Robert Insall Explained

Honorific Prefix:Professor
Robert Insall
Honorific Suffix:FRSE
Birth Date:1965
Birth Place:London
Citizenship:U.K.
Fields:Cell Biology, Systems Biology, Cancer Biology
Workplaces:University College London, University of Glasgow
Education:BA (Hons) University of Cambridge, PhD Cambridge University, Post-doctoral training Johns Hopkins University
Thesis Title:A candidate receptor for DIF in Dictyostelium.
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Thesis Year:1990
Doctoral Advisor:Rob Kay
Academic Advisors:Peter N. Devreotes
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Robert Insall is the professor of computational cell biology at University College London and the University of Glasgow. His work focuses on how eukaryotic cells move, and how they choose the direction in which they move. He is known for demonstrating that cells can spread in the body and find their way through mazes[1] [2] by creating gradients of chemoattractants.

Career

Insall performed his PhD work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, working with developmental biologist Rob Kay, and his post-doctoral training with Peter Devreotes at Johns Hopkins University. After holding positions at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology at University College London, the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow, he moved to University College London in 2023.[3] His laboratory is currently located in the Darwin Building in Bloomsbury. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014.[4]

Key scientific contributions

With Laura Machesky, he identified an important signaling pathway that controls the behavior of the actin cytoskeleton.[5] Insall later proposed that chemotaxis, the process by which cells move towards sources of nutrients or other chemoattractants, is not driven by signaling from the cell membrane but instead by influencing the rate or direction of the extension of pseudopodia, protrusions that the cell uses to move.[6] He later introduced the idea that instead of responding to pre-formed chemoattractant gradients, cells generate these gradients themselves by degrading the chemoattractant.[7] He showed that the spread of cancer cells in melanoma is driven by this mechanism,[8] [9] and that cells migrating through a maze can tell the difference between short arms of the maze and long arms because the chemoattractant in a short arm is degraded more rapidly, allowing them to avoid getting lost.[10]

Other activities

Insall is a frequent commentator on issues related to science policy,[11] [12] [13] [14] reproducibility,[15] and science publishing.[16] [17] He was chosen by secondary school students as the best communicator in the 2012 I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here! competition for cancer researchers.[18]

Family

Insall's father, Donald Insall, is a noted architect. His wife, Laura Machesky, FRSE, FMedSci is the Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. The two researchers frequently collaborate.

References

  1. Tweedy. Luke. Thomason. Peter A.. Paschke. Peggy I.. Martin. Kirsty. Machesky. Laura M.. Zagnoni. Michele. Insall. Robert H.. 2020-08-28. Seeing around corners: Cells solve mazes and respond at a distance using attractant breakdown. Science. 369. 6507. eaay9792. 10.1126/science.aay9792. 1095-9203. 32855311. 221342551.
  2. Web site: Klein. Alice. Watch cells sniff their way around the maze from Hampton Court Palace. 2021-05-16. New Scientist. en-US.
  3. Web site: Beatson Institute. Prof Robert Insall FRSE - Cell Migration and Chemotaxis Invasion and Metastasis The Beatson Institute Research Groups Research. 2021-05-17. www.beatson.gla.ac.uk.
  4. Web site: Couple have become fellows. 2021-05-17. Glasgow Times. en.
  5. Machesky. L. M.. Insall. R. H.. 1998. Scar1 and the related Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein, WASP, regulate the actin cytoskeleton through the Arp2/3 complex. Current Biology. 8. 25. 1347–1356. 10.1016/s0960-9822(98)00015-3. 0960-9822. 9889097. 16661755. free.
  6. Insall. Robert H.. 2010. Understanding eukaryotic chemotaxis: a pseudopod-centred view. Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology. 11. 6. 453–458. 10.1038/nrm2905. 1471-0080. 20445546. 31476082.
  7. Tweedy. Luke. Knecht. David A.. Mackay. Gillian M.. Insall. Robert H.. 2016. Self-Generated Chemoattractant Gradients: Attractant Depletion Extends the Range and Robustness of Chemotaxis. PLOS Biology. 14. 3. e1002404. 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002404. 1545-7885. 4794234. 26981861 . free .
  8. Muinonen-Martin. Andrew J.. Susanto. Olivia. Zhang. Qifeng. Smethurst. Elizabeth. Faller. William J.. Veltman. Douwe M.. Kalna. Gabriela. Lindsay. Colin. Bennett. Dorothy C.. Sansom. Owen J.. Herd. Robert. 2014. Melanoma cells break down LPA to establish local gradients that drive chemotactic dispersal. PLOS Biology. 12. 10. e1001966. 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001966. 1545-7885. 4196730. 25313567 . free .
  9. Web site: Reid. Rob. 2014-10-14. Scottish scientists discover new clues to stopping spread of skin cancer cells around the body. 2021-05-17. Daily Record. en.
  10. Web site: Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer 27 August 2020. Cells solved Henry VIII's infamous hedge maze by 'seeing around corners,' video shows. 2021-05-17. livescience.com. 27 August 2020 . en.
  11. Insall. Robert. 2011. Career postdocs increase scrap heap. Nature. en. 471. 7340. 578. 10.1038/471578e. 21455160. 2011Natur.471..578I . 1476-4687. free.
  12. Insall. Robert. 1999-04-08. Cynicism and credulity. Current Biology. English. 9. 7. R231. 10.1016/S0960-9822(99)80147-X. 0960-9822. 10209127. 43192942. free.
  13. Insall. Robert. 2000-04-01. Too much of a good thing?. Current Biology. English. 10. 7. R253. 10.1016/S0960-9822(00)00409-7. 0960-9822. 10753757. 935794. free.
  14. Insall. Robert. 1997-11-01. The right stuff. Current Biology. English. 7. 11. R665. 10.1016/S0960-9822(06)00345-9. 0960-9822. 9382817. free.
  15. Siebert. Sabina. Machesky. Laura M.. Insall. Robert H.. 2015-09-14. Overflow in science and its implications for trust. eLife. 4. 10.7554/eLife.10825. 2050-084X. 4563216. 26365552 . free .
  16. Insall. Robert. 2003. Impact factors: target the funding bodies. Nature. en. 423. 6940. 585. 10.1038/423585b. 12789312. 2003Natur.423..585I . 1476-4687. free.
  17. Insall. Robert. 2003-03-04. Robert Insall. Current Biology. English. 13. 5. R167–R168. 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00112-X. 0960-9822. 12620201. 5302620. free.
  18. Web site: Beatson 'celeb' scientist is UK winner for kids. 2021-05-16. Glasgow Times. en.

External links

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