Anthony John Roberts
Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX
a.roberts@mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk
www.roberts-lab.com
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Nov 2014 – present
Sir Henry Dale Fellow and Group Leader at the Institute of Structural &
Molecular Biology (ISMB), Birkbeck/UCL, University of London
• Project: Mechanisms and decisions in microtubule-based intracellular
transport
Jan 2010 – Oct 2014
Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Samara ReckPeterson, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
• Project: Mechanisms regulating movement and force generation by
cytoplasmic dynein
Sep 2005 – Dec 2009
Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD University of Leeds, UK
• Thesis project with Prof. Peter Knight & Dr. Stan Burgess: Structural
studies on the mechanism of dynein
May 2005 – Jun 2005
Undergraduate Honours Project with Dr. Robert Weinzierl, Imperial
College, London, UK
• Mutagenesis and in vitro analysis of transcription factor TFIIB
Summer 2004
Research Assistant with Prof. Graham Goodwin, Institute of Cancer
Research, Sutton, UK
• Characterisation of the mammalian glypican 5 promoter
TEACHING EXPERIENCE & ACADEMIC SERVICE
July 2015
Single-molecule workshop for 6th form students Birkbeck
June 2015
Co-organizer of ISMB retreat Robison College Cambridge
Dec 2012
Workshop on fellowships and working in the US Leeds
Jan 2012
Tutorial on visualizing protein structures Harvard Medical School
Spring 2011
Rotation student mentoring Harvard Medical School, Boston
• Project: Impact of Lis1 on dynein ATPase
Nov 2008
Electron microscopy workshop for 6th form students Leeds
Jul 2008
Co-organizer of PhD & postdoc motor protein conference Leeds
• Fundraising, creation of a website, managing applications, planning &
co-chairing the scientific program
Spring 2007
Rotation student mentoring University of Leeds
• Project: Electron microscopy of a C-terminally truncated dynein
construct
EDUCATION
2005 – 2009
University of Leeds, UK Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD in the Molecular Basis of
Biological Mechanisms
2002 – 2005
Imperial College, London, UK First class honours in Biochemistry (BSc)
COURSES & TRAINING
Sep 2007
EMBO practical course on image processing for cryo-EM, Birkbeck, UK
May 2007
Training in dynein biochemistry in the lab of Prof. Sutoh, University of Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED TALKS & PRESENTATIONS
Jun 2015
Apr 2015
Mar 2015
Feb 2014
Dec 2013
July 2013
July 2013
Jun 2013
Sep 2012
Dec 2011
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Nov 2011
Nov 2009
Nov 2009
Dec 2008
Jun 2008
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Dec 2007
Dec 2007
Apr 2007
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Randall Seminar, King’s College London, UK
Talk at London Structural Biology Club, Bloomsbury, UK
Talk at British Microtubule Meeting, Edinburgh, UK
Talk at Biophysical Society 58th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, USA
Poster at American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA
Talk at Division of Structural Studies, MRC-LMB, Cambridge, UK
Talk at Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, UK
Talk at Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, University of Dundee, UK
Talk at Section of Molecular and Cellular Motility, NIH, USA
Talk at Microtubules & Motors Minisymposium, American Society for Cell Biology
Annual Meeting, Denver, USA
Talk at Boston Area Mitosis and Meiosis meeting, Boston, USA
Research Highlights Seminar, University of Leeds, UK
Poster at the International Dynein Workshop 2009, Kobe, Japan
Talk at the White Rose Protein Forum, University of Leeds, UK
Poster at the Muscle & Molecular Motors Gordon Conference, Colby-Sawyer
College, USA
Talk at Prof Jim Sellers’ lab, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, USA
Poster at the American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting, Washington, USA
Talk at Prof Kazuhiro Oiwa’s lab, Kobe Advanced ICT Research Center, Japan
HONOURS & AWARDS
Mar 2015
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Nov 2014
Oct 2013
Aug 2010
Jul 2009
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Dec 2008
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Jun 2008
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Jun 2007
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Oct 2005
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Biochemical Society Early Career Research Award: Molecular Structure and
Function
Award of Sir Henry Dale Fellowship
Best trainee talk, Harvard Medical School Cell Biology Retreat, Cape Cod
Award of Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship
Joint best talk, Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology 3rd year
Postgraduate Symposium session, University of Leeds
Best talk, White Rose Protein Forum on ‘Molecular Machines’, University of
Leeds
Best talk, Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology 2nd year
Postgraduate Symposium session, University of Leeds
Best poster, Faculty of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Symposium,
University of Leeds
Award of Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD studentship
REFERENCES
Dr. Samara Reck-Peterson
(Postdoctoral advisor)
Department of Cell Biology
Harvard Medical School
Prof. Peter J. Knight
(PhD supervisor)
School of Molecular & Cellular
Biology, University of Leeds
Dr. Stan A. Burgess
(PhD supervisor)
School of Molecular & Cellular
Biology, University of Leeds
reck-peterson@
hms.harvard.edu
p.j.knight@leeds.ac.uk
s.a.burgess@leeds.ac.uk
PUBLICATIONS
10) Toropova K*, Zou S*, Roberts AJ, Redwine WB, Goodman BS, Reck-Peterson SL,
Leschziner AE (2014). Lis1 regulates dynein by sterically blocking its mechanochemical cycle;
eLIFE 3:e03372
*Co-first authors
9) Roberts AJ*, Goodman BS, Reck-Peterson SL*. (2014) Reconstitution of dynein transport to
the microtubule plus end by kinesin. eLIFE. 3:e02641
*Corresponding authors
8) Tan K, Roberts AJ, Chonofsky M, Egan M, Reck-Peterson SL. (2014) A Screening Method to
Identify Intracellular Transport Machinery based on Microscopy and Multiplex Genome
Sequencing. Molecular Biology of the Cell 25(5):669-78
7) Roberts AJ*, Kon T, Knight PJ, Sutoh K, Burgess SA*. (2013) Functions and Mechanics of
Dynein Motor Proteins. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 14:713-726.
*Corresponding authors
6) Huang J*, Roberts AJ*, Leschziner AE, Reck-Peterson SL. (2012) Lis1 Acts as a "Clutch"
between the ATPase and Microtubule-Binding Domains of the Dynein Motor. Cell 150(5):975-86.
*Co-first authors
Feature by Martina Trokter & Thomas Surrey (Cell 150)
5) Roberts AJ*, Malkova B, Walker ML, Sakakibara H, Numata N, Kon T, Ohkura R, Edwards TA,
Knight PJ, Sutoh K, Oiwa K, Burgess SA*. (2012) ATP-driven Remodeling of the Linker Domain in
the Dynein Motor. Structure 20(10):1670-80.
*Corresponding authors
Feature by Carolyn Moores (Structure 20)
4) Roberts AJ, Burgess SA. Structural Studies on the Dynein Motor Domain. Handbook of
Dynein, Pan Stanford Publishing. Editors: Keiko Hirose & Linda Amos.
3) Roberts AJ, Burgess SA (2009) Electron Microscopic Imaging and Analysis of Isolated Dynein
Particles. Methods in Cell Biology 91:41-61. Editors: Stephen King & Gregory Pazour.
2) Roberts AJ, Numata N, Walker ML, Kato YS, Malkova B, Kon T, Ohkura R, Arisaka F, Knight
PJ, Sutoh K, Burgess SA (2009) AAA+ Ring and Linker Swing Mechanism in the Dynein Motor.
Cell 136: 485-95.
Feature by Andrew Carter & Anne Houdusse (Cell 136)
Research highlight (Biopolymers 91)
1) Kon T, Imamula K, Roberts AJ, Ohkura R, Knight PJ, Gibbons IR, Burgess SA, Sutoh K (2009)
Helix Sliding in the Stalk Coiled Coil of Dynein Couples ATPase and Microtubule Binding. Nature
Structural & Molecular Biology 16: 325-33.