Jack Bercovici
Jack Bercovici
PhD Student
Thesis title: Photodroplets: A Light-Controllable Method Of Unpicking Phase Separation Biology
Primary Theme: Next Generation Chemistry
Secondary theme: Structural Biology
Franklin supervisors: Professor Andrew Baldwin, Professor Ben Davis, Dr Michael Grange, Dr Judy Kim, Dr Mark Basham, Professor Shabaz Mohammed
University: University of Oxford
University supervisors: Dr Richard Wheeler, Professor Andre Furger
Jack is using chemical strategies in order to understand membraneless organelles and the process of phase separation by which they form. His aim is to develop to light-based methods of control which may be utilised in cell to see how these droplets with liquid-like properties (termed bimolecular condensates) are instrumental in the cell cycle and disease pathogenesis.
At the University of Bristol, Jack read Law, achieving a Certificate of Higher Education in 2019, before transferring to Chemistry and graduating with a BSc (Hons) in 2022. His final year project focused on bioconjugation, the incorporation of unnatural amino acids, bioorthogonal reactions and click chemistry. He is excited about the interdisciplinary approaches taken at the Franklin as a way to combat current and future challenges.