Australian National University
Info
Professor and Associate Director of Research at the Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University. His laboratory investigates the molecular and dynamic basis of protein function, protein evolution, and protein engineering, with a focus on enzymes that degrade synthetic chemicals. Uses X-ray crystallography, directed evolution, enzyme kinetics, stability assays, and molecular dynamics to explore structural and functional changes along evolutionary pathways. Co-founder of Samsara Eco (enzymatic plastic recycling) and co-founder of Replay Bio.
DiffUSE relevance
Jackson’s work on how protein conformational landscapes change during the evolution of new enzymatic function is directly relevant to DiffUSE: diffuse scattering could provide experimental evidence for how evolved mutations alter the dynamics (not just the static structure) of enzymes. His ancestral protein reconstruction approach - comparing dynamics of ancient vs. modern enzyme variants - is a natural target for diffuse scattering experiments.
Key Relationships
- ANU Research School of Chemistry — Prof and Associate Director
- Samsara Eco — co-founder (enzymatic plastic recycling)
- Replay Bio — co-founder
- Protein evolution + directed evolution community
- Jennifer L. Martin — Australian structural biology network (both in the crystallography community)
- Australian Crystallography community (via ANU synchrotron connections)
Sources
- ANU profile: https://chemistry.anu.edu.au/people/prof-colin-jackson
- Jackson Lab: https://jacksonlab.wordpress.com/
- Samsara Eco: https://www.samsaraeco.com/colin-jackson