Thomas A. Edwards
Dr. Edwards has 20 years of experience in teaching and research in a university environment. He has taught an array of classes in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and supervised 29 graduate students through to a Ph.D. He has been an Investigator on grants focused on structural/chemical biology and virology worth >$16million and published 77 peer-reviewed manuscripts. At the University of Leeds (2005-2022) he served as Deputy Head of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (2018-2021) and Deputy Director of the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology (2012-2018). Dr Edwards recently arrived at Larkin University to teach Biochemistry and Genetics.
Research Profile
Dr Edwards uses structural biology (mostly X-ray crystallography, including EM and NMR) to study the structure and function of a variety of proteins. He studies RNA binding proteins in development and disease and has recently focused on RNA binding proteins from RNA viruses. Another focus is investigating protein-protein interactions involved in the control of cancer.
77 publications, >4,000 citations, H-index = 36
Hot off the press:
January 2026 Held out wings RNA binding activity in the cytoplasm during early spermatogenesis. Communications Biology: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09435-4
December 2025. Discovery of three small-molecule inhibitors targeting Ebolavirus genome replication and transcription. Journal of General Virology:https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002183
June 2025. Grafted Coiled-coil Peptides as Multivalent Scaffolds for Protein Recognition. ACS Chemical Biology: https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.5c00137
Selected recent publications:
Grafted Coiled-coil Peptides as Multivalent Scaffolds for Protein Recognition. Amanda M. Acevedo-Jake, Bram Mylemans, Danielle F. Kay, Peiyu Zhang, Boguslawa Korona, Guto G. Rhys, Aneika C. Leney, Danny T. Huang, Thomas A. Edwards, Laura Itzhaki, Derek N. Woolfson, and Andrew J. Wilson. ACS Chemical Biology (2025) 20 (6), 1309-1318. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.5c00137
The cryoEM structure of the Hendra henipavirus nucleoprotein reveals insights into paramyxoviral nucleocapsid architectures. Tim C Passchier, Joshua BR White, Daniel P Maskell, Matthew J Byrne, Neil A Ranson, Thomas A Edwards, John N Barr (2024). Scientific Reports DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58243-z
Understanding β-strand mediated protein–protein interactions: tuning binding behaviour of intrinsically disordered sequences by backbone modification. Emma E Cawood, Emily Baker, Thomas A Edwards, Derek N Woolfson, Theodoros K Karamanos, Andrew J Wilson (2024). Chemical Science. DOI: 10.1039/D4SC02240H
The native orthobunyavirus ribonucleoprotein possesses a helical architecture. Francis R Hopkins, Beatriz Álvarez-Rodríguez, George R Heath, Kyriakoulla Panayi, Samantha Hover, Thomas A Edwards, John N Barr, Juan Fontana (2022). MBio 13.4 e01405-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24316-0
RAS-inhibiting biologics identify and probe druggable pockets including an SII-α3 allosteric site. KZ Haza, HL Martin, A Rao, AL Turner, SE Saunders, B Petersen, C Tiede, Kevin Tipping, Anna A Tang, Modupe Ajayi, Thomas Taylor, Maia Harvey, Keri M Fishwick, Thomas L Adams, Thembaninkosi G Gaule, Chi H Trinh, Matthew Johnson, Alexander L Breeze, Thomas A Edwards, Michael J McPherson, Darren C Tomlinson (2021). Nature Communications 12 (1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24316-0
Selective Affimers Recognise the BCL‐2 Family Proteins BCL‐xL and MCL‐1 through Noncanonical Structural Motifs. JA Miles, F Hobor, CH Trinh, J Taylor, C Tiede, PR Rowell, BR Jackson, Fatima A Nadat, Pallavi Ramsahye, Hannah F Kyle, Basile IM Wicky, Jane Clarke, Darren C Tomlinson, Andrew J Wilson, Thomas A Edwards (2021). ChemBioChem 22 (1), 232-240. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202000585
Structure of the 70S ribosome from the human pathogen acinetobacter baumannii in complex with clinically relevant antibiotics. D Nicholson, TA Edwards, AJ O’Neill, NA Ranson (2020). Structure 28 (10), 1087-1100. e3. DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2020.08.004
The structure of the human respiratory syncytial virus M2-1 protein bound to the interaction domain of the phosphoprotein P defines the orientation of the complex. M Selvaraj, K Yegambaram, EJAA Todd, CA Richard, RL Dods, Georgia M Pangratiou, Chi H Trinh, Sophie L Moul, James C Murphy, Jamel Mankouri, Jean-François Éléouët, John N Barr, Thomas A Edwards (2018). mBio 9 (6), e01554-18. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01554-18
Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) as a model for studying inhibition of protein–protein interactions. GM Burslem, HF Kyle, A Nelson, TA Edwards, AJ Wilson (2017). Chemical Science 8 (6), 4188-4202. DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00388A
ABC-F proteins mediate antibiotic resistance through ribosomal protection. LKR Sharkey, TA Edwards, AJ O’Neill (2016). mBio 7 (2), e01975-15. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01975-15
Full publication list:
