Doryen Bubeck

Early life and education Bubeck grew up in Selkirk, New York and was educated at The Albany Academy. She realised that she wanted to become a scientist during an undergraduate research project, where she used an electron microscope to analyse protein images. Her research group were among the first to visualise the three dimensional structures of these proteins.

Career and research After her PhD, Bubeck moved to the University of Oxford, where she worked with Yvonne Jones as an EMBO fellow. She was awarded appointed a Junior Research Fellow at St John's College, Oxford, where she trained in structural biology and membrane biophysics.

Bubeck joined Imperial College London in 2012, where she was supported by a Cancer Research UK Career Establishment Award to build her own research group. Her early work considered complement immunology. Bubeck uncovered the mechanisms that underpin the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC). MAC, a protein-based pore, is generated when our immune systems fight infection. MAC are capable of perforating the surface of bacterial cells. Bubeck is interested in what makes bacteria susceptible to this attack, and how the positions of MAC trigger cell death. She uses these findings to inform the design of stronger antibiotics.

She was appointed a Professor of Structural Immunology in 2023, where she serves as director of the Centre for Structural Biology while holding a joint position at the Francis Crick Institute. Bubeck uses cryogenic electron microscopy to understand large macromolecular complexes. Her research has been funded by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK.

Selected publications

Awards and honours Bubeck is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).

Personal life Bubeck was diagnosed with breast cancer. She said that the scientific community kept her motivated throughout her treatment.