Personal Biography

I received my MBiochem (Hons.) degree from the University of Bath in 2001 and my PhD in structural biology at St Andrews in 2004. I then joined the membrane protein laboratory of Professor So Iwata at Imperial College London, where I worked on structural studies of secondary active transporters and methods development in membrane protein structural biology. In 2009, I was awarded an MRC career development award to establish a research group in Oxford Biochemistry, focused on understanding the role of nutrient transporters in human health and disease. In 2013 I became an Associate Professor and tutorial fellow at Christ Church, and in 2015, I was promoted to Professor of Molecular Membrane Biology.  In 2022 I was elected to the David Phillips Chair in Molecular Biophysics in association with Corpus Christi and I currently lead the Department's Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics research theme.

Research and Teaching

The Newstead Group is a vibrant, dynamic team of researchers with a shared goal to understand and explain the molecular basis for SLC transporter function in health and disease. My research focuses on understanding how nutrient transporters function at the molecular level. Transporters belonging to the Solute Carrier (SLC) family play essential roles in human physiology, regulating the transport of amino acids, ions, sugars, lipids and vitamins within the body. In humans, many of the membrane proteins that absorb nutrients from our diet are also responsible for drug transport and distribution into specific organs, including the central nervous system, kidneys and GI tract. Nutrient transporters, therefore, profoundly impact the pharmacokinetic properties of many administered drugs with clear medical advantages in understanding their structure, biochemistry and regulation.

Selected Publications

Loebel M et al. (2022) Structural basis for proton-coupled cystine transport by cystinosin. Nature Communications.

Parker J.L et al. (2021) Cryo-EM structure of PepT2 reveals structural basis for proton-coupled peptide and prodrug transport in mammals.  SciAdv

Parker J.L, et al. (2021) Molecular basis for redox control by the human cystine/glutamate antiporter System xc–. Nature Communications

Parker J.L, et al. (2021) Structural basis of antifolate recognition and transport by PCFT. Nature.

Minhas GS, Newstead S. (2019) Structural basis for prodrug recognition by the SLC15 family of proton-coupled peptide transporters. PNAS.