What is your favourite enzyme, and why?

Mandelate racemase, because it has a relatively simple mechanism that permits examination of the more complex details of catalysis.

 

What is your favourite book?

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. An architect designs innovative buildings that are not accepted by the existing architectural establishment, but he refuses to compromise.  It is a story of individualism versus collectivism, portraying the inferiority of the latter.

 

What is the most recent book you’ve read?

Admiral Lord Saint Vincent- Saint or Tyrant? The Life of Sir John Jervis, Nelson’s Patron by James Davidson.

 

What is your favourite amino acid, and why?

Cysteine, because it’s the most reactive for modifications and often plays a role in catalysis.

 

What are some of your hobbies?

Swimming, playing piano, and Clash of Clans!

 

What is your dream vacation?

Any southern destination with sun and sailing.

 

What is the coolest project you’ve ever worked on?

Actually, it was a theoretical project. I was developing a model describing the evolution of enzyme activation energies based on Marcus theory, which looks at enzyme-catalyzed proton transfer reactions and divides the reaction into a thermodynamic barrier and a kinetic barrier.

 

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in lab?

Well, I’ve made many good ones! Probably the most memorable one was when I had a test tube full of phosphoric acid that I was heating to dehydrate. After adding m-cresol, the tube broke while I was stirring the thick paste with a glass rod and the contents spilled on my finger. In those days, gloves were not as commonly used as they are now.  My whole finger turned absolutely white.  Unsure about what I should do, I phoned a visiting professor and he told me to extract the m-cresol with ether – so I stuck my finger in a beaker containing ether and it returned to normal colour within a few minutes!

 

Do you have any advice or anything else you want to say?

Do what you like! I always tell students that they should do whatever makes them feel rewarded.