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

Toward the rational design of p53-stabilizing drugs: probing the surface of the oncogenic Y220C mutant.
N Basse, JL Kaar, G Settanni, AC Joerger, TJ Rutherford, AR Fersht
Cell Chemical Biology
(2010)
17
Reply to Campos et al.: Direct observation versus ambiguous kinetics and thermodynamics
F Huang, L Ying, H Neuweiler, AR Fersht
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2009)
106
Multiple conformations of full-length p53 detected with single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer
F Huang, S Rajagopalan, G Settanni, RJ Marsh, DA Armoogum, N Nicolaou, AJ Bain, E Lerner, E Haas, L Ying, AR Fersht
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2009)
106
Awakening guardian angels: drugging the p53 pathway
CJ Brown, S Lain, CS Verma, AR Fersht, DP Lane
Nature Reviews Cancer
(2009)
9
Mechanistic differences in the transcriptional activation of p53 by 14-3-3 isoforms.
S Rajagopalan, RS Sade, FM Townsley, AR Fersht
Nucleic Acids Res
(2009)
38
Direct observation of ultrafast folding and denatured state dynamics in single protein molecules
H Neuweiler, CM Johnson, AR Fersht
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2009)
106
Structural evolution of p53, p63, and p73: Implication for heterotetramer formation
AC Joerger, S Rajagopalan, E Natan, DB Veprintsev, CV Robinson, AR Fersht
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2009)
106
Posttranslational modifications affect the interaction of S100 proteins with tumor suppressor p53.
J van Dieck, DP Teufel, AM Jaulent, MR Fernandez-Fernandez, TJ Rutherford, A Wyslouch-Cieszynska, AR Fersht
Journal of Molecular Biology
(2009)
394
Direct observation of barrier-limited folding of BBL by single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer
F Huang, L Ying, AR Fersht
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2009)
106
Biophysical characterizations of human mitochondrial transcription factor A and its binding to tumor suppressor p53.
TS Wong, S Rajagopalan, SM Freund, TJ Rutherford, A Andreeva, FM Townsley, M Petrovich, AR Fersht
Nucleic acids research
(2009)
37