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

The use of double mutants to detect structural changes in the active site of the tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (Bacillus stearothermophilus).
PJ Carter, G Winter, AJ Wilkinson, AR Fersht
Cell
(1984)
38
Engineering enzymes
G Winter, AR Fersht
Trends in Biotechnology
(1984)
2
Fidelity of DNA replication under conditions used for oligodeoxynucleotide-directed mutagenesis
JP Shi, AR Fersht
Journal of Molecular Biology
(1984)
177
Basis of biological specificity
AR Fersht
Trends in Biochemical Sciences
(1984)
9
Genetic dissection of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase
G WINTER, P CARTER, MMY WAYE, DM BLOW, AJ WILKINSON, J-P SHI, AR FERSHT
Biochemical Society Transactions
(1984)
12
A large increase in enzyme–substrate affinity by protein engineering
AJ Wilkinson, AR Fersht, DM Blow, P Carter, G Winter
Nature
(1984)
307
Fidelity of DNA Replication in Vitro
AR Fersht
Advances in experimental medicine and biology
(1984)
179
REPLICATION OF PHI-X174 DNA BY CALF THYMUS DNA POLYMERASE-ALPHA - MEASUREMENT OF ERROR RATES AT THE AMBER-16 CODON
F Grosse, G Krauss, JW Knill-Jones, AR Fersht
Adv Exp Med Biol
(1984)
179
Deletion mutagenesis using an ‘M13 splint’: the N-terminal structural domain of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (B. stearothermophilus) catalyses the formation of tyrosyl adenylate.
MM Waye, G Winter, AJ Wilkinson, AR Fersht
The EMBO journal
(1983)
2
Accuracy of DNA polymerase-alpha in copying natural DNA.
F Grosse, G Krauss, JW Knill-Jones, AR Fersht
The EMBO Journal
(1983)
2