Jim Naismith

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For the sports coach, see James Naismith.
Jim Naismith
File:Professor James Naismith FMedSci FRS.jpg
Jim Naismith in 2014, picture via the Royal Society
Born James Henderson Naismith
(1968-07-26) July 26, 1968 (age 55)[1]
Bellshill[1]
Fields <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Institutions <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Alma mater <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Thesis Structural studies of concanavalin A and zinc aldolase (1992)
Doctoral students <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Notable awards <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Spouse Rachel Middleton[1]
Children William Naismith, Louisa Naismith
Website
chemistry.st-andrews.ac.uk/staff/jhn/group/

James Henderson Naismith (born July 26, 1968) FRS FRSE FMedSci is Professor of Chemical Biology and Director of the Biomedical Sciences Research Complex (BSRC) at the University of St Andrews.[1][2][19][20]

Education

Naismith was educated at Hamilton Grammar School.[1] He went on to study at the University of Edinburgh where he was awarded a first class Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1989. He won a Carnegie Scholarship to work under the supervision of Bill Hunter, John Helliwell and David Garner[21][22] at the University of Manchester where he was awarded a PhD in 1992[23] for research into the chemical structure of Concanavalin A and Zinc aldolase.

Career

Following his PhD, Naismith did postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as a NATO Fellow in the laboratory of Stephen Sprang.[1][24] He was appointed a Lecturer at the University of St Andrews in 1995 and a Professor in 2001.

Research

Naismith's research investigates: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

The application of protein structure determination by X-ray crystallography coupled to molecular biology and biochemistry to probe biological mechanisms and to target specific disease pathways. We have ongoing research in

  1. signal transduction
  2. physical basis of protein carbohydrate interactions
  3. pathogenic bacteria glycan assembly, we have cloned and crystallised a number of the enzymes involved in key steps of glycan synthesis in pathogenic bacteria.
  4. viral replication, we are purifying and crystallising a heterodimer crucial to replication of viruses in vivo,
  5. the biosynthesis of unusual natural products.[25]

His research[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC),[33] the Wellcome Trust and the European Union.[34]

Awards and honours

Naismith was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014. His nomination reads: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Naismith is cited for his stunning structural and chemical dissection of the many proteins involved in natural product recognition, synthesis and export. His work has revealed new paradigms in the recognition of nucleic acids and carbohydrates, unveiled novel chemical mechanisms for enzymatic nucleophilic substitution and addition and provided the first views, both structural and dynamic, of polysaccharide export systems in bacteria. His work is characterised by a synthesis of three-dimensional structural understanding with profound chemical insight.[17]

Naismith is also Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), the Society of Biology (FSB), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) and an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). His nomination for the Academy of Medical Sciences reads: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Jim Naismith is Professor of Chemical Biology at St Andrew’s University. He recognised the emerging problem of antibiotic resistance and has devoted his scientific career to the development of new therapeutic compounds and the identification of novel targets specific to microbial pathogens. Highlights include solving the structure and mechanism of a bacterial fluorinating enzyme,[35] determining the mechanism of tryptophan 7-halogenase[36][37] and establishing the structure of an open E. coli mechanosensitive channel. His contributions have been recognised by the Carbohydrate Chemistry Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Leverhulme Prize in Molecular Biology and the Colworth Medal of Biochemical Society.[18]

Personal life

Naismith is married to Rachel Middleton with whom he has one son and one daughter.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jim Naismith's publications indexed by Google Scholar, a service provided by Google
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Professor James Naismith FRS FRSE FMedSci, Academy of Medical Sciences
  19. ↑ List of publications from Microsoft Academic Search
  20. ↑ Jim Naismith's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database, a service provided by Elsevier.
  21. ↑ Professor Jim Naismith biography, via Diamond Light Source
  22. ↑ Jim Naismith, Scientific Advisory Board via the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ The Naismith Structural Biology Group: Changing the world, one structure at a time…, University of St Andrews
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ UK Government research grants awarded to James Henderson Naismith, via Research Councils UK
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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