Dr Marieke Bloemink

She obtained her PhD in Bio-inorganic Chemistry at Leiden University, The Netherlands where she studied the interactions between anticancer platinum drugs and DNA. After her PhD she moved to the United States where she worked on zinc finger proteins, implicated in HIV, at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA) and on the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein L18 at Yale University (New Haven, CT). She subsequently moved to Kent University (Canterbury, UK) and solved the NMR structure of MBP70, a key protein implicated in tuberculosis, after which she started to work on the kinetics and structure of myosin and other molecular motors.

Current research interests involve the biochemistry of muscle contraction, cardiac disease and muscle ageing.

Modules which have a chemistry or biochemistry component, such as Foundation Chemistry, General Chemistry (level 4), Natural Product Chemistry (level 5), Analytical Chemistry (level 5), Bioinorganic Chemistry (level 6) and Applied Biological Chemistry (level 6).

Myosin light chains. Force development during contraction of the heart is crucial for optimal cardiac function. Myosin light chain proteins are involved in this process but their exact role is not clear. In healthy hearts different myosin light chains work together to optimise force production, whereas in diseased hearts this process is disrupted. Inherited changes (mutations) in cardiac light chains have been linked to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition that can result in sudden death. My research investigates the structure and function of different cardiac light chains using biochemical and biophysical techniques in order to understand how they work in healthy hearts and in diseased hearts.

Muscle ageing. Recently, we have started to look at the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle ageing (sarcopenia), both at a molecular level but also at whole organism level (C. elegans) in collaboration with Dr Simon Harvey and Dr Jana Stastna. We use nematodes that express fluorescently labelled muscle proteins to investigate the muscle ageing process and factors that can affect this process.

Microplastics along the East Kent coast: This work is done in collaboration with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA) in Ramsgate, who collect sea water samples for us along the coastline of East Kent. Sample processing takes place at Canterbury Christ Church University in order to determine microplastic contamination. The sample analysis work involves a mix of undergraduate and postgraduate (MSc) students.

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy,
• Royal Society of Chemistry,
• British Biochemical Society,
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),
• Biophysical Society.

External activities

• Talk: " Marine microplastics - assessment of the North Kent Coastline" at the ERG conference 2021, Canterbury, UK
• Poster: "Dietary intervention delays the onset of sarcopenia in C. elegans" at the ‘European Muscle Conference 2021 (online)
• Poster: "Effect of dietary restriction on muscle ageing in C. elegans". at the ‘European Muscle Conference 2019 Canterbury, UK.
• Poster: "Effect of dietary restriction on sarcopenia in C. elegans". at the ‘Myosin, Muscle and many other motors’ Alpbach meeting 2019 in Austria.
• Talk+poster: "Effect of dietary restriction on muscle ageing in C. elegans", Healthy ageing, from molecules to organisms 2018, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
• Poster: "The ventricular cardiac myosin essential light chain (ELC_v) recognizes the IQ1 binding site using a two-step mechanism". at the ‘Myosin, Muscle and many other motors’ Alpbach meeting 2016 in Austria.
• Talk: “Of mice, muscle and men. Adaptation of myosin molecules for movement and force generation”. AMC conference 2015, Canterbury, UK
• Poster: “Interaction between converter residue R759 and relay loop residue N509 in Drosophila muscle myosin is critical for optimal myosin function". Muscle and Molecular Motors Gordon Research Conference 2014, Vermont, USA.
• Talk: “The hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutation R⁴⁵³C alters the kinetic properties of human β-myosin”, at the ‘Myosin, Muscle and many other motors’ Alpbach meeting 2013 in Austria.
• Talk: “Kinetic analysis of skeletal and cardiac human myosin isoforms”, at the ‘European Muscle Conference 2012 in Rhodes, Greece.
• Poster (x2): 1. “Kinetic Characterization of Converter and Relay Loop Domain Interaction In Drosophila Myosin Sub-Fragment 1” and 2.”Fast Kinetic Analysis of Human Myosin Motors in Health and Disease” Biophysical Society meeting 2012 in San Diego, USA.
• Talk: “Kinetic analysis of human cardiac α- and β-myosin isoforms” at the 15^th London Muscle Conference 2011, London, UK.