Projects per year
Personal profile
Key Research Interests
Mitochondria are central to energy metabolism in our cells. My interests cover the molecular and bioenergetic processes that occur in mitochondria and how they relate to our health. Membrane proteins are fundamental to mitochondrial energy transduction and uncoupling proteins (UCP1-5), in particular, are a current research focus of mine. UCP1 is the protein in mammals that allows brown adipose tissue to burn off calories as heat in response to cold temperatures. If activated in humans, UCP1-dependent thermogenesis can contribute to energy expenditure and help combat obesity and related disease. Other UCPs have been linked to metabolic disorders, cancer, inflammation, ischemic shock and aging, though their exact function is not clear. My research aims to resolve the molecular and structural mechanisms that underlie UCP activity and regulation and, importantly, the function that these unusual proteins may play in pathophysiology and prevention of disease.
Career
2021- Biomedical Research Centre Director (MED), UEA
2019- Associate Professor, Norwich Medical School, UEA
2016-19 Principle Investigator/Lecturer, Norwich Medical School, UEA
2008-16 Investigator Scientist, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Cambridge, UK
2005-08 MRC Career Development Fellow, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Cambridge, UK
2001-04 PhD Biochemistry, University of Sussex, UK
Research Group or Lab Membership
Danielle Copeman (senior technician)
Camila Cotrim (post-doc)
Riccardo Cavalieri (PhD student)
Margeoux Dela Rosa (PhD student)
Camila Fernandez Vidal (MRes student)
Past:
Bethany Hartley (BIO BSc student; Best Final Year Project Award)
Eden Joyce (MSc student)
Postgraduate Research Opportunities
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss PhD studentship, or any other postgraduate research study opportunities, in my lab
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
-
A structural context for the mechanism of Uncoupling protein 1
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
1/05/19 → 31/07/23
Project: Research
-
BBSRC Strategic Programme in Food Innovation and Health
Mithen, R., Beraza, N. & Crichton, P.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
1/04/18 → 31/03/22
Project: Research
-
Activating ligands of Uncoupling protein 1 identified by rapid membrane protein thermostability shift analysis
Cavalieri, R., Hazebroek, M. K., Cotrim, C. A., Lee, Y., Kunji, E. R. S., Jastroch, M., Keipert, S. & Crichton, P. G., Aug 2022, In: Molecular Metabolism . 62, 101526.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
Inorganic nitrate and nitrite supplementation fails to improve skeletal muscle mitochondrial efficiency in mice and humans
Ntessalen, M., Procter, N., Schwarz, K., Loudon, B., Minnion, M., Fernandez, B., Vassiliou, V., Vauzour, D., Madhani, M., Constantin‐Teodosiu, D., Horrowitz, J., Dawson, D., Crichton, P. & Frenneaux, M., Jan 2020, In: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 111, 1, p. 79-89 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Citations (Scopus)25 Downloads (Pure) -
Reply to TA Schiffer et al.
Ntessalen, M., Procter, N. E. K., Feelisch, M., Crichton, P. G. & Frenneaux, M. P., 4 Feb 2020, In: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 111, 2, p. 487-488 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open Access -
The Molecular Mechanism of Transport by the Mitochondrial ADP/ATP Carrier
Ruprecht, J. J., King, M. S., Zögg, T., Aleksandrova, A. A., Pardon, E., Crichton, P. G., Steyaert, J. & Kunji, E. R. S., 24 Jan 2019, In: Cell. 176, 3, p. 435-447.e15 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile136 Citations (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure) -
Correspondence: Concerns with yeast mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier’s integrity in DPC
King, M. S., Crichton, P. G., Ruprecht, J. J. & Kunji, E. R. S., 3 Sep 2018, In: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 25, p. 747–749Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
7 Citations (Scopus)