Elizabeth P. Carpenter is a British structural biologist who is a professor at the

Nuffield Department of Medicine Nuffield may refer to: *William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, founder of Oxford-based Morris Motors and philanthropist *Nuffield, Oxfordshire, a village in Oxfordshire, England and home of William Richard Morris from which he chose his title, Visc ...

in Oxford. She solved the three-dimensional structure of human membrane proteins using

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

. Carpenter uses X-ray crystallography to understand the atomic positions within proteins.

Early life and education

Carpenter studied biochemistry at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She moved to

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

for doctoral research, where she studied biochemistry and crystallography. After completing her doctorate, Carpenter moved to the

National Institute for Health Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government’s major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "impr ...

, which was based at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and solved the structures of proteins involved in DNA repair. She also investigated

toxoplasmosis Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by ''Toxoplasma gondii'', an apicomplexan. Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months ...

and muste movement.

Research and career

Carpenter is interested in understanding the structure and function of proteins. She studies proteins embedded within cell membranes. The proteins are large hydrophobic surfaces, and understanding their structure is an important step in unravelling the processes of molecules and signals across cell membranes. She established the Membrane Protein Laboratory at the

Diamond Light Source Diamond Light Source (or Diamond) is the UK's national synchrotron light source science facility located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. Its purpose is to produce intense beams of light whose special characteristics ...

in 2007. In 2009, she moved to the Structural Genomics Consortium at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Carpenter was the first to describe the structure of the human

ABC-transporter The ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) are a transport system superfamily that is one of the largest and possibly one of the oldest gene families. It is represented in all extant phyla, from prokaryotes to humans. ABC transp ...

ABC10. ABC10 is a mitrochonridal protein that is important in the production of heme. She has studied premature ageing syndromes that are caused by failure of the lamin proteins, and the role of the metalloprotease ZMPSTE24. She has also studied human ion channels, including TREK-2, a K2P protein that gives rise to the background leak current that contributes to membrane potential.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Elizabeth Living people Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London English biologists Year of birth missing (living people)