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

CONTRIBUTION OF 3'-]5' EXONUCLEASE ACTIVITY OF DNA POLYMERASE-III HOLOENZYME FROM ESCHERICHIA-COLI TO SPECIFICITY
AR Fersht, JW Knill-Jones
J Mol Biol
(1983)
165
ACCURACY OF DNA POLYMERASE-ALPHA IN COPYING NATURAL DNA
F GROSSE, G KRAUSS, JW KNILLJONES, AR FERSHT
HOPPE-SEYLERS ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PHYSIOLOGISCHE CHEMIE
(1983)
364
Redesigning enzyme structure by site-directed mutagenesis: Tyrosyl tRNA synthetase and ATP binding
G Winter, AR Fersht, AJ Wilkinson, M Zoller, M Smith
Nature
(1982)
299
Kinetic basis of spontaneous mutation
AR Fersht, JW Knill-Jones, WC Tsui
Journal of molecular biology
(1982)
156
Probing the principles of amino acid selection using the alanyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli.
WC Tsui, AR Fersht
Nucleic acids research
(1981)
9
Review Lecture Enzymic editing mechanisms and the genetic code
AR Fersht
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
(1981)
212
Alternative pathways for editing non-cognate amino acids by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.
H Jakubowski, AR Fersht
Nucleic acids research
(1981)
9
DNA polymerase accuracy and spontaneous mutation rates: frequencies of purine.purine, purine.pyrimidine, and pyrimidine.pyrimidine mismatches during DNA replication.
AR Fersht, JW Knill-Jones
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(1981)
78
INTRODUCTORY-REMARKS TO THE 3RD SESSION
AR Fersht
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B Biological Sciences
(1981)
293
Enzymic editing mechanisms in protein synthesis and DNA replication
AR Fersht
Trends in Biochemical Sciences
(1980)
5