MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London
Science for Health
Bob Cox - fifty years at NIMR
25 November 2010
Dr Robert Cox has celebrated 50 years of research at NIMR. He joined the staff of NIMR on 1st November 1960.
Bob Cox came to NIMR from Harvard University, where he had been a Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry. Before that he spent three years at Tube Investments Research Laboratories at Hinxton, where he worked with Arthur Charlesby on the commercial uses of ionizing radiation.
Bob joined the Biochemistry Division at NIMR, then headed by Tommy Work. He worked in Henry Arnstein’s group, looking at protein biosynthesis in immature red blood cells in rabbits. Together with Arnstein he wrote a classic book on protein biosynthesis plus several book chapters and reviews on the subject.
When Arnstein left NIMR in 1965 Bob stayed in the Division and became a programme leader in his own right, taking over Arnstein’s lab. He changed tack slightly and started working on ribosome structure and function, particularly the RNA component of ribosomes and the physical properties of RNA.
Bob Cox
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In 1976 he spent a sabbatical year in Edinburgh, working with Ken Murray to learn the secrets of recombinant DNA technology. On his return to NIMR he started working on ribosomal RNA gene sequences.
The Division of Biochemistry was disbanded in 1984 and Bob moved to the Division of Developmental Biochemistry. He focused on synchronous cell division in Physarum polycephalum, especially the structure and properties of DNA polymerase.
In 1986 Bob was asked to host a short-term visitor from India who worked on Mycobacteria but wanted to learn about nucleic acid hybridization. Bob agreed to the arrangement but taught him the rudiments of recombinant DNA technology instead. The visitor was a quick learner and after just two months of lab work they generated enough data for two research papers. This success was noted by Jo Colston, Head of the Division of Mycobacterial Research, who encouraged Bob to take on a steady stream of PhD students, working on the rRNA genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Bob officially retired at the end of 1993, but he continued to run a small group in the Division of Mycobacterial Research for another ten years and he remains at the Institute as a visiting worker. More recently Bob has successfully developed a mathematical approach to estimate mycobacterial growth rates, work carried out in collaboration with a number of his past PhD students.
Over the past 50 years Bob has produced more than 140 research papers, reviews and book chapters and continues to maintain a steady output of publications.
Electron micrograph of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, a relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Image taken from:
GM Cook, M Berney, S Gebhard, M Heinemann, RA Cox, O Danilchanka and M Niederweis (2009)
Physiology of Mycobacteria
Advances in Microbial Physiology
55:81-182.
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