Stephen Curry

I am a structural biologist in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. My group works on a variety of fascinating problems related to different aspects of viral replication. We mainly use X-ray crystallography to elucidate the structures of proteins molecules, in an effort to shed new light on their functions. Our current projects include the structures of different host cell proteins recruited by the viral RNA as translation initiation factors. We are also interested in the viral enzymes produced once translation gets going. Most recently we have been studying and investigation of the substrate and inhibitor specificity of the 3C protease from foot-and-mouth disease virus.

In 2011 I took on the position of Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Life Sciences. In addition to this role my primary teaching involvement is on the undergraduate degree program in Biochemistry. I am also involved in postgraduate teaching on Masters courses (e.g. MRes in Structural Biology) and PhD student supervision.

My research and teaching interests are combined with a passion for understanding the wider role of science in society using a variety of media — the written word, audio and video. See for example my Reciprocal Space blog or articles at The Guardian.