R. Michael Roberts
Born23 October 1940 Edit this on Wikidata
Menston Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
Works
Awards
Websitehttp://robertslab.missouri.edu Edit this on Wikidata
Academic career
FieldsEmbryology, developmental biology Edit this on Wikidata
Institutions
ThesisThe utilisation of ¹⁴C labelled substrates by growing plant organs
Doctoral advisorVernon S. Butt

R. Michael Roberts (born October 23, 1940, in Menston, United Kingdom)[1] is an American biologist who is the Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Animal sciences and Biochemistry at the University of Missouri.[2] He is a founding co-editor of the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, first published in 2013.[3]

Birth and education

R. Michael Roberts was born on October 23, 1940, in Menston, in the United Kingdom.[1] He graduated with a BA in Botany and PhD in Plant Physiology/Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.[4] His DPhil thesis was entitled The utilisation of ¹⁴C labelled substrates by growing plant organs (1965) and was supervised by Vernon S. Butt.[5]

Academic career

In September 1965 Roberts went to the United States to do post-doctoral work with Frank Loewus at State University of New York-Buffalo (SUNY).[6] Roberts was a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Florida from 1970-1985.[7]

In 1985, Roberts joined the University of Missouri.[6] He served as Chair of the Veterinary Pathobiology Department the University of Missouri from 1995 to 1998.[8] He was named the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, and Veterinary Pathobiology as of 1996[9] and was the Chancellor's Professor as of 2019.[10] He is currently Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences and Biochemistry.[2][11] Roberts served as the founding director of the MU Life Sciences Center from January 2004-September 2005.[12]

Roberts served as Chief Scientist for the USDA’s National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRI) from 1998-2000. He also served on the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Defining Science-Based Concerns Associated with Products of Animal Biotechnology, addressing concerns about the use of genetically modified animals for food, which published the report Animal Biotechnology: Science-Based Concerns (2002).[13][14][15] and chaired the NRC committee that investigated Animal Care & Management at the National Zoo.[16][17][18][8]

In 2006-2007 R. Michael Roberts was investigated by The University of Missouri for research misconduct based on images that had been altered in a 2006 Science paper where he was the principal investigator.[19] In brief, a postdoctoral fellow Dr. Kaushik Deb fabricated and falsified digital images that supported a paper published in Science. That paper was subsequently withdrawn, and the prescribed university procedures for a research misconduct investigation were followed. The Standing Committee on Research Responsibility concluded that Dr. Deb had committed the misconduct alone, and that the co-authors on the paper (Drs. R. M. Roberts, M. Sivaguru and H.Y. Yong) were in no way culpable. The Office of Research Integrity at the National Institutes of Health now formally agrees with that conclusion (ORI2006-09). The paper was officially retracted by Roberts and an apology to the scientific community was issued in the form of a published letter.[20]

Research

R. Michael Roberts is known for his contributions to identification of the biological mechanism of embryo-maternal signaling in ruminants, in which signals indicating the existence of the embryo lead to the maintenance of an optimal uterine environment for pregnancy and the embryo's survival. In mammals, chemical signalling between the embryo and the mother was known to be essential in sustaining a successful pregnancy. However, details of the process were not understood[21] until R. Michael Roberts and Fuller W. Bazer began a 16-year collaboration to study such relationships.[22][23] In addition to their joint efforts, each has made independent contributions, at their respective universities.[7]

Among his key discoveries, R. Michael Roberts determined the equivalence of uteroferrin and a class of lysosomal enzymes, known as tartrate-resistant acid phosphatases (TRAPs).[21] Subsequently, Roberts was the first to successfully purify, sequence and clone TRAPs in humans.[14] As a result of this research, postmenopausal women are being screened for TRAP, which can be associated with osteoporosis.[21]

Roberts' group was the first to clone, identify, and characterize the temporal expression of trophoblast interferon-t in the ruminants sheep and cattle.[24] He studied differential transcriptional regulation of interferon-t by the transcription factors ETS-2 and Oct-4. He proposed a developmental switch to explain the formation of trophectoderm during early embryo development. He has identified more than 100 expressed genes for proteins in the aspartyl proteinase gene family, associated with pregnancy.[21] This work has formed the basis for developing a pregnancy test for dairy cattle.[25] His research on sexual dimorphism in embryos suggests that maternal diet around conception may influence an offspring’s sex.[21]

Roberts changed research direction in 2003.[26] He began to focus on the use of pluripotent stem cells and the development of models to study the emergence and differentiation of animal and human trophoblast.[27] Among his group's contributions is a study on the importance of low oxygen atmospheres to control human stem cell differentiation.[28] His laboratory was one of the first to describe the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from an ungulate species, the pig. As of 2018, he was studying preeclampsia by generating iPS cell lines using human umbilical cords.[6] Roberts' work is supported through Federal Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and through Missouri's state funding for agriculture.[29]

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, R. Michael (1 May 2009). "R. Michael Roberts". Wolf Prize in Agriculture. WORLD SCIENTIFIC: 785–848. doi:10.1142/9789812835857_0034. ISBN 978-981-283-584-0.
  2. 1 2 "College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources // R. Michael Roberts". University of Missouri. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Introduction". Annual Review of Animal Biosciences. 1. 2013. doi:10.1146/annurev-av-1-012513-100001.
  4. 1 2 "R. Michael Roberts, Ph.D." The Milstein Awards. 21 June 1995. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Roberts, R. M. (1965). The Utilisation of ¹⁴C labelled substrates by growing plant organs (Thesis). Thesis DPhil--University of Oxford, Lincoln College.
  6. 1 2 3 Nowak, Romana A (1 June 2018). "An interview with Dr R. Michael Roberts". Biology of Reproduction. 98 (6): 739–741. doi:10.1093/biolre/ioy053. PMID 29878068.
  7. 1 2 3 Zeleznik, Anthony J. "AWARDS 1990 SSR RESEARCH AWARD" (PDF). 1990 SSR Awards Committee. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  8. 1 2 National Research Council (US) Committee on a Review of the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park (2004). "About the authors". Animal Care and Management at the National Zoo: Interim Report. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US). Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Curators' Distinguished Professorships // Office of the Provost". provost.missouri.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Enger, Michelle; Jackson, Logan (May 1, 2019). "College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources // Spencer Elected to National Academy of Sciences". cafnr.missouri.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Roberts Lab | Home". robertslab.missouri.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  12. ↑ FRIEDMAN, STEPHANIE DeMELLO and SAMANTHA. "Director of MU Life Sciences Center stepping downMU Life Sciences head leaving to pursue research". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 "2021 SSR Distinguished Fellows - Society for the Study of Reproduction". Society for the Study of Reproduction. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Carl G. Hartman Award" (PDF). Society for the Study of Reproduction. 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Animal biotechnology : science-based concerns. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. 2002. doi:10.17226/10418. ISBN 978-0-309-08439-0. PMID 25032294.
  16. ↑ Barker, Karlyn; Cohn, D'Vera (20 January 2005). "Report on Zoo Cites Progress And Problems". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  17. ↑ Kearney, Bill (2004). "Zooming In on the Zoo Studying the National Zoo Under the Media's Microscope" (PDF). InFocus Magazine. 4 (2): 14–15. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  18. ↑ Curtius, Mary (26 February 2004). "Director to Resign After Lapses Are Found at National Zoo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "MU professor retracts research after investigation - Columbia Missourian". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  20. ↑ Editorial Policy Committee, Council of Science Editors (2021). CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications (PDF). New York, NY: . {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "R. Michael Roberts". Wolf Foundation. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  22. ↑ "International Wolf Prize shared by Texas A&M researcher". AgriLife Today. 11 January 2003. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  23. ↑ Bazer, Fuller W. (1 August 2011). "Contributions of an Animal Scientist to Reproductive Biology". Biology of Reproduction. 85 (2): 228–242. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.111.091454. PMID 21565996. S2CID 26065678.
  24. ↑ Imakawa, Kazuhiko; Bai, Rulan; Nakamura, Keigo; Kusama, Kazuya (July 2017). "Thirty years of interferon-tau research; Past, present and future perspective". Animal Science Journal. 88 (7): 927–936. doi:10.1111/asj.12807. PMID 28504476.
  25. ↑ "Early pregnancy test for cows improves welfare and food production". EurekAlert!. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  26. ↑ Medicine, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and; Division, Health and Medicine; Policy, Board on Health Sciences (31 August 2020). Examining the State of the Science of Mammalian Embryo Model Systems: Proceedings of a Workshop. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-67668-7. {{cite book}}: |last3= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ "R. Michael Roberts". National Academy of Sciences Member Directory. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  28. ↑ Choi, Charles Q. (December 1, 2005). "Stem Cell Imperative". Scientific American. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  29. ↑ Sossamon, Jeff (19 July 2017). "How piglets could make IVF cheaper". Futurity. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  30. ↑ "SRF Marshall Medal". Society for Reproduction and Fertility. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  31. ↑ Hines, Lauren (December 8, 2021). "Bond LSC Researcher Wins Awards for 45-Year Career in Reproductive Biology". decodingscience.missouri.edu. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  32. ↑ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows". Science. 350 (6264): 1047–1049. 27 November 2015. doi:10.1126/science.350.6264.1047. ISSN 0036-8075.
  33. ↑ "NIH Record--3/04/2003--NICHD Grantees Receive Wolf Prize". nihrecord.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  34. ↑ Simply-Smart. "ר' מיכאל רוברטס (R. Michael Roberts)". www.wolffund.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2018-02-16.
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