Biography:Robert Insall
Professor Robert Insall FRSE | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 London |
| Citizenship | U.K. |
| Education | BA (Hons) University of Cambridge, PhD Cambridge University, Post-doctoral training Johns Hopkins University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell Biology, Systems Biology, Cancer Biology |
| Institutions | University College London, University of Glasgow |
| Thesis | A candidate receptor for DIF in Dictyostelium. (1990) |
| Doctoral advisor | Rob Kay |
| Other academic advisors | Peter N. Devreotes |
Robert Insall is the professor of computational cell biology at University College London and the University of Glasgow. His work focuses on how eukaryotic cells move, and how they choose the direction in which they move. He is known for demonstrating that cells can spread in the body[1][2] and find their way through mazes[3][4][5] by creating gradients of chemoattractants.
Career
Insall performed his PhD work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, working with developmental biologist Rob Kay, and his post-doctoral training with Peter Devreotes at Johns Hopkins University. After holding positions at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology at University College London, the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow, he moved to University College London in 2023.[6] His laboratory is currently located in the Darwin Building in Bloomsbury. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014.[7]
Key scientific contributions
With Laura Machesky, he identified an important signaling pathway that controls the behavior of the actin cytoskeleton.[8] Insall later proposed that chemotaxis, the process by which cells move towards sources of nutrients or other chemoattractants, is not driven by signaling from the cell membrane but instead by influencing the rate or direction of the extension of pseudopodia, protrusions that the cell uses to move.[9] He later introduced the idea that instead of responding to pre-formed chemoattractant gradients, cells generate these gradients themselves by degrading the chemoattractant.[10] He showed that the spread of cancer cells in melanoma is driven by this mechanism,[1][2] and that cells migrating through a maze can tell the difference between short arms of the maze and long arms because the chemoattractant in a short arm is degraded more rapidly, allowing them to avoid getting lost.[4][3][5]
Other activities
Insall is a frequent commentator on issues related to science policy,[11][12][13][14] reproducibility,[15] and science publishing.[16][17] He was chosen by secondary school students as the best communicator in the 2012 I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here! competition for cancer researchers.[18]
Family
Insall's father, Donald Insall, is a noted architect. His wife, Laura Machesky, FRSE, FMedSci is the Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.[7] The two researchers frequently collaborate.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Muinonen-Martin, Andrew J.; Susanto, Olivia; Zhang, Qifeng; Smethurst, Elizabeth; Faller, William J.; Veltman, Douwe M.; Kalna, Gabriela; Lindsay, Colin et al. (2014). "Melanoma cells break down LPA to establish local gradients that drive chemotactic dispersal". PLOS Biology 12 (10): e1001966. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001966. ISSN 1545-7885. PMID 25313567.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Reid, Rob (2014-10-14). "Scottish scientists discover new clues to stopping spread of skin cancer cells around the body" (in en). http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health/scottish-scientists-discover-new-clues-4438308.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tweedy, Luke; Thomason, Peter A.; Paschke, Peggy I.; Martin, Kirsty; Machesky, Laura M.; Zagnoni, Michele; Insall, Robert H. (2020-08-28). "Seeing around corners: Cells solve mazes and respond at a distance using attractant breakdown". Science 369 (6507): eaay9792. doi:10.1126/science.aay9792. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 32855311. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32855311/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Klein, Alice. "Watch cells sniff their way around the maze from Hampton Court Palace" (in en-US). https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253161-watch-cells-sniff-their-way-around-the-maze-from-hampton-court-palace/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer 27 August 2020 (27 August 2020). "Cells solved Henry VIII's infamous hedge maze by 'seeing around corners,' video shows" (in en). https://www.livescience.com/cells-solve-mazes-chemotaxis.html.
- ↑ Beatson Institute. "Prof Robert Insall FRSE - Cell Migration and Chemotaxis | Invasion and Metastasis | The Beatson Institute Research Groups | Research". http://www.beatson.gla.ac.uk/Invasion-and-Metastasis/robert-insall-cell-migration-and-chemotaxis.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Couple have become fellows" (in en). https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13278778.couple-have-become-fellows/.
- ↑ Machesky, L. M.; Insall, R. H. (1998). "Scar1 and the related Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein, WASP, regulate the actin cytoskeleton through the Arp2/3 complex". Current Biology 8 (25): 1347–1356. doi:10.1016/s0960-9822(98)00015-3. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 9889097.
- ↑ Insall, Robert H. (2010). "Understanding eukaryotic chemotaxis: a pseudopod-centred view". Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology 11 (6): 453–458. doi:10.1038/nrm2905. ISSN 1471-0080. PMID 20445546. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20445546/.
- ↑ Tweedy, Luke; Knecht, David A.; Mackay, Gillian M.; Insall, Robert H. (2016). "Self-Generated Chemoattractant Gradients: Attractant Depletion Extends the Range and Robustness of Chemotaxis". PLOS Biology 14 (3): e1002404. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002404. ISSN 1545-7885. PMID 26981861.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (2011). "Career postdocs increase scrap heap" (in en). Nature 471 (7340): 578. doi:10.1038/471578e. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21455160. Bibcode: 2011Natur.471..578I.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (1999-04-08). "Cynicism and credulity" (in English). Current Biology 9 (7): R231. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(99)80147-X. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 10209127.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (2000-04-01). "Too much of a good thing?" (in English). Current Biology 10 (7): R253. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(00)00409-7. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 10753757.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (1997-11-01). "The right stuff" (in English). Current Biology 7 (11): R665. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(06)00345-9. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 9382817.
- ↑ Siebert, Sabina; Machesky, Laura M.; Insall, Robert H. (2015-09-14). "Overflow in science and its implications for trust". eLife 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.10825. ISSN 2050-084X. PMID 26365552.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (2003). "Impact factors: target the funding bodies" (in en). Nature 423 (6940): 585. doi:10.1038/423585b. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 12789312. Bibcode: 2003Natur.423..585I.
- ↑ Insall, Robert (2003-03-04). "Robert Insall" (in English). Current Biology 13 (5): R167–R168. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00112-X. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 12620201.
- ↑ "Beatson 'celeb' scientist is UK winner for kids" (in en). https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13245262.beatson-celeb-scientist-is-uk-winner-for-kids/.
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