Rate My Professor Stefan Roberts

Stefan Roberts serves as the Department Head and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech, a position he assumed in September 2023. He received his BSc in Biochemistry and Physiology in 1988 and PhD in Biochemistry in 1992 from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. His distinguished career spans several leading institutions. From 1991 to 1996, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He then held Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship at the University of Dundee (1996-2001) and Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship at the University of Manchester (2001-2009). Roberts served as Assistant Professor (2009-2012) and Research Faculty (2012-2023) in the Department of Biology at the University at Buffalo. Concurrently, from 2013 to 2023, he was Professor of Cancer Biology and Interim Department Head (2017-2018) in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol, UK.

Roberts' research program centers on elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which transcriptional regulators govern gene expression in normal cells and cancer. Central themes include the Wilms’ tumor 1 protein (WT1) as a paradigm for activator-repressor switching, the essential role of nuclear lipids in transcription control, and BASP1 as a transcriptional corepressor and driver of cellular differentiation acting as a tumor suppressor. His laboratory has identified a novel core promoter element regulating approximately 30 percent of human genes and advanced knowledge on lipid-mediated transcription regulation. Roberts has authored 79 peer-reviewed publications, secured $9 million in research grants, and mentored 12 PhD students to completion. Notable publications include "Cholesterol is required for transcriptional repression by BASP1" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2021), "The BASP1 transcriptional corepressor modifies chromatin through lipid-dependent and lipid-independent mechanisms" (iScience, 2022), and "Crosstalk between β-catenin and WT1 signalling in acute myeloid leukemia" (Haematologica, 2023). He has received prestigious awards such as the Tenovus Medal for Cancer Research, along with Wellcome Trust fellowships.