Position

Deputy Head and Laboratory Head

Contact

Structural Biology Division
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
1G Royal Parade
Parkville VIC 3050

Email: rnorton@wehi.edu.au
www.wehi.edu.au

Research interests

We are interested in what proteins look like and how they work. We use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and a range of other biophysical and biochemical techniques to determine protein structures as a means of understanding how they function, as well as how they interact with key binding partners in the cell.

Qualifications

B.Sc. (Hons.), 1971, University of Melbourne, 1st class Honours
Ph.D., 1974, Australian National University, Canberra
Professorial Fellow, School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne 2000-present
Adjunct Professor, School of Biochemistry and Genetics, LaTrobe University 1998-present

Ten Most Significant Publications

1. Borowitzka LJ, Demmerle S, Mackay MA & Norton RS (1980) Carbon-13 NMR study of osmoregulation in a blue-green alga. Science 210, 650-651. [IF=31.85, C=92]

2. Pallaghy PK, Duggan BM, Pennington MW & Norton RS (1993) Three-dimensional structure in solution of the calcium channel blocker ω-conotoxin. Journal of Molecular Biology 234, 405-420. [IF=5.54, C=118]

3. Pallaghy PK, Nielsen KJ, Craik DJ & Norton RS (1994) A common structural motif incorporating a cystine knot and a triple-stranded β-sheet in toxic and inhibitory polypeptides. Protein Science 3, 1833-1839. [IF=4.11, C=225]

4. Torres AM, Forbes BE, Aplin SE, Wallace JC, Francis GL & Norton RS (1995) Solution structure of human insulin-like growth factor II. Relationship to receptor and binding protein interactions. Journal of Molecular Biology 248, 385-401. [IF=5.54, C=40]

5. Tudor JE, Pallaghy PK, Pennington MW & Norton RS (1996) Solution structure of ShK toxin, a novel potassium channel inhibitor from a sea anemone. Nature Structural Biology 3, 317-320. [IF=12.19, C=56]

6. Kalman K, Pennington MW, Lanigan MD, Nguyen A, Rauer H, Mahnir V, Gutman GA, Paschetto K, Kem WR, Grissmer S, Christian EP, Cahalan MD, Norton RS & Chandy KG (1998) ShK-Dap22: A potent Kv1.3-specific immunosuppressive polypeptide. Journal of Biological Chemistry 273, 32697-32707. [IF=6.35, C=81]

7. Nair M, Hinds MG, Coley AM, Hodder AN, Foley M, Anders RF & NORTON RS (2002) Structure of domain III of the blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate, Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1). Journal of Molecular Biology 322, 741-753. [IF=5.54, C=35]

8. Headey SJ, Keizer DW, Yao S, Kantharidis P, Bach LA & Norton RS (2004) C-terminal domain of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-6: structure and interaction with insulin-like growth factor-II. Molecular Endocrinology 18, 2740–2750. (featured on front cover of journal) [IF=5.87, C=18]

9. Masters SL, Yao S, Willson TA, Zhang J-G, Palmer KR, Smith, BJ, Babon JJ, Nicola NA, NORTON RS* & Nicholson SE* (2006) The SPRY domain of SSB-2 adopts a novel fold that presents conserved binding residues for Par-4. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology 13, 77-84. [IF=12.00, C=11]

10. Babon JJ, McManus EJ, Yao S, DeSouza DP, Mielke L, Willson TA, Hilton DJ, Nicola NA, Baca M, Nicholson SE & NORTON RS (2006) The structure of SOCS3 reveals the basis of the extended SH2 domain function and identifies an unstructured insertion that regulates protein stability. Molecular Cell 22, 205-216. [IF=16.81, C=14]

Currently Held Grants

Norton
Malarial parasite surface proteins: structure and interactions of key merozoite antigens
ARC Discovery Project DP0664723

Wallace, Shooter & Norton
Interactions of insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins with vitronectin: a structural basis for antagonist design and development.
ARC Linkage Project LP0776825

Norton and Nicholson
Interaction of the SPRY-domain containing SOCS box (SSB) proteins with prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) protein
NHMRC Project 461233

Nicola, Alexander, Hilton, Metcalf, Norton, Robb, Roberts, Starr and Zhang
Molecular regulation of blood cell production and function
NHMRC Program 461219

Foley, Anders and Norton
Inhibitory epitopes in malaria vaccine candidates.
NIH R01. 1R01AI059229

Baldwin, Anderson, Baker, Norton and Shulkes
The biology of gastrin-ferric ion complexes
NIH R01 2R01GM065926

Norton
NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship