The British Biophysical Society

British Biophysical Society Young Invesigators Award 2002

Julea Butt

In 2002 the BBS established a Medal to recognise excellence in biophysics. The response to the call for nominees for the BBS Young Investigators Award was extremely encouraging and the judging panel found themselves having to decide between several excellent candidates. But only one could win and they chose Julea Butt to be the first ever BBS Young Investigator.

Louise Johnson presents Julea with her Medal in Southampton.

"My research interests started from my undergraduate third year," explains Julea. Ever since she first encountered electron transfer reactions in her undergraduate labs at the University of Oxford, these processes have fascinated her. "I just got hooked by it, really!", she confesses. After graduating she joined the lab of Professor Fraser Armstrong at the University of Irvine in the US, where she developed the technique of protein film voltammetry duringher postgraduate research. In the cell many proteins function by passing electrons through complex pathways. Using this highly interactive technique, a physiological redox partner protein is immobilised onto an electrode. The transfer of electrons between two partner proteins generates a current, which in turn is used to interpret the electrochemistry and coupled chemistry of the reaction. Despite a brief foray into molecular biology and genetics, Julea found voltammetry irresistible. In 1997 she returned to the UK as a Wellcome Trust Research Career Fellow at the University of East Anglia, to continue her voltammetry research. Originally a chemist - " but I don't know what I am any more!" - Julea took up a joint lectureship in the Schools of Chemistry and Biological Science at the UEA in 2001.

So what makes voltammetry so exciting? "You are actually watching something happen," explains Julea. She goes on to tell how experiments provide both thermodynamical and kinetic results for a specific electron transfer reaction, and also that these can be separated. This is achieved by changing the potential voltage of the experiment and consequently its time course. She makes it sound easy, but researchers have only been able to get native proteins to exchange electrons with an electrode for a few decades. And keeping the protein on the electrode in its native state is not straightforward. "It takes a little bit of luck - it's akin to finding the right condition for crystallising a protein."

But what excites Julea most about voltammetry is that she can quickly change the experimental conditions. As soon as she has results she can alter the experimental set-up and study a different aspect of the reaction. She enjoys being able to both control and observe the chemistry. But there is more to come. In the future Julea hopes to look at proteins in a more natural environment. Her group are already developing surfaces which mimic membrane bilayers and, with a collaborator, want to study in situ time-resolved spectroscopy of the resulting electroactive arrays. Then, she explains, "We can start to look at integral membrane proteins in the environment that they work in."

In the traditional interdisciplinary nature of biophysics, Julea's research draws from several fields. While the results from voltammetry are rich in information, they are always original. "We've never predicted what their responses would be," she says of the proteins she studies. Of the results she says: "It prompts lots of questions to our colleagues." As voltammetry does not provide direct structural information, she often turns to spectroscopic methods to answer some of the arising questions. And as a consequence she has developed strong collaborations within the Centre of Metalloprotein Spectroscopy and Biology at UEA.

And while she doesn't use her previous experience in molecular biology and genetics now, she still feels the time was well spent. She finds communication with her collaborators easier, many of whom have a more biological background, something that some interdisciplinary scientists find problematic. In fact, for this reason she recommends that young biophysicists actively experience different labs and techniques. But what other advice does she hold for would-be biophysicists? Against the generally held opinion that postgrads should not follow closely in their supervisor's footsteps, Julea returned to voltammetry. She feels that it is more important to enjoy what you do - "Take the risk to do something that really excites," is her tip. How about younger students that are thinking about selecting A-levels? She feels that it is best to learn the underlying principles of chemistry, physics and maths early and that the biology is more easily learnt at a later date. But she is quick to emphasise that all are important in biophysics.

So how did Julea feel about being awarded the first BBS Medal? "What's nice about it, is that it was totally unexpected!", she reveals. While she feels that her Wellcome Trust Fellowship gave her the opportunity to do quality research, the BBS Young Investigators Award is the recognition that her research group has spent the time well. Julea received her BBS Medal during the Biophysical Complexity meeting in Southampton on the 24th April. Her Award lecture was given after the ceremony and was titled 'Resolving Natures Electric Circuitry in the Time and Electrochemical Potential Domains'.