Matthew Day

Dr. Matthew Day is a Lecturer in Biochemistry at the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London. His research focuses on structural and mechanistic aspects of DNA replication and repair, particularly involving the TOPBP1 protein. He is affiliated with the Centre for Molecular Cell Biology and employs techniques such as cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM), X-ray crystallography, and computational modeling. His work explores how scaffold proteins like TOPBP1 coordinate large protein complexes during DNA replication initiation and repair processes. Recent grants include funding from the Royal Society for studying Polymerase Epsilon interactions with DNA clamps.

Research Interests:

• Structural biology of DNA replication machinery (replisome activation)
• Mechanisms of DNA damage recognition and repair
• Role of TOPBP1 in genomic stability maintenance
• Applications of cryoEM and AlphaFold in structural analysis

Key Findings: His group has elucidated interactions between TOPBP1 and GINS complex (Nature Communications 2024), structural basis of RAD17-RFC checkpoint clamp (Nucleic Acids Research 2022), and phosphorylation-dependent assembly of DNA repair systems (DNA Repair 2021). These studies highlight TOPBP1's central role in coordinating multi-protein complexes during critical cellular processes.

Grants & Awards:

• £70,000 Royal Society Grant (Dec 2023–Nov 2024) for ‘Polymerase Epsilon bound to DNA clamps and clamp loader complexes’

Lab Activities: The Day group uses interdisciplinary approaches combining structural biology, biophysics (fluorescence polarisation, isothermal calorimetry), and biochemical assays to study molecular mechanisms of genome maintenance. Current projects focus on how scaffold proteins dynamically assemble repair machinery at DNA lesions and replication origins.