Dr. Robert Whitaker

• Ph.D. -Biochemistry – The University of Alabama at Birmingham
• B.A.   – Biology- Covenant College

• General Biology
• Anatomy and Physiology I
• Anatomy and Physiology II
• Medical Microbiology
• Nutrition
• Biochemistry

Research Interests:

• Cell signaling, particularly at the intersection of proliferation and programmed cell death (apoptosis)
• Protein Interactions
• Peptide design and synthesis

Selected Publications:

• MCL1 binds and negatively regulates the transcriptional function of tumor suppressor p73. Cell Death & Disease. 11(3):946.
• Rab27b regulates the release, autophagic clearance, and toxicity of alpha-synuclein. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 295(23): 8005-8016.
• Reverse BH3 motif in p18INK4C mediates binding to MCL1 and regulation of p18INK4C cell cycle activity. Cell Death and Disease. 11(2): 156.
• Specific inhibition of DPY30 activity by ASH2L-derived peptides suppresses blood cancer cell growth. Experimental Cell Research. 382(2): 111485.
• IgA1 hinge-region clustered glycan fidelity is established early during semi-ordered glycosylation by GalNAc-T2. Glycobiology. 29(7): 543-556.
• UBC9 mutant revels impact of proteins dynamics on substrate selectivity and
• SUMO chain linkages. Biochemistry. 58(6): 621-632.
• Placzek, W.J., Becker, K., Ma J., Yacoubian T.A. (2018) 14-3-3 proteins reduce cell-to-cell transfer and propagation of pathogenic alpha-synuclein. Journal of Neuroscience. 38(38): 8211-8232.
• Regulating the BCL2 family to improve sensitivity of microtubule targeting agents. Cells. 8(4): 346.

• Reading poetry
• Walking in the woods