CV

Personal Details

Academic Qualifications

MA (Oxon) 1991 Department of Biochemistry
DPhil (Oxon) 1994 Sir William Dunn School of Pathology

Career History

Current Position

March 2006 - present

Postdoctoral Associate
School of Molecular & Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney

Previous Posts

1999 - 2005

Career Development Fellow
Division of Structural Studies, MRC Lab of Molecular Biology

1997 - 1999

Senior Research & Development Scientist
Cambridge Molecular Technologies (now Whatman Bioscience)

1994 - 1997

Postdoctoral Research Assistant
The University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
John Radcliffe Hospital

Research achievements

I use cell biological, structural and protein engineering methods to characterize the molecular interactions of proteins and nucleic acids in cellular processes. My goal is to understand how function is defined by structure. Currently I am studying how zinc-finger [11] RNA-binding proteins direct alternative splicing of pre-messenger RNA.

In Cambridge I determined structures using X-ray crystallography and NMR, and used this information to probe function in a cellular context by engineering specific interaction-altering mutants. This approach yielded an understanding of how the polymerization of filaments in crawling cells generates force[1]. I characterized the C-terminal domain of the mRNA export protein Tap1[4,5] and showed how it binds to nuclear pores, and solved the structure of the protein:protein interaction domain of the essential RNA-binding protein Nab2[2]. I applied this knowledge to the questions of tRNA and microRNA export from the nucleus.

While at Oxford I showed how adjacent structural domains in fibronectin act in synergy to bind cells and initiate integrin-mediated signalling to bring about attachment and spreading[8, 9]. I designed and made fibronectin domain constructs and examined their affect on phosphorylation and the actin cytoskeleton

Insights gained from my time in the biotech industry have enabled me to appreciate commercial practices and the applicability of academic research. At Cambridge Molecular I implemented DNA extraction procedures (manual kit and automated), programmed and documented software control systems, and was given responsibility for bringing a number of projects to market readiness. Additionally, I provided technical support, liaised between our customers in labs and the sales & marketing team, and wrote and edited protocols and application guides.

Community engagement & Communication

My University-hosted weblog at http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/labrats/ is read widely (in Australia and abroad). The descriptions of life in a research lab are enjoyed by non-scientists and colleagues alike. I also write at http://network.nature.com/people/rpg/blog/, where I maintain one of the five most popular and commented-upon weblogs. These activities have been reported in the University of Sydney News and are enthusiastically supported by the Faculty and my Department, who funded my travel to the Nature-sponsored ‘Science Blogging 2008: London’ conference.

I have published short fiction and commentary in Nature and Chemistry World.

I am a clear and confident seminar speaker, and enjoy presenting my work to an audience. In 2008 I presented a poster at the Gordon Research Conference on post-transcriptional regulation in Maine, spoke at the Sydney Protein Group Winter Meeting, presented at the Southampton Open Science Workshop and participated in the final panel discussion at Science Blogging 2008: London.

Teaching experience

I have supervised and trained research students and undergraduates in three academic laboratories (Oxford, MRC-LMB and Sydney). I am closely involved in the day-to-day project oversight and supervision of graduate students in my current lab, and I supervise and assist in the assessment of Honours candidates. The summer students I have had the privilege to supervise have subsequently gone on to do postgraduate research. I taught molecular biology and cell biology to undergraduates at the University of Oxford, successfully tutoring a cohort of Medicine and Biology students through their first year Biochemistry and Cell Biology requirements.

I am a clear and confident seminar speaker, and enjoy presenting my work to an audience.

Education and training

University

1991 - 1994

1987 - 1991

Training Courses

2005

• Medical Research and the Public

1998 - 1999

• Building a market focused strategy
• ISO9001 (internal)

More

Professional activities & awards

• Member, the Biochemical Society
• Member, the British Society for Cell Biology
         1994: Honor Fell Travel Award
• Contributor, Editorial Panel of The Biochemist.
• Editor, Current Issues in Molecular Biology

Peer-reviewed research papers

1. Miao, L., Vanderlinde, O., Liu, J., Grant, R. P., Wouterse, A., Philipse, A., Stewart, M. and Roberts, T. M. (2008) The role of filament-packing dynamics in powering amoeboid cell motility. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105: 5390 - 5395.
2. Grant, R. P., Marshall, N. J., Yang, J. C., Fasken, M. B., Kelly, S. M., Harreman, M. T., Neuhaus, D., Corbett, A. H., Stewart, M. (2008) Structure of the N-Terminal Mlp1-Binding Domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mRNA-Binding Protein, Nab2. J. Mol. Biol. 376: 1048 - 1059.
3. Grant, R. P., Buttery, M. S., Ekman, G. C., Roberts, T. M and Stewart, M. (2005) Structure of MFP2 and its Function in Enhancing MSP Polymerization in Ascaris Sperm Amoeboid Motility. J. Mol. Biol. 347: 583 - 595.
4. Grant, R. P., Neuhaus, D. and Stewart, M. (2003). Structural basis for the interaction between the Tap/NXF1 UBA domain and FG nucleoporins at 1Å resolution. J. Mol. Biol. 326: 849 - 858.
5. Grant, R. P., Hurt, E., Neuhaus, D. and Stewart, M. (2002). Structure of the C-terminal FG-nucleoporin binding domain of Tap/NXF1. Nat. Struct. Biol. 9:247 - 251.
6. Stewart, M., Baker, R. P., Bayliss, R., Clayton, L., Grant, R. P., Littlewood, T. and Matsuura, Y. (2001). Molecular mechanism of translocation through nuclear pore complexes during nuclear protein import. FEBS Lett. 498:145 - 149.
7. Calderwood, D. A., Zent, R., Grant, R., Rees, D. J., Hynes, R. O. and Ginsberg, M. H. (1999). The Talin head domain binds to integrin beta subunit cytoplasmic tails and regulates integrin activation. J. Biol. Chem. 274:28071 - 28074
8. Grant, R. P., Spitzfaden, C., Altroff, H., Campbell, I. D. and Mardon, H. J. (1997). Structural requirements for biological activity of the ninth and tenth FIII domains of human fibronectin. J. Biol. Chem. 272: 6159 - 6166.
9. Spitzfaden, C., Grant, R. P., Mardon, H. J. and Campbell, I. D. (1997). Module-module interactions in the cell binding region of fibronectin: Stability, flexibility and specificity. J. Mol. Biol. 265: 565 - 597.
10. Mardon, H. J., Grant, R. P., Grant, K. E. and Harris, H. (1993). Fibronectin splice variants are differentially incorporated into the extracellular matrix of tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic hybrids between normal fibroblasts and sarcoma cells. J. Cell Sci. 104: 783 - 792.

Books & reference works

1. 11. Grant, R. P., Crossley M. and Mackay, J. P. (2007) Zinc-finger Genes. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Chichester. http://www.els.net/ [doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0005047.pub2]
2. 12. Grant, R. P. (2005) An Introduction to EMBOSS—the free born son of GCG. In Analytical tools for DNA, genes and genomes: Nuts & bolts, Ed. A Markoff, DNA Press, LLC, Eagleville PA. http://www.dnapress.com
3. 13. Grant, R. P. (Ed) September 2004. Computational Genomics: Theory and Application. Horizon Scientific Press, UK. ISBN: 1904933017
4. 14. Cabibbo, A., Grant, R. P. and Helmer-Cetterich, M. (Eds) 2002. The internet for cell and molecular biologists. Horizon Scientific Press, UK

Published protein structures by PDB ID

• 1go5 Structure Of The C-Terminal Fg-Binding Domain Of Human Tap
• 1oai Complex Between Tap Uba Domain and Fxfg Nucleoporin Peptide
• 2bjq Crystal structure of the nematode sperm cell motility protein MFP2A
• 2bjr Crystal structure of the nematode sperm cell motility protein MFP2B
• 2bvu D83R mutant of Asaris suum major sperm protein (MSP)
• 2jps Solution structure of the N-terminal domain of NAB2
• 2v75 Crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of NAB2

Other

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