Dr. Phillips Robbins Named Among Classics

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, and Phillips Robbins? This month, the Journal of Biological Chemistry named a paper by Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Professor Dr. Phillips Robbins one of the Journal’s classics.

To celebrate its 103-year history, the Journal is reprinting more than 300 articles published since 1905 by legendary authors. Dr. Robbins makes the list for his 1982 paper, "Temperature-sensitive Yeast Mutants Deficient in Asparagine-linked Glycosylation," available in pdf here.

"The paper represents the beginning of a new field of biological research – the genetics of N-linked glycosylation," said Dr. Robbins. "This process, the addition of carbohydrate molecules to proteins, affects the structure and function of about half the proteins in the body, including cell signaling molecules, receptors, hormones, and antibodies."

Dr. Robbins adds that he is honored by JBC’s selection, and credits Dr. Tim Huffaker and the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working in his MIT laboratory at that time for their work on the paper.

A biographical article on Dr. Robbins’ work accompanies the reprint.