar idea: how about introducing cyanophenylalanine to a (bacterial) ferredoxin that binds two [4Fe-4S] clusters? One might learn where the electron resides as most ferredoxins are considered one-electron redox mediators... 🧵
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bioinorgchemuw.bsky.social @bioinorgchemuw.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
"redox-dependent nitrile band shifts" 🤩
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Sandy Kilpatrick @sandykilla.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Lovely stuff Zehui et al.!
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Applying this genetic approach to [FeFe]-hydrogenase, the nitrile band allows probing the FeS cluster redox states AND the H-cluster. This will be a powerful tool in other FeS proteins as well! doi.org/10.1002/cbic...
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
First off, let me highlight recent work from Vincent et al.: the authors modified plant ferredoxin with cyanophenylalanine and succeeded in measuring FeS-redox-dependent nitrile band shifts in the IR spectra.
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Sven T. Stripp @stripplab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Who's ready to talk about ferredoxin?
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
It is a real pleasure to collaborate with you guys! 😊
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Rodriguez-Macia Lab @rmlab.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Very happy to see this out! Take a look at this interesting paper on the application of 2D IR to [FeFe] hydrogenases 👇
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James Birrell @jamesbirrell.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Out now in @chemicalscience.rsc.org: We apply 2DIR spectroscopy to study [FeFe] hydrogenase for the first time. Check it out! pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
pubs.rsc.org
Two-dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Reveal the Vibrational and Molecular Structure of [FeFe] Hydrogenases
[FeFe] hydrogenases are Nature’s most efficient catalysts for the cleavage and evolution of molecular hydrogen. Despite decades of research, key aspects of the catalytic cycle and the underlying geome...
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