Ste Muench
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stemuench.bsky.social
Ste Muench
@stemuench.bsky.social
Professor of membrane proteins and structural biology, University of Leeds. #CryoEM, #AstburyCentre
Reposted by Ste Muench
Was lucky to see this presented at the NYC cryoEM meeting earlier this year - super cool stuff!
August 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
We are proud to share our latest preprint: "(-)-Englerin A binds a conserved lipid site of TRPC5 and exposes a Met-aromatic motif in channel activation".

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
July 13, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
3.5 yr funded PhD studentship available in my lab October start. Exploring cardiac myosin modulators with cryoEM and mass spec. Get in touch if interested. Apply before 28th July. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Unravelling the mechanisms of action of cardiac myosin modulators in health and heart disease at University of Leeds on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Unravelling the mechanisms of action of cardiac myosin modulators in health and heart disease at University of Leeds, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
June 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
I'm doing the #BigHike marathon in the peak district to raise money for the charity Cancer Research UK, with my wife Siobhan, this Saturday 14 June 2025! In memory of Siobhan’s grandma, Stella 🙂 Please #sponsor us by donating money here - fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/siobhan...
June 11, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Pint of Science kicks off in Leeds today with four events across the city centre! I'm going to be at Crowd of Favours with the Tech Me Out team hearing about all things AI! Just a few tickets left- don't miss out!
#pint25 #Leeds #scicomm
May 19, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Great post on new work from Evan Williams @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social published at ACS Cent Sci:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
April 26, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Huge shout out to @jenkinsjj.bsky.social for his excellent talk on the #cryoET structure of Tau filaments from human brain tissue at CCPEM Spring Symposium in Nottingham! #cryo-EM @diamondlightsource.bsky.social @ccpem.bsky.social
April 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Happy #pint25 day! Tickets are now live for Pint of Science across the world! Come and see what the Leeds lot have been organising: pintofscience.co.uk/events/leeds
April 14, 2025 at 6:59 AM
I started on this around 2006 so only taken 20 years! The project itself started over 30 years ago. Great to finally see the elusive structure.
April 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
We are thrilled to announce the 2025 EMBO practical course in cryo-em image processing, Birkbeck College, London, 9-16 Sept 2025. More info & apply: meetings.embo.org/event/25-cry... Organisers Giulia Zanetti & Helen Saibil. Beautiful image from co-organizer @carolynmoores1.bsky.social lab.
Image processing for cryo-electron microscopy
Cryo electron microscopy (cryo EM) is a major structural biology method for studying macromolecular complexes and cellular structures in their native states. Stable high resolution cryo microscopes, …
meetings.embo.org
March 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
New paper led by the work of Darcey (experiment) and Anna (modelling) looking at how membrane transport and membrane potentials regulate an autocatalytic enzyme reaction confined within vesicles. We find that proton transport can be used to regulate reaction dynamics. doi.org/10.1021/acsn...
Membrane Transport Modulates the pH-Regulated Feedback of an Enzyme Reaction Confined within Lipid Vesicles
Understanding ion transport dynamics in reactive vesicles is pivotal for exploring biological and chemical processes and essential for designing synthetic cells. In this work, we investigate how proton transport and membrane potential regulate pH dynamics in an autocatalytic enzyme reaction within lipid vesicles. Combining experimental and numerical methods, we demonstrate that compartmentalization within lipid membranes accelerates internal reactions, attributed to protection from the external acidic environment. In experiments, we explored how proton movement significantly impacts internal reactions by changing bilayer thickness, adding ion transporters, and varying buffers. Numerical investigations incorporated electrical membrane potential and capacitance into a kinetic model of the process, elucidating the mechanisms that dictate the control of reaction time observed in the experiment, driven by both electrical and chemical potential gradients. These findings establish a framework for controlling pH clock reactions via membrane changes and targeted manipulation of proton movement, which could aid in the design of synthetic cells with precise, controlled functionalities.
doi.org
March 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Ste Muench
📢 4-year funded PhD opportunity at the Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence, starting in October 2025. The project will focus on studying protein-lipid interactions in mechanosensitive channels📢

📅 Application deadline: 7th April 2025

@astonaime.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/4arujyaw
Investigation of lipid-protein interactions within mechanosensitive ion channels at Aston University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Investigation of lipid-protein interactions within mechanosensitive ion channels at Aston University, listed on FindAPhD.com
tinyurl.com
February 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Congratulations to a team of early-career researchers from the Astbury Centre, on winning "Best disruptive food and drink business plan" at the YES24 competition
astbury.leeds.ac.uk/all_news/win...
Winners of Best disruptive food and drink business plan at the YES24 competition : The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology
Congratulations to Caffinity Biotech, a team of early-career researchers from the Astbury Centre, on winning "Best disruptive food and drink business plan" sponsored by the Food Consortium Collaborati...
astbury.leeds.ac.uk
February 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Really pleased to share this story in collaboration with our fantastic industry partners @chingshinhuang.bsky.social !
Structural elucidation of the haptoglobin-hemoglobin clearance mechanism by macrophage scavenger receptor CD163 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.14.638171v1
February 20, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Recent publication presenting the work of Dr Rosa Catania on the application of solid-supported hybrid lipid-polymer membranes for the electrochemistry of a membrane redox enzyme on electrode surfaces.

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
Solid-supported polymer–lipid hybrid membrane for bioelectrochemistry of a membrane redox enzyme
Hybrid membranes, consisting of phospholipids and amphiphilic block polymers, offer enhanced stability compared to liposomes and greater biocompatibility than polymersomes. These qualities make them a...
pubs.rsc.org
February 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
📢 Registration is now open for 'Wellcome-MRC Cryo-EM in Structural Biology 2025'!

📅 Join us online March 3-7 at @diamondlightsource.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social for lectures & demos in #CryoEM & #CryoET: sample prep, SPA, model building & more!🧬

🔗 www.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/...
Wellcome-MRC Cryogenic Electron Microscopy in Structural Biology 2025 - - Diamond Light Source
eBIC (Diamond light source) has partnered with the Astbury Biostructure Lab (University of Leeds), the Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging (University of Glasgow), Midlands Regional Cryo-EM Fac...
www.diamond.ac.uk
February 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Take a look at our new paper! We show that YbiO can achieve a conductance equivalent to MscL, the largest known gated ion channel. We also show the presence of several subconducting states. One state is consistent with a structure we determine using cryoEM.

www.cell.com/structure/fu...
The mechanosensitive channel YbiO has a conductance equivalent to the largest gated-pore
Lane et al. demonstrate that the mechanosensitive channel YbiO can achieve conductances equivalent to the largest gated-pore in nature when subjected to membrane tension. Single-channel analysis shows...
www.cell.com
February 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
The abstract deadline for the BCA Spring Meeting at the University of Leeds in April has been extended. Abstract are encouraged from all ready of structural biology - not just crystallography! hg3.co.uk/bca/
BCA Spring Meeting
hg3.co.uk
February 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Hi Folks!
I'm actively seeking a new position, either in the UK/Europe or outside of the government in the US.
Please share with whomever and pass the word along! 🙏
www.linkedin.com/posts/hesket...
Sophie Hesketh on LinkedIn: #opentowork
Hi everyone! I'm actively seeking an academic or industrial position either back in the UK/Europe, or outside of the government in the US. I have strong…
www.linkedin.com
February 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
In our recent article we show the YbiO mechanosensitive channel can achieve pore openings of 3nS under membrane tension equalling the largest known gated-pore MscL and we also solve a cryo- EM structure of a YbiO in a sub-open state. Great effort by @lane-b.bsky.social www.cell.com/structure/fu...
The mechanosensitive channel YbiO has a conductance equivalent to the largest gated-pore
Lane et al. demonstrate that the mechanosensitive channel YbiO can achieve conductances equivalent to the largest gated-pore in nature when subjected to membrane tension. Single-channel analysis shows...
www.cell.com
February 10, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
We reviewed recent pulsed EPR Spectroscopy (PELDOR/DEER/PDS) applications on integral membrane proteins, enabled through Spin Labelling. Great to see the field moving forward!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
February 2, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Comprising of exciting lectures, workshops and laboratory-based practical sessions, the 6th UK Workshop on Membrane Proteins is not one to miss! Don't forget the earlybird discount deadline is February 14! 🧪
Register now to save £50: www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/2...
January 28, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Ste Muench
Some exciting news, folks.
@timcoulson.bsky.social and I have a new science podcast launching soon. Please do follow the account for updates. More details coming very soon!
We (Tim Coulson & Syma Khalid) are launching a new science podcast. We will discuss recently published work of world leading scientists in an accessible and non-technical style. Topics will include, AI, search for alien life, latest treatments for diseases, quantum computers, science of football.
January 26, 2025 at 6:53 PM