Projects per year
Personal profile
Academic Background
Rob Field is a University of East Anglia graduate (1986), where he was also awarded a PhD (1989; Dr Alan Haines) for work in carbohydrate chemistry. He went on to postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford (1989–91; Professor Sir Jack Baldwin) on the penicillin biotechnology program, followed by a period with the parasite biological chemistry team at the University of Dundee (1992–94; Professor Sir Mike Ferguson and Professor Steve Homans). He was subsequently appointed to a faculty position in Chemistry at the University of St Andrews (1994), where he was promoted through the ranks to full Professor (1999). He returned to Norwich, initially at University of East Anglia (2001-06) and latterly at the BBSRC-supported John Innes Centre (2007-19), where he applied his expertise in the chemistry of biological systems to questions relating to the structure, metabolism and dietary potential of important plant polysaccharides, such as starch. Rob is currently President of the Chemistry-Biology Interface Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Founder and CEO of spin-out company Iceni Diagnostics. With experience spanning the physical sciences, biology and medicine, in both academia and industry, Rob joined the University for Manchester in January 2020 to lead the next phase of development of MIB, embracing academics drivers, commercial opportunities and global societal needs. He returne dto UEA in October 2024 to take on the role of Pro-Vice Chancellor for Science.
Research interests
Research in the Field group embraces the development and exploitation of chemical principles and tools to address questions in molecular science, in the broadest sense, with a carbohydrate theme running throughout. Field’s research interests span the contemporary challenges and opportunities presented by sustainable nutrition, infectious diseases and industrial biotechnology. While the group are chemistry-driven, projects range from bacterial adhesion and infection, through plant and algal polysaccharide biochemistry and enzymology, to the development of small molecule inhibitor approaches to understand carbohydrate metabolism. Projects typically involve a mix of chemical and enzymatic synthesis, inhibitor development, protein biochemistry, structural biology, metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics analysis. From a biology perspective, the group works cross-Kingdom - plants, algae, animals, bacteria, viruses and parasitic protozoa – which inevitably requires collaboration to ensure relevance and impact.
Prizes and awards
Royal Society of Chemistry Carbohydrate Award 1996
Iceni Diagnostics - Longitude Prize Discovery Award 2016
Fellow of the Association of Carbohydrate Chemists and Technologists, India, 2018
My group
Dr Claire Morley (Manchester)
Iakoia Ttoffi (Manchester)
Andrew Yacoup (Manchester)
David Garmeson (Manchester)
Evaladas Siminavicius (Manchester-UEA)
Somsekhar Sarkar (UEA)
Impact
Co-Founder and CSO of Iceni Glycoscience (2014) - https://www.iceniglycoscience.com/
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):
Keywords
- Chemistry
- carbohydrate
- Natural products
- Biosynthesis
- biochemistry
- Protein structure
- Organic Chemistry
Media Expertise
- Agri-tech
- Biodiversity
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Entrepreneurship
- Environment
- Food and water security
- Green technology
- Infectious diseases
- Microbiology
- Sustainable development
- Technology
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Complete biosynthesis of the potent vaccine adjuvant QS-21
Martin, L. B. B., Kikuchi, S., Rejzek, M., Owen, C., Reed, J., Orme, A., Misra, R. C., El-Demerdash, A., Hill, L., Hodgson, H., Liu, Y., Keasling, J. D., Field, R. A., Truman, A. W. & Osbourn, A., 1 Apr 2024, In: Nature Chemical Biology. 20, 4, p. 493-502 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Citations (Scopus)2 Downloads (Pure) -
Harnessing precursor-directed biosynthesis with glucose derivatives to access cotton fibers with enhanced physical properties
Kuperman, O. A., de Andrade, P., Sui, X. M., Maria, R., Kaplan-Ashiri, I., Jiang, Q., Terlier, T., Kirkensgaard, J. J. K., Field, R. A. & Natalio, F., 15 May 2024, In: Cell Reports Physical Science. 5, 5, 101963.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
Sialic acids in infection and their potential use in detection and protection against pathogens
Dedola, S., Ahmadipour, S., de Andrade, P., Baker, A. N., Boshra, A. N., Chessa, S., Gibson, M. I., Hernando, P. J., Ivanova, I. M., Lloyd, J. E., Marin, M. J., Munro-Clark, A. J., Pergolizzi, G., Richards, S-J., Ttofi, I., Wagstaff, B. A. & Field, R., 6 Mar 2024, In: RSC Chemical Biology. 5, 3, p. 167-188 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus)66 Downloads (Pure) -
Tandem one-pot biocatalytic oxidation and Wittig reaction in water
Wahart, A. J. C., Beardmore, L. N. D., Field, R. A., Cosgrove, S. C. & Miller, G. J., 9 Aug 2024, In: Organic Letters. 26, 31, p. 6642-6646 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
The effect of a low degree of fluorine substitution on cotton fiber properties
Kuperman, O. A., de Andrade, P., Terlier, T., Kirkensgaard, J. J. K., Field, R. A. & Natalio, F., Mar 2024, In: Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. 309, 3, 2300337.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)1 Downloads (Pure)