Reginald John Ellis (born 12 February 1935) is a British scientist.
Early life and education
Ellis was educated at Highbury Grammar School, London. He studied at
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...
and obtained a BSc degree in 1956 and PhD in 1960, for thesis research on the enzymology of
transamination
Transamination is a chemical reaction that transfers an amino group to a ketoacid to form new amino acids. This pathway is responsible for the deamination of most amino acids. This is one of the major degradation pathways which convert essential ...
. He was supervised by Professor D. D. Davies.
Career
Ellis became scientific officer in the ARC (Agriculture Research Council) Unit of Plant Physiology,
Imperial College,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, 1959–61 and an ARC Research Fellow at the Department of Biochemistry,
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, 1961–64, working on the regulation of bacterial sulphate reduction with Professor C. A. Pasternak.
In 1964, Ellis joined the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
as a lecturer in the Department of Botany, and moved to its Department of Biochemistry in 1968, following a visiting professorship in the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
in 1967.
In 1970, Ellis moved to the newly created Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, as senior lecturer and founding head of the
Chloroplast Research Group. Ellis has remained at Warwick University as reader (1973), holder of a personal chair (1976), and emeritus professor (1996). He was a visiting professor at the Department of Chemistry,
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
from 1996 until 2000. From 1990 until 2009, he organised annual meetings of the UK Molecular Chaperone Club at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London, Bristol, Birmingham and Warwick.
Ellis is the author of ''How Science Works: Evolution''.
Principal research achievements
* 1973: First identification of a product of
protein synthesis by chloroplast
ribosomes
Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...
.
* 1978: First demonstration of in vitro post-translational protein transport.
* 1980: First demonstration of the binding of a
chaperone to a newly synthesised
polypeptide.
* 1987: Formulation of the general concept of
molecular chaperone
In molecular biology, molecular chaperones are proteins that assist the conformational folding or unfolding of large proteins or macromolecular protein complexes. There are a number of classes of molecular chaperones, all of which function to assi ...
function.
* 1988: Discovery of the
chaperonin
HSP60, also known as chaperonins (Cpn), is a family of heat shock proteins originally sorted by their 60kDa molecular mass. They prevent misfolding of proteins during stressful situations such as high heat, by assisting protein folding. HSP60 bel ...
s.
* 2000: First demonstration that
macromolecular crowding
The phenomenon of macromolecular crowding alters the properties of molecules in a solution when high concentrations of macromolecules such as proteins are present. Such conditions occur routinely in living cells; for instance, the cytosol of ''Esch ...
affects
protein folding
Protein folding is the physical process by which a protein chain is translated to its native three-dimensional structure, typically a "folded" conformation by which the protein becomes biologically functional. Via an expeditious and reproduc ...
and aggregation.
Awards
* 1980:
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...
Award for contributions to plant biochemistry.
* 1983: Elected
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
of London for contributions to chloroplast
biogenesis
Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise ...
.
* 1983: Five-year Senior Research Fellowship of the
Science and Engineering Research Council
The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biotechnology and bi ...
to work on chaperone-assisted protein assembly.
* 1986: Elected Member of EMBO, the
European Molecular Biology Organisation
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...
.
* 1992: Senior Research Fellowship at
St John's College, University of Oxford.
* 1997: Appointed Academic Visitor for four years at
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
to work on protein folding with Professor Chris M. Dobson FRS in the Department of Chemistry.
* 2004:
Gairdner Foundation International Award
The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...
for "fundamental discoveries in chaperone-assisted protein folding in the cell and its relevance to
neurodegeneration".
* 2007: Cell Stress Society International Medal for "pioneering research on the
chaperonin
HSP60, also known as chaperonins (Cpn), is a family of heat shock proteins originally sorted by their 60kDa molecular mass. They prevent misfolding of proteins during stressful situations such as high heat, by assisting protein folding. HSP60 bel ...
s".
* 2011: Croonian Prize Lecture of the Royal Society for "pioneering contributions to biochemistry, molecular biology, and also plant sciences".
* 2018: The 2019 Centenary Award of the
Biochemical Society
The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences.
Structure
It currently has around 7000 members, two-thirds in the UK. It is affiliated with th ...
.
[ ]
References
External links
Web pageat School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick.
* R. John Ellis. ''How Science Works: Evolution'
Essay
* Lectures on how science works in the context of evolutio
123an
4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, R. John
Fellows of the Royal Society
British biochemists
Academics of the University of Warwick
Alumni of King's College London
1935 births
Living people