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Alba Guarne: Profile Photo

Alba Guarne

Montreal, Quebec

Position: Full Professor at McGill University

Organization: McGill University

Dr. Alba Guarné is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at McGill University and the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in DNA repair machines. She obtained her PhD from the University of Barcelona, where she worked on viral proteases. She carried out her postdoctoral work at the NIH in the lab of Professor Wei Yang, working on the regulatory mechanisms in DNA mismatch repair and DNA replication initiation in bacteria. Dr. Guarné started her independent career at McMaster University and was recruited to McGill University in 2017. Her laboratory applies integrative structural biology approaches to studying regulatory protein-DNA interactions in DNA repair and transposition. Dr. Guarné is also a committed mentor for the next generation of Canadian scientists. She received the 2016 YWCA Women of Distinction Award (science and technology) and the 2024 Angus F. Graham Award (McGill, Biochemsitry).

Areas of Expertise:

+ Structural Biology
+ DNA damage and repair
+ DNA transposition

Language(s):

+ English
+ Catalan
+ Spanish

My Work

What I do:

My laboratory uses structural biology techniques (protein crystallography, cryogenic electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering) to visualize protein machines. We combine the information from these 3D structures with biophysics and biochemistry to unveil how key biological processes work at a molecular level. We are particularly interested in how proteins bind and process DNA during DNA repair, DNA replication, and DNA transposition.

Ask me about:

Ask me about structural biology, Tn7 transposons or DNA repair machines, and I will not stop talking. Ask me about the importance of mentoring the next generation, and the conversation will be as long. I am passionate about the importance of communication skills in science.

Why me:

Over the years, I have heard that two things make me stand out. The first is the creative combinations of structural biology techniques and biophysics. The second is the reputation that I can explain even the most difficult topics simply.

Fun facts:

Before I became a scientist, I trained to be a dancer. One of my first paid jobs was dancing at the opening ceremony of the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona. Yes, I was very young back then.

About Me

Sector: Academia (Post Secondary)

English proficiency: Read, Write, Speak

French proficiency: Read

Other Language(s): Catalan, Spanish

Title: Professor

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Gender: Female

Demographic: European / White

Recent Publications

Title Year
Assembly of the Tn7 targeting complex by a regulated stepwise process2024
Heat-activated growth of metastable and length-defined DNA fibers expands traditional polymer assembly2024
Structural investigation of Trypanosoma cruzi Akt-like kinase as drug target against Chagas disease2024
Fluorescent molecular rotors detect O6-methylguanine dynamics and repair in duplex DNA2023
Meeting report: transposable elements at the crossroads of evolution, health and disease 20232023
Minimalist Design of Wireframe DNA Nanotubes: Tunable Geometry, Size, Chirality, and Dynamics2023
FIRRM cooperates with FIGNL1 to promote RAD51 disassembly during DNA repair2023
Structural basis for DNA targeting by the Tn7 transposon2022
A dissipative pathway for the structural evolution of DNA fibres2021
Exo1 recruits Cdc5 polo kinase to MutLγ to ensure efficient meiotic crossover formation2020
Structures of a dimodular nonribosomal peptide synthetase reveal conformational flexibility2020
Understanding the Role of RbgA in the Assembly of the 50S Ribosomal Subunit.2020
Distinct surfaces on Cdc5/PLK Polo-box domain orchestrate combinatorial substrate recognition during cell division2020
Evaluation of pre- and post-fusion Human metapneumovirus F proteins as subunit vaccine candidates in mice2020
Structural consequences of the interaction of RbgA with a 50S ribosomal subunit assembly intermediate2019
Streptomyces IHF uses multiple interfaces to bind DNA2019
Role of Era in assembly and homeostasis of the ribosomal small subunit2019
Supramolecular arrangement of the full-length Zika virus NS52019
Identification of an XRCC1 DNA binding activity essential for retention at sites of DNA damage2019
Binding of the regulatory domain of MutL to the sliding β-clamp is species specific2019
Characterization of platelet factor 4 amino acids that bind pathogenic antibodies in heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia2018
The endonuclease domain of Bacillus subtilis MutL is functionally asymmetric2018
Molecular basis of CD22 function and therapeutic targeting2018
Direct binding and internalization of diverse extracellular nucleic acid species through the collagenous domain of class A scavenger receptors2018
Molecular basis of human CD22 function and therapeutic targeting2017