Sam Chamberlain

sam chamberlain

Sam joined the lab in April 2021 as a postdoctoral research associate and will be investigating the structure-function relationship between RIFINs and host immune receptors. Before joining the lab, Sam completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr Helen Mott, funded by a BBSRC, AstraZeneca I-CASE award. There, he used NMR to investigate the membrane dynamics of the small GTPase RalA, and its interaction with Calmodulin.

Sam's first paper from the lab, published in Nature, presented his structural studies of how RIFINs bind to KIR immune receptors. This shows how these receptors, found on the surfaces of malaria-infected erythrocytes, can modulate KIR receptor function. 

Cornish, J., Chamberlain, S.G., Owen, D., Mott, H.R. (2020) Intrinsically disordered proteins and membranes: a marriage of convenience for cell signalling? Biochem Soc Trans. 48 2669-2689.

Chamberlain, S.G., Gohlke, A., Shafiq, A., Squires, I.J., Owen, D., Mott, H.R. (2021) Calmodulin extracts the Ras family protein RalA from lipid bilayers by engagement with two membrane-targeting motifs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 118 e2104219118

Sakoguchi, A.†, Chamberlain, S.G.†, Mørch, A.M., Widdess, M., Harrison, T.E., Dustin, M.L., Arase, H.*, Higgins, M.K.*, Iwanaga S.* (2025) RIFINs displayed on malaria-infected erythrocytes bind both KIR2DL1 and KIR2DS1. Nature 643 1363-71 († equal contribution)