James Naismith | |
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 James Naismith at theRoyal Society admissions day in July 2014 | |
| Born | James Henderson Naismith (1968-07-26)26 July 1968 (age 57)[2] |
| Other names | Jim Naismith |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
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| Known for | Structural biology |
| Spouse | Rachel Middleton[2] |
| Children | 2 |
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| Scientific career | |
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| Thesis | Structural studies of concanavalin A and zinc aldolase (1992) |
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| Website | www |
James Henderson Naismith (born 26 July 1968)[2] is a Scot, Professor ofStructural Biology[3] and since autumn of 2023[4] the Head of theMathematical, Physical, and Life Science Division (MPLS) Division at theUniversity of Oxford. He is also currently Vice-President (non-clinical)[5] ofThe Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow ofJesus College[6]. He was the acting and inaugural Director (2017-2023) of theRosalind Franklin Institute[7] and Director of the Research Complex atHarwell.[8] He served asBishop Wardlaw Professor ofChemical Biology at theUniversity of St Andrews.[9][1][10][11] He was a member of Council of theRoyal Society (2021-2022)[12] and the Vice-Chair of Council (2022-2024) of theEuropean X-ray Free Electron Laser[13].
Naismith was named afterJames VI and I. He was educated atHamilton Grammar School.[2] He went on to study at theUniversity of Edinburgh where he received afirst class Bachelor of Science degree inchemistry in 1989. He won aCarnegie Scholarship to work under the supervision of Bill Hunter,John R. Helliwell andDavid Garner[14][15] at theUniversity of Manchester where he received his PhD in 1992[16] for research into thechemical structure ofConcanavalin A andZinc aldolase. In 2016 he was awarded aDoctor of Science (DSc) by theUniversity of St Andrews.[17]
Following his PhD, Naismith didpostdoctoral research at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as aNATO Fellow in the laboratory of Stephen Sprang.[2][18] He was appointed a lecturer at theUniversity of St Andrews in 1995,Reader in 1999 and a Professor in 2001. Naismith's research investigates:
The application ofprotein structure determination byX-ray crystallography coupled tomolecular biology and biochemistry to probe biological mechanisms and to target specificdisease pathways. We have ongoing research in
- signal transduction
- physical basis ofprotein carbohydrate interactions
- pathogenic bacteriaglycan assembly, we havecloned and crystallised a number of the enzymes involved in key steps of glycan synthesis in pathogenic bacteria.
- viral replication, we are purifying and crystallising aheterodimer crucial to replication of virusesin vivo,
- thebiosynthesis of unusualnatural products.[19]
His research has been funded by theBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), theEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), theMedical Research Council (MRC),[20] theWellcome Trust and theEuropean Union.[21]
Naismith joined the University of Oxford in 2017 as Professor of Structural Biology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Senior Research Fellow atJesus College. He directed the Research Complex at Harwell between 2017 and 2019 and the Rosalind Franklin Institute from 2018.[22]
Naismith was awarded the 2000 Dextra Carbohydrate award[23] and the 2009 Jeremy Knowles Prize[24] in Chemical Biology both from theRoyal Society of Chemistry. Naismith was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014. His nomination reads:
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 ofnucleic acids andcarbohydrates, unveiled novel chemical mechanisms for enzymaticnucleophilic substitution and addition and provided the first views, both structural and dynamic, ofpolysaccharide export systems in bacteria. His work is characterised by a synthesis of three-dimensional structural understanding with profound chemical insight.[25]
Naismith was part of the team awarded a 2022Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Prize[26] for their work onnanobodies againstCovid19. Naismith is alsoFellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), theRoyal Society of Biology (FRSB), theRoyal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), theAcademy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom (FMedSci), an elected member of theEuropean Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), in 2016 was elected aFellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS)[27] and in 2022 elected a member of Academia Europaea (AE).[28] His nomination for the Academy of Medical Sciences reads:
Jim Naismith is Professor of Chemical Biology at St Andrew's University. He recognised the emerging problem ofantibiotic 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, determining the mechanism oftryptophan 7-halogenase and establishing the structure of an openEscherichia colimechanosensitive channel. His contributions have been recognised by the Carbohydrate Chemistry Medal of theRoyal Society of Chemistry, theLeverhulme Prize in Molecular Biology and theColworth Medal ofBiochemical Society.[29]
Naismith is married to Rachel Middleton with whom he has one son and one daughter.[2]
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