Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Sarah Piper was awarded a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Systems Biology from the University of Bielefeld, Germany. In 2015, she was awarded a UQ International Scholarship to pursue her PhD research at The University of Queensland, Australia in the groups of Prof Glenn King and Assoc Prof Michael Landsberg. In her PhD, she focused on determining the structures of pore-forming, bacterial toxin complexes, and she discovered her love for cryo-electron microscopy, and ‘seeing’ proteins through these powerful microscopes.
She was recruited to the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) in Melbourne, Australia in 2019 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to specialise in biochemistry and cryo-electron microscopy of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the labs of Prof Patrick Sexton and Assoc Prof Denise Wootten. Her scientific interests are membrane protein biochemistry, drug discovery as well as cryo-electron microscopy and data processing.
Given that structural biology is a very visual field, she is passionate about science visualisation. She takes advantage of the diversity of protein structures to produce artistic 3D illustrations and animations. As the Executive Manager for Science Communications, she produces illustrations of membrane protein structures for newsletters, presentations and general outreach for the ARC Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins (CCeMMP). Her animations and illustrations are based on experimental data and can inform drug development as well as communicate complex biological processes to a broader, non-expert audience, or can simply be viewed as artistic pieces.
Research interests
Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM), Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Membrane Proteins, GPCRs, Drug Discovery, Science Visualisation and Animation
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Structural Biology, Biochemistry, PhD, Structural studies of the Yersinia entomophaga ABC toxin complex YenTc using cryo-EM, University of Queensland
Award Date: 15 Mar 2019
Genome-based systems biology, Master of Science, Improving proton and electron supply to the hydrogenase HydA in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Universitat Bielefeld (Bielefeld University)
Award Date: 1 Oct 2014
Biology, Bachelor of Science, Over-expression of the light harvesting complex protein LHCBM9 in C. reinhardtii wild type cc406, Universitat Bielefeld (Bielefeld University)
Award Date: 1 Oct 2011
External positions
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Queensland
2018 → 2019
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Active
-
Understanding structure, dynamics and function of receptor splice variants
Piper, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/25 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Understanding structure, dynamics and function of receptor splice variants
Piper, S. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
1/01/25 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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Impact of secretin receptor homo-dimerization on natural ligand binding
Harikumar, K. G., Piper, S. J., Christopoulos, A., Wootten, D., Sexton, P. M. & Miller, L. J., Dec 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 1, 12 p., 4390.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Molecular insights into peptide agonist engagement with the PTH receptor
Cary, B. P., Gerrard, E. J., Belousoff, M. J., Fletcher, M. M., Jiang, Y., Russell, I. C., Piper, S. J., Wootten, D. & Sexton, P. M., 1 Jun 2023, In: Structure. 31, 6, p. 668-676.e5 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
11 Citations (Scopus) -
New Insights into the Structure and Function of Class B1 GPCRs
Cary, B. P., Zhang, X., Cao, J., Johnson, R. M., Piper, S. J., Gerrard, E. J., Wootten, D. & Sexton, P. M., 1 Jun 2023, In: Endocrine Reviews. 44, 3, p. 492-517 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access27 Citations (Scopus) -
A Structurally Characterized Staphylococcus aureus Evolutionary Escape Route from Treatment with the Antibiotic Linezolid
Perlaza-Jiménez, L., Tan, K. S., Piper, S. J., Johnson, R. M., Bamert, R. S., Stubenrauch, C. J., Wright, A., Lupton, D., Lithgow, T. & Belousoff, M. J., Jul 2022, In: Microbiology Spectrum. 10, 4, 11 p., e0058322.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus) -
Membranes under the Magnetic Lens: A Dive into the Diverse World of Membrane Protein Structures Using Cryo-EM
Piper, S. J., Johnson, R. M., Wootten, D. & Sexton, P. M., 18 Jul 2022, In: Chemical Reviews. 122, 17, p. 13989–14017 29 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
30 Citations (Scopus)