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Robert L. Campbell PhD
 Robert L. Campbell
Position(s)
Associate Professor
Contact Info
Botterell Hall, Room 644
613-533-6821

Note: I am not currently accepting new undergraduate or graduate students.

Education

BSc (Biochemistry), Queen's, 1982

PhD (Biological Chemistry), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988

Faculty Bio

I have been an adjunct professor with DBMS since 2006 and teach in the following courses:

  • BCHM 315 (Proteins and Enzymes)
  • BCHM 317 (Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory)
  • BCHM 313 (Molecular Biochemistry)
  • BCHM 441 (Current Topics in Biochemistry)
  • BCHM 482 (Proteomics and Metabolomics)

My focus now is on teaching with a particular interest in protein structure and function. While no longer actively engaged in research, my background is in the use of X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations to study protein structure and function. At Queen's I have worked on structures of calpain and ice-binding proteins with Dr. Peter Davies and prior to that I have determined structures of a xylanase while at the National Research Council and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase while at the Université Laval.

Recent publications

  1. Wang W, Graham LA, Han Z, Eves R, Gruneberg AK, Campbell RL, Zhang H, Davies PL (2020) "Carrot antifreeze protein has an irregular ice-binding site that confers weak freezing point depression but strong inhibition of ice recrystallziation" Biochem J. 477, 2179-2192 (PubMed: 32459306)
  2. Guo S, Campbell R, Davies PL, Allingham JS. “Phasing with calcium at home” (2019) Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 75, 377-384 (PubMed: 31045567)
  3. McCartney CE, Ye Q, Campbell RL, Davies PL. (2018) “Insertion sequence 1 from calpain-3 is functional in calpain-2 as an internal propeptide.” J Biol Chem 293, 17716-17730 (PubMed: 30254072)
  4. Ye Q, Campbell RL, Davies PL. (2018) “Structures of human calpain-3 protease core with and without bound inhibitor reveal mechanisms of calpain activation.” J Biol Chem. 293, 4056-4070 (PubMed: 29382717)
  5. Guo S, Stevens CA, Vance TDR, Olijve LLC, Graham LA, Campbell RL, Yazdi SR, Escobedo C, Bar-Dolev M, Yashunsky V, Braslavsky I, Langelaan DN, Smith SP, Allingham JS, Voets IK, Davies PL. (2017) Structure of a 1.5-MDa adhesin that binds its Antarctic bacterium to diatoms and ice. Sci Adv. 3, e1701440 (PubMed: 28808685)
  6. Stevens CA, Semrau J, Chiriac D, Litschko M, Campbell RL, Langelaan DN, Smith SP, Davies PL, Allingham JS. (2017) “Peptide backbone circularization enhances antifreeze protein thermostability.” Protein Sci. 26, 1932-1941. (PubMed: 28691252)

Personal Website

http://pldserver1.biochem.queensu.ca/~rlc