Robert Somerville Email & Phone Number

Led a project that successfully identified the target for a drug delivery and vaccine adjuvant that is based on zonula occludens toxin from Cholera.Identified potential targets for Larazotide acetate, a phase II clinical candidate for the treatment of celiac disease, using a number of molecular screens. Involved in the identification of the cell signaling pathways that are involved in the mechanism of action of Larazotide acetate.Produced monoclonal and polyclonal… Show more Led a project that successfully identified the target for a drug delivery and vaccine adjuvant that is based on zonula occludens toxin from Cholera.Identified potential targets for Larazotide acetate, a phase II clinical candidate for the treatment of celiac disease, using a number of molecular screens. Involved in the identification of the cell signaling pathways that are involved in the mechanism of action of Larazotide acetate.Produced monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies and developed ELISA for detection of Zonulin, an endogenous inducer of epithelial cell permeability.Managed projects carried out by contract research organizations. Designed a synthetic construct for the expression of recombinant a-gliadin and developed a purification strategy for this insoluble protein. Show less

Produced and purified recombinant versions of the cholera toxin, zonula occludens toxin.Established novel in vitro assays for use in the discovery and SAR of new epithelial permeability agonists that have can be used as drug delivery agents and vaccine adjuvants, and epithelial permeability antagonists that can be used as therapeutics in autoimmune diseases.Established appropriate conditions for the production of a number of reagents for use in the discovery of novel… Show more Produced and purified recombinant versions of the cholera toxin, zonula occludens toxin.Established novel in vitro assays for use in the discovery and SAR of new epithelial permeability agonists that have can be used as drug delivery agents and vaccine adjuvants, and epithelial permeability antagonists that can be used as therapeutics in autoimmune diseases.Established appropriate conditions for the production of a number of reagents for use in the discovery of novel permeability agonists and antagonists. Show less

Identified novel metalloprotease family members, ADAMTS9, ADAMTS10 and ADAMTS20 as well as a novel splice variant of ADAMTS7.Established a mammalian expression system for the production of recombinant ADAMTS enzymes and their individual domains under serum free culture conditions.Purified the recombinant proteins by a combination of metal ion affinity, heparin and lectin chromatography, followed by size fractionation using an FPLC based system.Determined that ADAMTS7 is… Show more Identified novel metalloprotease family members, ADAMTS9, ADAMTS10 and ADAMTS20 as well as a novel splice variant of ADAMTS7.Established a mammalian expression system for the production of recombinant ADAMTS enzymes and their individual domains under serum free culture conditions.Purified the recombinant proteins by a combination of metal ion affinity, heparin and lectin chromatography, followed by size fractionation using an FPLC based system.Determined that ADAMTS7 is a glycoprotein that carries a chondroitin sulfate side chain by enzymatic, immunochemical and chemical means. Developed a mammalian cell-based assay to determine that ADAMTS9 and ADAMTS20 can catabolize versican and aggrecan.Elucidated the genomic structure of ADAMTS9 and ADAMTS7 and used this information to construct knockout gene targeting vectors.Analyzed knockout animals for defects in utero and after birth.Designed peptides for antibody synthesis and characterized antibodies generated. Show less

Established an in vitro culture system of mouse metatarsals which allows elucidation of the precise cause of dwarfism in MMP14 knockout miceInvestigated the potential role of MT1-MMP in growth factor imbalances using an in vitro metatarsal culture systemUsed peptide affinity purification techniques to show that the cytoplasmic tail of MT1-MMP interacts with MINT3, a PDZ domain containing proteinDemonstrated using a far western technique, that MT1-MMP and MT3-MMP… Show more Established an in vitro culture system of mouse metatarsals which allows elucidation of the precise cause of dwarfism in MMP14 knockout miceInvestigated the potential role of MT1-MMP in growth factor imbalances using an in vitro metatarsal culture systemUsed peptide affinity purification techniques to show that the cytoplasmic tail of MT1-MMP interacts with MINT3, a PDZ domain containing proteinDemonstrated using a far western technique, that MT1-MMP and MT3-MMP cytoplasmic tails bind to a different profile of PDZ domain containing proteins Show less

Identified an unbalanced translocation in a glioblastoma multiforme (brain tumor) cell line and determined that LGI-1 was inactivated by the translocation using a positional cloning strategy.Utilized a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify protein-binding partners for the myeloproliferative disease gene ZNF198.

D.Phil, Molecular Cell Biology

Activities and Societies: Member of The British Society For Parasitology Identified mechanisms by which cattle lymphocytes infected.

Bsc, Biological Sciences