Picture of Thomas Roberts

Thomas McCoy Roberts, Ph.D.

Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Research in the Roberts laboratory is centered on the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction in response to activated tyrosine kinases

Research:

Dr. Roberts is a Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and serves as Co-Chairman for the Department of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Roberts received his PhD from Harvard University where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship. Dr Roberts’ laboratory has played a key role in the study of signal transduction and its translation into cancer therapy. The first definitive studies on phosphoinositide 3 (PI3) kinase were done by the Roberts lab in collaboration with the lab of Lewis Cantley.  In addition, the Roberts lab pioneered studies on the regulation of the serine/threonine kinase, Raf-1, and first characterized the interaction of 14-3-3 molecules with key signal transducers including Raf-1.   Due to the importance of PI3 kinase in human cancer, Roberts has studied it in detail, collaborating with Jean Zhao to generate conditional knockout mice for the commonly expressed catalytic subunits of PI3K.  The end goal of these studies, determining which isoforms to target in specific cancers, underlies the superior performance of isoform-specific inhibitors in the clinic.  Moreover, Zhao and Roberts gained a new understanding of a surprising functional specialization in the two enzymes (termed p110 and p110): p110 plays the major role in receptor tyrosine kinase and ras signaling, while p110 plays the major part in GPCR signaling and in tumors arising from PTEN loss.  Notably Dr Roberts’ basic research on tyrosine kinases carried out by Drs. Brian Druker and Helen Piwnica-Worms facilitated the kinase inhibitor program at Ciba Geigy, which led to the first successful tyrosine kinase cancer therapeutic, Gleevec.  Similarly, his research collaborations on PI3 kinase has facilitated the development of multiple classes of PI3Kinase inhibitors

Address: 

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Smith Building, Room 970A

450 Brookline Avenue

Boston, MA 02215

Publications View
Retraction in amoeboid cell motility powered by cytoskeletal dynamics.
Authors: Authors: Miao L, Vanderlinde O, Stewart M, Roberts TM.
Science
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A new class of mutations reveals a novel function for the original phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase binding site.
Authors: Authors: Hong YK, Mikami A, Schaffhausen B, Jun T, Roberts TM.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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A 48 kDa integral membrane phosphoprotein orchestrates the cytoskeletal dynamics that generate amoeboid cell motility in Ascaris sperm.
Authors: Authors: LeClaire LL, Stewart M, Roberts TM.
J Cell Sci
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Human mammary epithelial cell transformation through the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.
Authors: Authors: Zhao JJ, Gjoerup OV, Subramanian RR, Cheng Y, Chen W, Roberts TM, Hahn WC.
Cancer Cell
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2.6 A resolution crystal structure of helices of the motile major sperm protein (MSP) of Caenorhabditis elegans.
Authors: Authors: Baker AM, Roberts TM, Stewart M.
J Mol Biol
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Dissection of angiogenic signaling in zebrafish using a chemical genetic approach.
Authors: Authors: Chan J, Bayliss PE, Wood JM, Roberts TM.
Cancer Cell
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DEF-1/ASAP1 is a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for ARF1 that enhances cell motility through a GAP-dependent mechanism.
Authors: Authors: Furman C, Short SM, Subramanian RR, Zetter BR, Roberts TM.
J Biol Chem
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The Hopscotch Jak kinase requires the Raf pathway to promote blood cell activation and differentiation in Drosophila.
Authors: Authors: Luo H, Rose PE, Roberts TM, Dearolf CR.
Mol Genet Genomics
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Induction of p53-independent apoptosis by simian virus 40 small t antigen.
Authors: Authors: Gjoerup O, Zaveri D, Roberts TM.
J Virol
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Morphogenesis of prechordal plate and notochord requires intact Eph/ephrin B signaling.
Authors: Authors: Chan J, Mably JD, Serluca FC, Chen JN, Goldstein NB, Thomas MC, Cleary JA, Brennan C, Fishman MC, Roberts TM.
Dev Biol
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