Juliet Parry

I am in research and KE support in the University.  As such, I have some oversight of our trading subsidiary, Kingston University Enterprises Ltd activity.  I am budget holder on their behalf, and appear on some awards as such in order to allow automated processes to progress.  I do not usually take an active role in such projects.  

My research interests are based around the interface between protein structure and function, an area which continues to fascinate me.  My PhD looked at the structure of protein disulphide isomerase, a catalyst and chaperone protein which assists other proteins to fold to the correct functional shape.  

The major part of my research has studied opsins, the proteins which detect light and enable vision.  Opsins are prototypical G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), the target of the majority of prescription drugs.  Key features are maintained to retain this functionality, whilst other residues brought together withinin the chromophore binding site by the fold can vary extensively to change the peak of sensitivity, enabling colour vision and tuning of that vision to the light environment.  My research has primarily studied that tuning function.