Lori Passmore joins Sjors Scheres in heading up Structural Studies Division at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.

Lori Passmore has joined Sjors Scheres as the joint head of the Structural Studies Division at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.

The division aims to understand the structure, function and interactions of biologically important molecules at atomic, molecular and supramolecular levels, while advancing techniques and methodology.

Group leader Lori, a fellow of the Royal Society, has taken over the position from David Barford, who has overseen the division since 2015.

Lori, who began her research group at the LMB in 2009, focuses on better understanding the mechanisms of macromolecular protein complexes that underpin key biological processes such as gene expression and DNA repair.

Her approach combines structural, biochemical and functional techniques.

Lora, who studied at the University of British Columbia, Canada, before a PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research at the University of London, joined the LMB as a career development fellow in 2004, working with Venki Ramakrishnan and Richard Henderson to investigate the structures of complexes involved in initiation of eukaryotic translation.