Phil Holliger
@philholliger.bsky.social
Program Leader and Head of PNAC division at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK @mrclmb.bsky.social. Synthetic / Chemical biology and all things RNA
Reposted by Phil Holliger
What do apple trees, Nobel Prizes, cows, and world-changing innovation all have in common? Well, they're all part of a new animated journey across one of Europe’s most extraordinary places, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
youtu.be/2K7Txdwb_k4
youtu.be/2K7Txdwb_k4
Welcome to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
YouTube video by Cambridge Biomedical Campus
youtu.be
October 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
What do apple trees, Nobel Prizes, cows, and world-changing innovation all have in common? Well, they're all part of a new animated journey across one of Europe’s most extraordinary places, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
youtu.be/2K7Txdwb_k4
youtu.be/2K7Txdwb_k4
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Eileen Southgate Staff Prize which recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to the LMB: Ian Elbrow, Pam Gallacher, Jessica McCool and Alison Turnock.
Read more about their work here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Read more about their work here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
October 24, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Eileen Southgate Staff Prize which recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to the LMB: Ian Elbrow, Pam Gallacher, Jessica McCool and Alison Turnock.
Read more about their work here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Read more about their work here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Perutz Student Prize and the Joan Steitz Postdoc Prize: Claudia De Miguel, @lucaschwarz.bsky.social, Tom Dendooven, Sofia Lövestam, Katerina Naydenva & Tomke Stürner.
Find out why they won here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Find out why they won here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
October 24, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Congratulations to the 2025 recipients of the Perutz Student Prize and the Joan Steitz Postdoc Prize: Claudia De Miguel, @lucaschwarz.bsky.social, Tom Dendooven, Sofia Lövestam, Katerina Naydenva & Tomke Stürner.
Find out why they won here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Find out why they won here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-prizes-2...
#LMBNews 👏
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Rewriting the language of life: Jason Chin’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have synthesised E. coli with just 57 codons instead of the usual 64.
Syn57 required 101000+ codon changes & represents a bold step towards programmable life.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/syn57-repres...
#LMBResearch🧪
Syn57 required 101000+ codon changes & represents a bold step towards programmable life.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/syn57-repres...
#LMBResearch🧪
August 1, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Rewriting the language of life: Jason Chin’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have synthesised E. coli with just 57 codons instead of the usual 64.
Syn57 required 101000+ codon changes & represents a bold step towards programmable life.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/syn57-repres...
#LMBResearch🧪
Syn57 required 101000+ codon changes & represents a bold step towards programmable life.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/syn57-repres...
#LMBResearch🧪
Reposted by Phil Holliger
We are excited to be a part of a collaboration lead by Tarafder and Bharat titled "Targeted disruption of phage liquid crystalline droplets abolishes antibiotic tolerance of bacterial biofilms" - this work has exciting implications for biofilm-targeted therapeutics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
July 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
We are excited to be a part of a collaboration lead by Tarafder and Bharat titled "Targeted disruption of phage liquid crystalline droplets abolishes antibiotic tolerance of bacterial biofilms" - this work has exciting implications for biofilm-targeted therapeutics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We are looking to recruit a tenure track group leader in the field of Chemical/Synthetic Biology (in the broadest sense) to lead a research program within the Division of Protein & Nucleic Acid Chemistry ( www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNW809/r... ) at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB).
Research Group Leader in Chemical/Synthetic Biology at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Start your UK & international job search for academic jobs, research jobs, science jobs and managerial jobs in leading universities and top...
www.jobs.ac.uk
July 14, 2025 at 12:10 PM
We are looking to recruit a tenure track group leader in the field of Chemical/Synthetic Biology (in the broadest sense) to lead a research program within the Division of Protein & Nucleic Acid Chemistry ( www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNW809/r... ) at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB).
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Excited to be at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) for the first time to present at the Life Sciences Students Symposium. Such impressive venue. No pressure!
July 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Excited to be at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) for the first time to present at the Life Sciences Students Symposium. Such impressive venue. No pressure!
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Excited to share our latest work! We found transcription factor SPT6 and phosphorylated Pol II CTD help recruit U1 snRNP to elongating Pol II, allowing efficient co-transcriptional splicing.
Glad to be featured in the Editors’ Highlights!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#splicing #cryoEM
Glad to be featured in the Editors’ Highlights!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#splicing #cryoEM
July 10, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Excited to share our latest work! We found transcription factor SPT6 and phosphorylated Pol II CTD help recruit U1 snRNP to elongating Pol II, allowing efficient co-transcriptional splicing.
Glad to be featured in the Editors’ Highlights!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#splicing #cryoEM
Glad to be featured in the Editors’ Highlights!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#splicing #cryoEM
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Highly collaborative efforts that involved 6 lab members and the labs of @yiliangding.bsky.social and @rdaslab.bsky.social. We uncovered a telomerase dimer and its potential role in telomere maintenance.
Sebastian Balch, Zala Sekne & Elsa Franco-Echevarría in @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social's group have confirmed the existence of dimeric telomerase and illustrated how it is key to telomere maintenance:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/first-struct...
#LMBResearch @yiliangding.bsky.social @rdaslab.bsky.social 🧪
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/first-struct...
#LMBResearch @yiliangding.bsky.social @rdaslab.bsky.social 🧪
July 11, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Highly collaborative efforts that involved 6 lab members and the labs of @yiliangding.bsky.social and @rdaslab.bsky.social. We uncovered a telomerase dimer and its potential role in telomere maintenance.
Reposted by Phil Holliger
In the paper, we investigate RNA polymerase ribozymes and their ability to perform rolling circle synthesis (RCS).
We previously showed that RCS is possible, though inefficient. Now, we use cryo-EM and identify a network of unexpected structures (see movie) which affect RCS.
(2/4)
We previously showed that RCS is possible, though inefficient. Now, we use cryo-EM and identify a network of unexpected structures (see movie) which affect RCS.
(2/4)
June 18, 2025 at 9:41 AM
In the paper, we investigate RNA polymerase ribozymes and their ability to perform rolling circle synthesis (RCS).
We previously showed that RCS is possible, though inefficient. Now, we use cryo-EM and identify a network of unexpected structures (see movie) which affect RCS.
(2/4)
We previously showed that RCS is possible, though inefficient. Now, we use cryo-EM and identify a network of unexpected structures (see movie) which affect RCS.
(2/4)
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Interested in how cells respond to genetic change?
Don’t miss this #LMBSeminar from Andy Fire of Stanford University!
Visit our website for more info on how to join: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Don’t miss this #LMBSeminar from Andy Fire of Stanford University!
Visit our website for more info on how to join: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
June 5, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Interested in how cells respond to genetic change?
Don’t miss this #LMBSeminar from Andy Fire of Stanford University!
Visit our website for more info on how to join: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Don’t miss this #LMBSeminar from Andy Fire of Stanford University!
Visit our website for more info on how to join: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Congratulations to @tbharat-lab.bsky.social, Group Leader in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, who has received the Gold Medal from @embo.org for his research on prokaryotic surface molecules.
Read more here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/tanmay-bhara...
#LMBNews
Read more here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/tanmay-bhara...
#LMBNews
June 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Congratulations to @tbharat-lab.bsky.social, Group Leader in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, who has received the Gold Medal from @embo.org for his research on prokaryotic surface molecules.
Read more here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/tanmay-bhara...
#LMBNews
Read more here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/tanmay-bhara...
#LMBNews
Reposted by Phil Holliger
@businessweekly.bsky.social reports that LMB spinout Sortera Bio has raised £7.5m pre-seed investment from AstraZeneca, BioNTech and CIC
Read more: www.businessweekly.co.uk/posts/astraz...
#LMBinthenews
Read more: www.businessweekly.co.uk/posts/astraz...
#LMBinthenews
AstraZeneca, BioNTech and CIC back Sortera Bio's £7.5m pre-seed round
Sortera Bio, a Cambridge biotech based on IP developed at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, has attracted big hitting backers for a £7.5m pre-seed round to power AI models for drug discovery. T...
www.businessweekly.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 11:12 AM
@businessweekly.bsky.social reports that LMB spinout Sortera Bio has raised £7.5m pre-seed investment from AstraZeneca, BioNTech and CIC
Read more: www.businessweekly.co.uk/posts/astraz...
#LMBinthenews
Read more: www.businessweekly.co.uk/posts/astraz...
#LMBinthenews
Reposted by Phil Holliger
Read this #preprint on @researchsquare: Base modifications reshape RNA folding landscapes and structure–function relationships in synthetic and natural RNAs
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Base modifications reshape RNA folding landscapes and structure–function relationships in synthetic and natural RNAs
Modified bases such as 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and N1-methyl-pseudouridine (N1Ψ) are widely used to reduce the immunogenicity of and enhance the stability and translational efficiency of therapeutic RN...
www.researchsquare.com
May 29, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Read this #preprint on @researchsquare: Base modifications reshape RNA folding landscapes and structure–function relationships in synthetic and natural RNAs
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Reposted by Phil Holliger
How did life on Earth begin? 🌍🧬
New #LMBResearch from Phil Holliger’s group, including James Attwater (now @uclchemistry.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social) shows how pH-freeze-thaw cycles enables RNA self-replication, overcoming a key evolutionary hurdle.
Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ma...
New #LMBResearch from Phil Holliger’s group, including James Attwater (now @uclchemistry.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social) shows how pH-freeze-thaw cycles enables RNA self-replication, overcoming a key evolutionary hurdle.
Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ma...
Chemists recreate how RNA might have reproduced for first time
Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth – a key process in the origin of life.
www.ucl.ac.uk
May 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
How did life on Earth begin? 🌍🧬
New #LMBResearch from Phil Holliger’s group, including James Attwater (now @uclchemistry.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social) shows how pH-freeze-thaw cycles enables RNA self-replication, overcoming a key evolutionary hurdle.
Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ma...
New #LMBResearch from Phil Holliger’s group, including James Attwater (now @uclchemistry.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social) shows how pH-freeze-thaw cycles enables RNA self-replication, overcoming a key evolutionary hurdle.
Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ma...
New paper from my group rdcu.be/eoaRr "Trinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozyme" in Nature Chemistry — great collaboration with attwaterlab.uk.
Trinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozyme
Nature Chemistry - Models of abiotic RNA replication suffer from inherent product inhibition arising from the high stability of RNA duplexes. Now, it has been shown that RNA trinucleotide...
rdcu.be
May 29, 2025 at 3:55 PM
New paper from my group rdcu.be/eoaRr "Trinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozyme" in Nature Chemistry — great collaboration with attwaterlab.uk.