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Cameron Keegan was awarded the Prize for Best Presentation in the Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery I class for his final‑year project in the Tate group.

Cameron, an MSci Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry student in the Tate group, was awarded the Prize for Best Presentation in the Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery I class for his final‑year project, Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Covalent RAB27A PROTACs.

Cameron’s project focused on developing the first covalent PROTAC targeting the small GTPase RAB27A, a challenging protein with a shallow binding surface and limited tractability using traditional reversible inhibitors. His work identified two potent covalent binders and provided key design principles for future Rab27A‑directed degraders.

Reflecting on his project, Cameron commented: “I’m really grateful to have carried out my MSci project in such a welcoming and supportive group. I was especially lucky to work day‑to‑day with Adam, whose guidance, patience, and enthusiasm made the project genuinely enjoyable. I also want to thank Ed for his support throughout the year. The project itself was incredibly interdisciplinary, and I gained an enormous amount of experience — from running biochemical assays to doing cell‑based work I’d never attempted before. It pushed me to grow as a scientist and gave me a much deeper appreciation for how chemistry and biology come together in real research.”

Having completed his undergraduate studies, Cameron will spend the summer in Hong Kong undertaking a three‑month research internship on lipid nanoparticle design for drug delivery.

Many congratulations to Cameron on this well-deserved recognition, we wish him every success in his internship!

The 2026 RSC Chemical Biology and Bioorganic Group PGR Symposium took place on the QMUL campus on 8th of June 2026

The meeting had an inspiring selection of presentations with 10 early career talks, and  more than 30 posters from PhD researchers in chemical biology across the UK.

Vanessa Rogga, a PhD student in the Tate group, received a Best Talk Prize for her PhD research on the development of a new therapeutic approach for the selective modulation of a ubiquitous and disease-relevant post-translational modification.

Congratulations, Vanessa!