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Prof Neil McDonald

Positions held:
  • Professor of Structural Biology, School of Natural Sciences
  • Overview

    Overview

    Biography

    Neil completed his doctoral training with Professor Tom Blundell at 糖心logo入口 College where he determined structures of the 脽-nerve growth factor (NGF) cystine knot and the multi-protein 7S NGF complex. He also uncovered the first evidence of a ligand-induced allosteric changes within the EGFR. He was then awarded a Lucille P. Markey Scholarship for his postdoctoral training to move to the laboratory of Professor Wayne A. Hendrickson in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York. While there he studied the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and its receptors and applied multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) methods to determine the structure of CNTF, a potential biotherapeutic produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

    Neil was then recruited back to London in 1994 as a Group Leader in order to establish a Structural Biology Laboratory at the ICRF. ICRF became the Cancer Research UK (CR-UK) London Research Institute and is now part of the Francis Crick Institute. Neil holds a joint position at 糖心logo入口 College and was appointed as Professor of Structural Biology in 2006.

    His research interests lie in the molecular mechanisms underpinning growth factor signalling at the cell membrane. His group has uncovered molecular mechanisms controlling protein kinase and protein phosphatase activation in both physiological and disease settings. More recently his group have explored: (1) the architecture and regulation of many types of membrane-linked proteins, Rho effector kinases and cell surface receptors (2) the molecular function of the RPEL motif, a multi-valent G-actin-binding signature responding to changes in cellular G-actin levels and (3) the structure determination of several oncology therapeutic targets.

    ORCID

  • Supervision and teaching

    Supervision and teaching

    Teaching

    Teaching modules

    • Molecular Biology for Discovery Life Sciences
    • Advanced Topics in Human Disease
    • Evolution and Genetics
  • Publications

    Publications

    Article

    • Earl, C.P. and Cobbaut, M. and Barros-Carvalho, A. and Ivanova, M.E. and Briggs, D.C. and Morais-de-Sa, E. and Parker, P.J. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2025) . Nature Structural & Molecular Biology ISSN 1545-9993.
    • Rix, B. and Chauhan, R. and Masoumi, Z. and Gr枚nroos, E. and Brain, C. and Ogunbiyi, O.K. and Swarbrick, K. and Swanton, C. and Bonnet, D. and Kurzawinski, T.R. and Izatt, L. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Grey, W. (2025) . Precision Oncology 9 (125), ISSN 2397-768X.
    • Bythell-Douglas, R. and van Twest, S. and Abbouche, L. and Dunn, E. and Coulthard, R.J. and Briggs, D.C. and Murphy, V. and Zhang, X. and Tan, W. and Henrikus, S.S. and Qian, D. and Wu, Y. and Wolf, J. and Rigoreau, L. and Shakeel, S. and Chapman, K.L. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Deans, A.J. (2025) . The EMBO Journal ISSN 0261-4189.
    • Brown, S.J.L. and Briggs, D.C. and Costello, P. and Yaguchi, H. and Bangham, C.R.M. and Parker, P.J. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2025) . Biochemical Journal 482 (21), pp. 1659-1675. ISSN 0264-6021.
    • Mcdonald, Neil and Calleja, V. and Henry, J.C. and Cobbaut, M. and Rizzoti, K. and Boeing, S. and Anyanwu, N. and Varsani-Brown, S. and Snoeks, T. and Su谩rez-Bonnet, A. and Priestnall, S.L. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Cameron, A.J.M. and Parker, P.J. (2025) . Science Signaling 18 (911), ISSN 1945-0877.
    • Cameron, A.J.M. and Cobbaut, M. and Calleja, V. and Mcdonald, Neil Q. and Parker, P.J. (2025) . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences ISSN 0962-8436. (In Press)
    • Bland, T. and Hirani, N. and Briggs, D. and Rossetto, R. and Ng, K. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Zwicker, D. and Goehring, N.W. (2024) . Embo Journal 43 (15), pp. 3214-3239. ISSN 0261-4189.
    • Cobbaut, M. and McDonald, Neil and Parker, P.J. (2023) . Journal of Biological Chemistry 299 (7), ISSN 0021-9258.
    • Houghton, F.M. and Adams, S.E. and Rios, A.S. and Masino, L. and Purkiss, A.G. and Briggs, D.C. and Ledda, F. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2023) . Nature Communications ISSN 2041-1723.
    • Cobbaut, M. and Parker, P.J. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2023) . Biochemical Journal 480 (24), pp. 2037-2044. ISSN 0264-6021.
    • Zhang, L. and Moccia, M. and Briggs, D.C. and Bharate, J.B. and Lakkaniga, N.R. and Knowles, P. and Tran, P. and Kharbanda, A. and Wang, X. and Leung, Y.-K. and Frett, B. and Santoro, M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Carlomagno, F. and Li, H.-y. (2022) . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 65 (2), pp. 1536-1551. ISSN 0022-2623.
    • Bax, B.D. and Sutormin, D. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Burley, G.A. and Shelkovnikova, T. (2022) . International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23 (19), pp. 11541. ISSN 1422-0067.
    • Parker, P.J. and Brown, S.J. and Calleja, V. and Chakravarty, P. and Cobbaut, M. and Linch, M. and Marshall, J.J.T. and Martini, S. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Soliman, T. and Watson, L. (2021) . Nature Reviews Cancer 21, pp. 51-63. ISSN 1474-175X.
    • Adams, S.E. and Purkiss, A.G. and Knowles, P.P. and Nans, A. and Briggs, D.C. and Borg, A. and Earl, C.P. and Goodman, K.M. and Nawrotek, A. and Borg, A.J. and McIntosh, P.B. and Houghton, F.M. and Kj忙r, S. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2021) . Structure 29 (7), pp. 694-708.e7. ISSN 0969-2126.
    • Moccia, M. and Frett, B. and Zhang, L. and Lakkaniga, R. and Briggs, D.C. and Chauhan, R. and Brescia, A. and Federico, G. and Santoro, M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Li, H. and Carlomagno, F. (2020) . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 63 (9), pp. 4506-4516. ISSN 0022-2623.
    • Grey, W. and Chauhan, R. and Piganeau, M. and Huerga, E. and Garcia-Albornoz, M. and McDonald, Neil and Bonnet, D. (2020) . Blood 136 (22), pp. 2535-2547. ISSN 0006-4971.
    • Diring, J. and Mouilleron, S. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Treisman, R. (2019) . Nature Cell Biology 21, pp. 845-855. ISSN 1465-7392.
    • Elbediwy, A. and Zhang, Y. and Cobbaut, M. and Riou, P. and Tan, R.S. and Roberts, S.K. and Tynan, C. and George, R. and Kjaer, S. and Martin-Fernandez, M.L. and Thompson, B.J. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Parker, P.J. (2019) . Journal of Cell Science 132 (8), pp. jcs223743. ISSN 0021-9533.
    • Thomas, A.M. and Brolih, S. and McGouran, J. and El-Sagheer, A.H. and Ptchelkine, D. and Jones, M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and McHugh, P.J. and Brown, T. (2019) . Chemical Communications 55, pp. 11671-11674. ISSN 1359-7345.
    • Kohno, T. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2018) . Nature Communications 9, pp. 625. ISSN 2041-1723.
    • Yan, W. and Lakkaniga, N.R. and Gunaganti, N. and Lv, F. and Carlomagno, F. and Santoro, M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Frett, B. and Li, H.-Y. (2018) . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 62 (4), pp. 1731-1760. ISSN 0022-2623.
    • Plenker, D. and Riedel, M. and Br盲gelmann, J. and Dammert, M.A. and Chauhan, R. and Knowles, P.K. and Lorenz, C. and Keul, M. and B眉hrmann, M. and Pagel, O. and Tischler, V. and Scheel, A.H. and Sch眉tte, D. and Song, Y. and Stark, J. and Mrugalla, F. and Alber, Y. and Richters, A. and Engel, J. and Leenders, F. and Heuckmann, J.M. and Wolf, J. and Diebold, J. and Pall, G. and Peifer, M. and Aerts, M. and Gevaert, K. and Zahedi, R.P. and Buettner, R. and Shokat, K.M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Kast, S.M. and Gautschi, O. and Thomas, R.K. and Sos, M.L. (2017) . Science Translational Medicine 9 (394), ISSN 1946-6234.
    • Plenker, D. and Riedel, M. and Br脙陇gelmann, J. and Dammert, M.A. and Chauhan, R. and Knowles, P.P. and Lorenz, C. and Keul, M. and B脙录hrmann, M. and Pagel, O. and Tischler, V. and Scheel, A.H. and Sch脙录tte, D. and Song, Y. and Stark, J. and Mrugalla, F. and Alber, Y. and Richters, A. and Engel, J. and Leenders, F. and Heuckmann, J.M. and Wolf, J. and Diebold, J. and Pall, G. and Peifer, M. and Aerts, M. and Gevaert, K. and Zahedi, R.P. and Buettner, R. and Shokat, K.M. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Kast, S.M. and Gautschi, O. and Thomas, R.K. and Sos, M.L. (2017) . Science Translational Medicine 9 (394), ISSN 1946-6234.
    • Newton, R. and Bowler, K.A. and Burns, E.M. and Chapman, P.J. and Fairweather, E.E. and Fritzl, S.J.R. and Goldberg, K.M. and Hamilton, N.M. and Holt, S.V. and Hopkins, G.V. and Jones, S.D. and Jordan, A.M. and Lyons, A.J. and Nikki March, H. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Maguire, L.A. and Mould, D.P. and Purkiss, A.G. and Small, H.F. and Stowell, A.I.J. and Thomson, G.J. and Waddell, I.D. and Waszkowycz, B. and Watson, A.J. and Ogilvie, D.J. (2016) . European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 112, pp. 20-32. ISSN 0223-5234.
    • McDonald, Neil Q. (2016) . Developmental Cell 38 (4), pp. 384-398. ISSN 1534-5807.
    • Gabreski, N.A. and Vaghasia, J.K. and Novakova, S.S. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Pierchala, B.A. (2016) . Journal of Biological Chemistry 291 (31), pp. 16249-16262. ISSN 0021-9258.
    • McDonald, Neil Q. (2016) . Cell Reports 17 (12), pp. 3319-3332. ISSN 2211-1247.
    • Plaza-Menacho, I. and Barnouin, K. and Goodman, K. and Mart铆nez-Torres, R.J. and Borg, A. and Murray-Rust, J. and Mouilleron, S. and Knowles, P.P. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2014) . Molecular Cell 53 (5), pp. 738-751. ISSN 1097-2765.
    • Wang, Z. and Lambden, S. and Taylor, V. and Sujkovic, E. and Nandi, M. and Tomlinson, J. and Dyson, A. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Caddick, S. and Singer, M. and Leiper, J. (2014) . Biochemical Journal 460 (2), pp. 309-316. ISSN 0264-6021.
    • Goodman, K.M. and Kj忙r, S. and Beuron, F. and Knowles, P.P. and Nawrotek, A. and Burns, E.M. and Purkiss, A.G. and George, R. and Santoro, M. and Morris, E.P. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2014) . Cell Reports 18 (6), pp. 1894-1904. ISSN 2211-1247.
    • Riou, P. and Kj忙r, S. and Garg, R. and Purkiss, Andrew G. and George, R. and Cain, R.J. and Bineva, G. and Reymond, N. and McColl, B. and Thompson, A.J. and O鈥橰eilly, N. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Parker, P.J. and Ridley, A.J. (2013) . Cell 153 (3), pp. 640-653. ISSN 0092-8674.
    • Coulthard, R. and Deans, A.J. and Swuec, P. and Bowles, M. and Costa, A. and West, S.C. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2013) . Structure 21 (9), pp. 1648-1658. ISSN 0969-2126.
    • Fadden, A.J. and Schalbetter, S. and Bowles, M. and Harris, R. and Lally, J. and Carr, A.M. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2013) . Nucleic Acids Research ISSN 0305-1048.
    • Bowles, M. and Lally, J. and Fadden, A.J. and Mouilleron, S. and Hammonds, T. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2012) . Nucleic Acids Research 40 (13), pp. e101. ISSN 0305-1048.
    • Mouilleron, S. and Wiezlak, M. and O鈥橰eilly, N. and Treisman, R. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2012) . Structure 20 (11), pp. 1960-1970. ISSN 0969-2126.
    • Mouilleron, S. and Langer, C.A. and Guettler, S. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Treisman, R. (2011) . Science Signaling 4 (177), pp. ra40. ISSN 1945-0877.
    • Bo毛da, B. and Knowles, P.P. and Briggs, David C. and Murray-Rust, J. and Soriano, E. and Garvalov, B.K. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Way, M. (2011) . Journal of Biological Chemistry 286 (13), pp. 11543-11554. ISSN 0021-9258.
    • Mologni, L. and Rostagno, R. and Brussolo, S. and Knowles, P.P. and Kjaer, S. and Murray-Rust, J. and Rosso, E. and Zambon, A. and Scapozza, L. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Lucchini, V. and Gambacorti-Passerini, C. (2010) . Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 18 (4), pp. 1482-1496. ISSN 1464-3391.
    • Kjaer, S. and Hanrahan, S. and Totty, N. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2010) . Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 17 (6), pp. 726-731. ISSN 1545-9993.
    • Carlomagno, F. and Guida, T. and Anaganti, S. and Provitera, L. and Kjaer, S. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Ryan, A.J. and Santoro, M. (2009) . Endocrine-Related Cancer 16 (1), pp. 233-241. ISSN 1351-0088.
    • Roffey, J. and Rosse, C. and Linch, M. and Hibbert, A. and McDonald, Neil Q. and Parker, P.J. (2009) . Current Opinion in Cell Biology 21 (2), pp. 268-279. ISSN 1879-0410.
    • Kostelecky, B. and Saurin, A.T. and Purkiss, Andrew G. and Parker, P.J. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2009) . EMBO Reports 10 (9), pp. 983-989. ISSN 1469-3178.
    • Roces, L. and Knowles, P.P. and Fox, G. and Juanhuix, J. and Scaplehorn, N. and Way, M. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2008) . Acta Crystallographica Section F F64 (3), pp. 190-192. ISSN 1744-3091.
    • Mouilleron, S. and Guettler, S. and Langer, C.A. and Treisman, R. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2008) . The EMBO Journal 27 (23), pp. 3198-3208. ISSN 1460-2075.
    • Ciccia, A. and McDonald, Neil Q. and West, S.C. (2008) . Annual Review of Biochemistry 77, pp. 259-287. ISSN 0066-4154.
    • Kirk, R. and Laman, H. and Knowles, P.P. and Murray-Rust, J. and Lomonosov, M. and Meziane, E.K. and McDonald, Neil Q. (2008) . Journal of Biological Chemistry 283 (32), pp. 22325-22335. ISSN 0021-9258.