Professor Sir Alan Fersht FRS

Our major research programme concerns the folding, stability and activity of proteins. We apply a broad multi-disciplinary approach that combines methods and ideas of molecular biology and physical-organic chemistry. We use techniques including protein engineering, DNA cloning, sequencing and mutagenesis, cell culture, gene and peptide synthesis, spectroscopy, rapid reaction techniques, multi-dimensional NMR (we have a 500, 600, 700 and an 800 MHz spectrometers) and x-ray protein crystallography.

Current major projects include: protein folding, misfolding and disease; drug discovery; and structure-activity relationships of proteins involved in cancer and disease.

Although now emeritus, I am still fully active in research with long term funding, including an MRC Programme Grant.

Publications

Folding intermediates of wild-type and mutants of barnase. II. Correlation of changes in equilibrium amide exchange kinetics with the population of the folding intermediate

PA Dalby, J Clarke, CM Johnson, AR Fersht

– J Mol Biol

(1998)

276,

647

(doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1997.1547)

Folding intermediates of wild-type and mutants of barnase.: I.: Use of φ-value analysis and m-values to probe the cooperative nature of the folding pre-equilibrium

PA Dalby, M Oliveberg, AR Fersht

– J Mol Biol

(1998)

276,

625

(doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1997.1546)

Real‐time NMR studies on folding of mutants of barnase and chymotrypsin inhibitor 2

TR Killick, SM Freund, AR Fersht

– FEBS Lett

(1998)

423,

110