Curriculum Vitae
Personal details
Name: Dr Alan J. Stewart
Nationality: United Kingdom (Scotland)
D.O.B.: 21st Dec 1977
Current Position: Senior Lecturer in Molecular Medicine.
Education
BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry, University of Edinburgh (1999)
PhD in Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh (2003).
Supervisor: Prof Peter J. Sadler FRS, FRSE
Thesis: Metal binding and redox properties of human albumin
Professional history
2016-present Senior Lecturer in Molecular Medicine, University of St Andrews.
2009-2016 Lecturer in Molecular Medicine, University of St Andrews.
2006-2009 MRC Career Development Fellow, MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh.
2003-2005 Postdoctoral Scientist, Division of Gene Expression and Development, Roslin Institute, Roslin, Midlothian.
Esteem Indicators
Judge for the Undergraduate Awards – International competition (2016)
Member of the BBSRC Committee D Grant Review Panel (2016 to current)
Member of the BBSRC Pool of Experts – 2015 to current
Member of Alzheimer’s Research UK Donations Grant Panel - 2014
Member of the Chemical Biology Working Group (Zinc-Net European Union COST Action TD1304) – 2014 to current
Guest Editor of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – General Subjects (special issue on serum albumin) – December 2013
Associate Editor of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease - 2013
Member of the Editorial Board of Dataset Papers in Biology
Member of the Editorial Board of AIMS Molecular Science
Review of grants for BBSRC (UK), British Heart Foundation (UK), NSF (USA), Israel Science Foundation (Israel), National Science Centre (Poland), US-Israel Binational Science Foundation and the Israel Science Foundation.
Review of manucripts for a wide range of journals
Judge at the Big Bang Scotland in 2011 and 2012 (National science competition for school children)
Member of Zinc-UK Network
Member of the Alzheimer’s Research UK Network
Prizes/Awards/Honours
BBSRC New Investigator Award (2012)
MRC Career Development Fellowship (2006-2009)
BBSRC Merit Pay Award (2004)
Society for Biological Inorganic Chemistry Poster Presentation Prize (2003)
BBSRC CASE Award (1999-2002)
Awarded Research Funding
£107,346 (¥957,589), British Heart Foundation, 2015-2018, PhD Studentship: Characterisation of zinc-dependent heparin neutralisation by fibrinogen and histidine-rich glycoprotein. My role: PI; Co-PI: Dr Samantha Pitt.
£110,951 (¥989,550), Fight for Sight, 2015-2017, Project Grant: Identifying the hydroxyapatite interactome: clarifying the involvement of serum proteins in the formation of sub-retinal pigment epithelial deposits. My role: PI; Co-PI: Dr Imre Lengyel (UCL).
£191,250 (¥1,705,721), British Heart Foundation, 2015-2018, Project Grant: Role of zinc in controlling histidine-rich glycoprotein complex formation: Implications for development of thrombotic complications. My role: PI; Co-PIs: Prof Jim Naismith, Dr Samantha Pitt, Dr Ramzi Ajjan (University of Leeds).
£107,872 (¥962,089), British Heart Foundation, 2015-2018, PhD Studentship: Understanding new mechanisms of cardiac ryanodine receptor regulation by zinc. My role: Co-PI; PI: Dr Samantha Pitt.
£21,020 (¥187,473), Wellcome Trust (ISSF catalyst). 2014, Staff Bridging Grant: For Dr Siavash Khazaipoul. My role: PI (Grant was for 6 months – only 2 months were used due to further grant success).
£32,472 (¥289,611), Wellcome Trust (ISSF catalyst). 2013, Equipment Grant: Contribution toward purchase of a new Microcal iTC200 isothermal titration calorimeter. My role: PI.
€1,200 (¥10,702), Bayer AG, 2012-2013, Part of an Otto Bayer Fellowship for Annika Eisenschmidt (Erasmus student). My role: Sponsor; Applicant: Annika Eisenschmidt (University of Leipzig).
£60,000 (¥535,128), Wellcome Trust (ISSF catalyst). 2012-2016, PhD Studentship: The role of zinc in the immune system. My role: PI; Co-PI: Dr Simon Powis.
£15,000 (¥133,782), Northwood Charitable Trust, 2011-2012, Project grant: Role of PLCη2 in adrenocorticotropic hormone release. My role: PI; Co-PI: Prof Simon Guild.
£507,321 (¥4,523,485), BBSRC, 2012-2015, Project grant: The dynamics of circulatory zinc handling and transport. My role: PI; Co-PI: Dr Claudia Blindauer (University of Warwick).
£97,211 (¥866,773), British Heart Foundation, 2010-2013, PhD Studentship: Plasma fatty acid and zinc dynamics: Implications for the formation of obstructive clots. My role: PI.
£15,000 (¥133,782), Northwood Charitable Trust, 2010-2011, Project grant: Identifying functional binding partners of PLCη2. My role: PI; Co-PI: Prof Frank Gunn-Moore.
Publications
Journal Articles/Book Chapters
Handing K.B., Shabalin I.G., Kassaar O., Khazaipoul S., Blindauer C.A., Stewart A.J., Chruszcz M., Minor W. (2016) Circulatory zinc transport is controlled by distinct interdomain sites on mammalian albumins. Chemical Science (In press).
Stanimirovic J., Obradovic M., Jovanovic A., Sudar-Milovanovic E., Zafirovic S., Pitt S.J., Stewart A.J., Isenovic E.R. (2016) A high fat diet induces sex-specific differences in hepatic lipid metabolism and nitrite/nitrate in rats. Nitric Oxide 54: 51-59.
Woodier J., Rainbow R.D., Stewart A.J., Pitt S.J. (2016) Response to Colvin and Qian: Zinc-mediated regulation of RyR2 occurs via multiple binding sites. Journal of Biological Chemistry 291: 4267.
Blindauer C.A., Khazaipoul S., Yu R., Stewart A.J. (2016) Fatty acid-mediated inhibition of metal binding to the multi-metal site on serum albumin: Implications for cardiovascular disease. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry (In press).
Arastoo M., Hacker C., Popovics P., Lucocq J.M., Stewart A.J. (2016) Phospholipase C-η2 interacts with nuclear and cytoplasmic LIMK-1 during retinoic acid-stimulated neurite growth. Histochemistry and Cell Biology 145: 163-173.
Stewart A.J., Pitt S.J. (2015) Zinc controls RyR2 activity during excitation-contraction coupling. Channels 9: 223-225.
Woodier J., Rainbow R.D., Stewart A.J., Pitt S.J. (2015) Intracellular zinc modulates cardiac ryanodine receptor-mediated calcium release. Journal of Biological Chemistry 290: 17599-17610.
Stewart A.J., Blindauer C.A. (2015) The reduced Co2+-binding capacity of ischaemia-modified albumin is unlikely to be because of oxidative modification of the N-terminus. Liver International 35: 2622-2623.
Pitt S.J., Stewart A.J. (2015) Examining a new role for zinc in regulating calcium release in cardiac muscle. Biochemical Society Transactions 43: 359-363.
Kassaar O., Schwarz-Linek U., Blindauer C.A., Stewart A.J. (2015) Plasma free fatty acid levels influence Zn2+-dependent histidine-rich glycoprotein-heparin interactions via an allosteric switch on serum albumin. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 13: 101-110.
Obradovic M., Stewart A.J., Pitt S.J., Labudovic-Borovic M., Sudar E., Petrovic V., Zafirovic S., Maravic-Stojkovic V., Vasic V., Isenovic E.R. (2014) In vivo effects of 17β-estradiol on cardiac Na+/K+-ATPase expression and activity in rat heart. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 388: 58-68.
Kassaar O., McMahon S.A., Thompson R., Botting C.H., Naismith J.H., Stewart A.J. (2014) Crystal structure of histidine-rich glycoprotein N2 domain reveals redox activity at an interdomain disulfide bridge: Implications for angiogenic regulation. Blood 123: 1948-1955.
Popovics P., Lu J., Kamil L.N., Morgan K., Millar R.P., Schmid R., Blindauer C.A., Stewart A.J. (2014) A canonical EF-loop directs Ca2+-sensitivity in phospholipase C-η2. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 115: 557-565.
Obradovic M., Bjelogrlic P., Rizzo M., Katsiki N., Haidara M., Stewart A.J., Jovanovic A., Isenovic E.R. (2013) Effects of obesity and estradiol on Na+/K+-ATPase and their relevance to cardiovascular disease. Journal of Endocrinology 218: R13-R23.
Barnett J.P., Blindauer C.A., Kassaar, O., Khazaipoul S., Martin E.M., Sadler P.J., Stewart A.J. (2013) Allosteric modulation of zinc speciation by fatty acids. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – General Subjects 1830: 5456-5464.
Peters Jr. T., Stewart A.J. (2013) Albumin research in the 21st century. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – General Subjects 1830: 5351-5353.
Popovics P., Gray A., Arastoo M., Finelli D.K., Tan A.J.L., Stewart A.J. (2013) Phospholipase C-η2 is required for retinoic acid-stimulated neurite growth. Journal of Neurochemistry 124: 632-644.
Majorek K.A., Porebski P.J., Dayal A., Zimmerman M.D., Jablonska K., Stewart A.J., Chruszcz M., Minor W. (2012) Structural and immunologic characterization of bovine, horse, and rabbit serum albumins. Molecular Immunology 52: 174-182.
Lu J., Stewart A.J., Sadler P.J., Pinheiro T.J.T., Blindauer C.A. (2012) Molecular mechanism for allosteric inhibition of cobalt binding to albumin by fatty acids: Implications for the detection of myocardial ischaemia. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 55: 4425-4430.
Popovics P., Stewart A.J. (2012) Phospholipase C-η activity may contribute toward Alzheimer’s disease-associated calciumopathy. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 30: 737-744.
Kassaar O., Powis S.J., Stewart A.J. (2012) The formation and Zn2+-dependence of histidine-rich glycoprotein-containing immune complexes. In: Advances in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 58, pp153-166. Nova Science Publishers, New York.
Popovics P., Stewart A.J. (2012) Putative roles for phospholipase C-η enzymes in neuronal Ca2+ signal modulation. Biochemical Society Transactions 40: 282-286.
Lu J., Stewart A.J., Sleep D., Sadler P.J., Pinheiro T.J.T., Blindauer C.A. (2012) A molecular mechanism for modulating plasma Zn speciation by fatty acids. Journal of the American Chemical Society 134: 1454-1457.
Popovics P., Beswick W., Guild S.B., Cramb G., Morgan K., Millar R.P., Stewart A.J. (2011) Phospholipase C-η2 is activated by elevated intracellular Ca2+ levels. Cellular Signalling 23: 1777-1784.
Popovics P., Rekasi Z., Stewart A.J., Kovacs M. (2011) Regulation of pituitary inhibin/activin subunits and follistatin gene expression by gonadotropin-releasing hormone in female rats. Journal of Endocrinology 210: 71-79.
Popovics P., Stewart A.J. (2011) GPR39: A Zn2+-activated G protein-coupled receptor that regulates pancreatic, gastrointestinal and neuronal functions. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 68: 85-95.
Kalujnaia S., McVee J., Kasciukovic T., Stewart A.J., Cramb G. (2010) A role for inositol monophosphatase 1 (IMPA1) in salinity adaptation in the euryhaline eel (Anguilla anguilla). FASEB Journal 24: 3981-3991.
Stewart A.J., Blindauer C.A., Sadler P.J. (2009) Plasma fatty acid levels may regulate the Zn2+-dependent activities of histidine-rich glycoprotein. Biochimie 91: 1518-1522.
Stewart A.J., Katz A.A., Millar R.P., Morgan K. (2009) Retention and silencing of prepro-GnRH-II and type II GnRH receptor genes in mammals. Neuroendocrinology 90: 416-432.
Blindauer C.A., Harvey I., Bunyan K.E., Stewart A.J., Sleep D., Harrison D.J., Berezenko S., Sadler P.J. (2009) Structure, properties, and engineering of the major zinc binding site on human albumin. Journal of Biological Chemistry 284: 23116-23124.
Dickinson R.E., Stewart A.J., Myers M., Millar R.P., Duncan W.C. (2009) Differential expression and functional characterization of luteinizing hormone receptor splice variants in human luteal cells: Implications for luteolysis. Endocrinology 150: 2873-2881.
Lu J., Stewart A.J., Sadler P.J., Pinheiro T.J.T., Blindauer C.A. (2008) Albumin as a zinc carrier: Properties of its high-affinity zinc-binding site. Biochemical Society Transactions 36: 1317-1321.
Morgan K., Stewart A.J., Miller N.A., Mullen P., Muir M., Dodds M., Medda F., Harrison D., Langdon S., Millar R.P. (2008) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor levels and cell context affect tumor cell responses to agonist in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Research 68: 6331-6340.
White C.D., Stewart A.J., Lu Z.-L., Millar R.P., Morgan K. (2008) Antiproliferative effects of GnRH analogs: Prospects and problems in cancer therapy. Neuroendocrinology 88: 67-79.
Stewart A.J., Sellar R., Wilson D.J., Millar R.P., Lu Z.-L. (2008) Identification of a novel ligand binding residue Arg38(1.35) in the human gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor. Molecular Pharmacology 73: 75-81.
Stewart A.J., Morgan K., Farquharson C., Millar R.P. (2007) Phospholipase C-eta enzymes as putative protein kinase C and Ca2+ signalling components in neuronal and neuroendocrine tissues. Neuroendocrinology 86: 243-248.
Stewart A.J., Roberts S.J., Seawright E., Davey M.G., Fleming R.H., Farquharson C. (2006) The presence of PHOSPHO1 in matrix vesicles and its developmental expression prior to skeletal formation. Bone 39: 1000-1007.
Stewart A.J., Houston B., Farquharson C. (2006) Elevated expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2α in terminally differentiating growth plate chondrocytes. Journal of Cellular Physiology 206: 435-440.
Roberts S.J., Stewart A.J., Schmid R., Blindauer C.A., Bond S.R., Sadler P.J., Farquharson C. (2005) Probing the substrate specificities of human PHOSPHO1 and PHOSPHO2. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Proteins and Proteomics 1752: 73-82.
Stewart A.J., Blindauer C.A. Berezenko S., Sleep D., Tooth D., Sadler P.J. (2005) Role of tyrosine-84 in controlling the reactivity of cysteine-34 of human albumin. FEBS Journal 272: 353-362.
Stewart A.J., Mukherjee J., Roberts S.J., Lester D., Farquharson C. (2005) Identification of a novel class of mammalian phosphoinositol-specific phospholipase C enzymes. International Journal of Molecular Medicine 15: 117-121.
Roberts S.J., Stewart A.J., Sadler P.J., Farquharson C. (2004) Human PHOSPHO1 exhibits high specific phosphoethanolamine and phosphocholine phosphatase activities. Biochemical Journal 382: 59-65.
Houston B., Stewart A.J., Farquharson C. (2004) PHOSPHO1 - A novel phosphatase specifically expressed at sites of mineralisation in bone and cartilage. Bone 34: 629-637.
Stewart A.J., Schmid R., Blindauer C.A., Paisey S.J., Farquharson C. (2003) Comparative modelling of human PHOSPHO1 reveals a new group of phosphatases within the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily. Protein Engineering 16: 889-895.
Stewart A.J., Blindauer C.A., Berezenko S., Sleep D., Sadler P.J. (2003) Interdomain zinc site on human albumin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 100: 3701-3706.
Patent
Berezenko S., Sadler P.J., Stewart A.J., Blindauer C., Bunyan K.E. (2004) Design of mutated forms of human serum albumin with altered metal binding characteristics for pharmacological or cell culture uses. Patent Nos. International Patent App. WO200411499; EP Patent App. 1,525,222; US Patent App. 10/523,312.