Biological Sciences

Profile

Tim studied Biomolecular Science here at Portsmouth and graduated 1985. He then continued his PhD studies in Professor Cane-Robinsons laboratory where he developed the Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, which enabled him to establish a direct link between of histone acetylation and gene regulation. After completing two postdoctoral positions he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship held at the University of Warwick. In 2001 Tim returned to Portsmouth as a Research Fellow and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2002.

Research Interests

During his research career Tim has focused on the role of histone acetylation in gene regulation. His early studies which established a key role for acetylation in he formation of transcriptionally competent chromatin lead him to investigate the enzyme systems (HATs) that regulate the modification. Currently he is working on a number of novel histone acetyltransferases and and how they influence gene expression to direct when and where genes are activated. Tim's work has been supported by the Wellcome Trust and BBSRC.

Selected publications

Thorne, A. W., Myers, F. A., and Hebbes, T. R. (2004). Native chromatin immunoprecipitation. Methods Mol Biol 287, 21-44.

Allen, S. C., and Hebbes, T. R. (2003). Myb induced myeloid protein 1 (Mim-1) is an acetyltransferase. FEBS Lett 534, 119-124

Hebbes, T. R., and Allen, S. C. (2000). Multiple histone acetyltransferases areassociated with a chicken erythrocyte chromatin fraction enriched in active genes, J Biol Chem 275, 31347-52.

Madisen, L., Krumm, A., Hebbes, T. R., and Groudine, M. (1998). The immunoglobulin heavy chain locus control region increases histone acetylation along linked c-myc genes, Mol Cell Biol 18, 6281-92.

Hebbes, T. R., Clayton, A. L., Thorne, A. W., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1994). Core histone hyperacetylation co-maps with generalized DNase I sensitivity in the chicken beta-globin chromosomal domain, EMBO J 13, 1823-30.

Clayton, A. L., Hebbes, T. R., Thorne, A. W., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1993). Histone acetylation and gene induction in human cells, FEBS Lett 336, 23-6.

Ebralidse, K. K., Hebbes, T. R., Clayton, A. L., Thorne, A. W., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1993). Nucleosomal structure at hyperacetylated loci probed in nuclei by DNA-histone crosslinking, Nucleic Acids Res 21, 4734-8.

Hebbes, T. R., Thorne, A. W., Clayton, A. L., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1992). Histone acetylation and globin gene switching, Nucleic Acids Res 20, 1017-22.

Hebbes, T. R., Turner, C. H., Thorne, A. W., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1989). A 'minimal epitope' anti-protein antibody that recognises a single modified amino acid, Mol Immunol 26, 865-73.

Hebbes, T. R., Thorne, A. W., and Crane-Robinson, C. (1988). A direct link between core histone acetylation and transcriptionally active chromatin, EMBO J 7, 1395-402.

Teaching interests

Tim is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches in the following areas:

• Biological Chemistry
• Gene regulation
• Proteomics

Outside Activities

Away from the university Tim can often be found coaching badminton to junior players.