![Dr Sam Robinson](/sites/default/files/profiles/17592.jpeg)
Overview
Availability
- Dr Sam Robinson is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Monash University
Research interests
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Biopharmacology
My research expertise is in the discovery of new plant and animal toxins and investigation of their structure, function and potential for biomedical applications. I am an expert on plants and animals that sting, and the biology, chemistry, pharmacology and pathophysiology underlying those stings. My research is providing new understanding on the mechanisms of chemical defence and predation used by animals and plants, and the new toxins I have discovered are being used as tools for improving our understanding of the human body and designing new and better treatments for certain diseases e.g. diabetes and chronic pain. My research is multidisciplinary, covering a range of scientific fields including pharmacology, neuroscience, physiology, organismal biology, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, proteomics and structural biology. Several exciting research projects are available for outstanding prospective RHD students.
Works
Search Professor Sam Robinson’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2023
Journal Article
Ant venoms contain vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins
Robinson, Samuel D., Deuis, Jennifer R., Touchard, Axel, Keramidas, Angelo, Mueller, Alexander, Schroeder, Christina I., Barassé, Valentine, Walker, Andrew A., Brinkwirth, Nina, Jami, Sina, Bonnafé, Elsa, Treilhou, Michel, Undheim, Eivind A. B., Schmidt, Justin O., King, Glenn F. and Vetter, Irina (2023). Ant venoms contain vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 2977, 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38839-1
2023
Journal Article
Pain-causing stinging nettle toxins target TMEM233 to modulate NaV1.7 function
Jami, Sina, Deuis, Jennifer R., Klasfauseweh, Tabea, Cheng, Xiaoyang, Kurdyukov, Sergey, Chung, Felicity, Okorokov, Andrei L., Li, Shengnan, Zhang, Jiangtao, Cristofori-Armstrong, Ben, Israel, Mathilde R., Ju, Robert J., Robinson, Samuel D., Zhao, Peng, Ragnarsson, Lotten, Andersson, Åsa, Tran, Poanna, Schendel, Vanessa, McMahon, Kirsten L., Tran, Hue N. T., Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Zhu, Yifei, Liu, Junyu, Crawford, Theo, Purushothamvasan, Saipriyaa, Habib, Abdella M., Andersson, David A., Rash, Lachlan D., Wood, John N. ... Vetter, Irina (2023). Pain-causing stinging nettle toxins target TMEM233 to modulate NaV1.7 function. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 2442. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37963-2
Featured
2022
Journal Article
Venom-derived pain-causing toxins: insights into sensory neuron function and pain mechanisms
Robinson, Samuel D., Deuis, Jennifer R., Klasfauseweh, Tabea, Schendel, Vanessa and Vetter, Irina (2022). Venom-derived pain-causing toxins: insights into sensory neuron function and pain mechanisms. Pain, 163 (S1), S46-S56. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002701
2022
Journal Article
Neurotoxic and cytotoxic peptides underlie the painful stings of the tree nettle Urtica ferox
Xie, Jing, Robinson, Samuel D., Gilding, Edward K., Jami, Sina, Deuis, Jennifer R., Rehm, Fabian B.H., Yap, Kuok, Ragnarsson, Lotten, Chan, Lai Yue, Hamilton, Brett R., Harvey, Peta J., Craik, David J., Vetter, Irina and Durek, Thomas (2022). Neurotoxic and cytotoxic peptides underlie the painful stings of the tree nettle Urtica ferox. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298 (8) 102218, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102218
2022
Journal Article
A peptide toxin in ant venom mimics vertebrate EGF-like hormones to cause long-lasting hypersensitivity in mammals
Eagles, David A., Saez, Natalie J., Krishnarjuna, Bankala, Bradford, Julia J., Chin, Yanni K.-Y., Starobova, Hana, Mueller, Alexander, Reichelt, Melissa E., Undheim, Eivind A. B., Norton, Raymond S., Thomas, Walter G., Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Robinson, Samuel D. (2022). A peptide toxin in ant venom mimics vertebrate EGF-like hormones to cause long-lasting hypersensitivity in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (7) e2112630119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2112630119
Featured
2021
Journal Article
Production, composition, and mode of action of the painful defensive venom produced by a limacodid caterpillar, Doratifera vulnerans
Walker, Andrew A., Robinson, Samuel D., Paluzzi, Jean-Paul V., Merritt, David J., Nixon, Samantha A., Schroeder, Christina I., Jin, Jiayi, Goudarzi, Mohaddeseh Hedayati, Kotze, Andrew C., Dekan, Zoltan, Sombke, Andy, Alewood, Paul F., Fry, Bryan G., Epstein, Marc E., Vetter, Irina and King, Glenn F. (2021). Production, composition, and mode of action of the painful defensive venom produced by a limacodid caterpillar, Doratifera vulnerans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (18) 2023815118, e2023815118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2023815118
Featured
2021
Journal Article
Convergent evolution of pain-inducing defensive venom components in spitting cobras
Kazandjian, T. D., Petras, D., Robinson, S. D., van Thiel, J., Greene, H. W., Arbuckle, K., Barlow, A., Carter, D. A., Wouters, R. M., Whiteley, G., Wagstaff, S. C., Arias, A. S., Albulescu, L.-O., Plettenberg Laing, A., Hall, C., Heap, A., Penrhyn-Lowe, S., McCabe, C. V., Ainsworth, S., da Silva, R. R., Dorrestein, P. C., Richardson, M. K., Gutiérrez, J. M., Calvete, J. J., Harrison, R. A., Vetter, I., Undheim, E. A. B., Wüster, W. and Casewell, N. R. (2021). Convergent evolution of pain-inducing defensive venom components in spitting cobras. Science, 371 (6527), 386-390. doi: 10.1126/science.abb9303
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Neurotoxic peptides from the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree
Gilding, Edward K., Jami, Sina, Deuis, Jennifer R., Israel, Mathilde R., Harvey, Peta J., Poth, Aaron G., Rehm, Fabian B. H., Stow, Jennifer L., Robinson, Samuel D., Yap, Kuok, Brown, Darren L., Hamilton, Brett R., Andersson, David, Craik, David J., Vetter, Irina and Durek, Thomas (2020). Neurotoxic peptides from the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree. Science Advances, 6 (38) eabb8828, 1-10. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb8828
Featured
2018
Journal Article
A comprehensive portrait of the venom of the giant red bull ant, Myrmecia gulosa, reveals a hyperdiverse hymenopteran toxin gene family
Robinson, Samuel D., Mueller, Alexander, Clayton, Daniel, Starobova, Hana, Hamilton, Brett R., Payne, Richard J., Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Undheim, Eivind A. B. (2018). A comprehensive portrait of the venom of the giant red bull ant, Myrmecia gulosa, reveals a hyperdiverse hymenopteran toxin gene family. Science Advances, 4 (9) eaau4640, eaau4640. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau4640
Featured
2015
Journal Article
Specialized insulin is used for chemical warfare by fish-hunting cone snails
Safavi-Hemami, Helena, Gajewiak, Joanna, Karanth, Santhosh, Robinson, Samuel D., Ueberheide, Beatrix, Douglass, Adam D., Schlegel, Amnon, Imperial, Julita S., Watkins, Maren, Bandyopadhyay, Pradip K., Yandell, Mark, Li, Qing, Purcell, Anthony W., Norton, Raymond S., Ellgaard, Lars and Olivera, Baldomero M. (2015). Specialized insulin is used for chemical warfare by fish-hunting cone snails. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112 (6), 1743-1748. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1423857112
2024
Journal Article
Prey Shifts Drive Venom Evolution in Cone Snails
Koch, Thomas Lund, Robinson, Samuel D, Salcedo, Paula Flórez, Chase, Kevin, Biggs, Jason, Fedosov, Alexander E, Yandell, Mark, Olivera, Baldomero M and Safavi-Hemami, Helena (2024). Prey Shifts Drive Venom Evolution in Cone Snails. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 41 (8) msae120. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msae120
2024
Journal Article
Phylogeny, envenomation syndrome, and membrane permeabilising venom produced by Australia’s electric caterpillar Comana monomorpha
Goudarzi, Mohaddeseh H., Robinson, Samuel D., Cardoso, Fernanda C., Mitchell, Michela L., Cook, Lyn G., King, Glenn F. and Walker, Andrew A. (2024). Phylogeny, envenomation syndrome, and membrane permeabilising venom produced by Australia’s electric caterpillar Comana monomorpha. Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 14172, 14172. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65078-1
2024
Journal Article
Structural analysis of a U-superfamily conotoxin containing a mini-granulin fold: Insights into key features that distinguish between the ICK and granulin folds
Raffaelli, Tiziano, Wilson, David T., Dutertre, Sebastien, Giribaldi, Julien, Vetter, Irina, Robinson, Samuel D., Thapa, Ashvriya, Widi, Antin, Loukas, Alex and Daly, Norelle L. (2024). Structural analysis of a U-superfamily conotoxin containing a mini-granulin fold: Insights into key features that distinguish between the ICK and granulin folds. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 300 (4) 107203, 107203. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107203
2024
Journal Article
Peptide toxins that target vertebrate voltage-gated sodium channels underly the painful stings of harvester ants
Robinson, Samuel D., Deuis, Jennifer R., Niu, Pancong, Touchard, Axel, Mueller, Alexander, Schendel, Vanessa, Brinkwirth, Nina, King, Glenn F., Vetter, Irina and Schmidt, Justin O. (2024). Peptide toxins that target vertebrate voltage-gated sodium channels underly the painful stings of harvester ants. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 300 (1) 105577, 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105577
2023
Journal Article
Justin O Schmidt - His extraordinary impact on toxinology and arthropod biodiversity science
Binford, Greta J., Robinson, Samuel D. and Klotz, Stephen A. (2023). Justin O Schmidt - His extraordinary impact on toxinology and arthropod biodiversity science. Toxicon, 234 ARTN 107287, 107287. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107287
2023
Journal Article
Identification of sodium channel toxins from marine cone snails of the subgenera Textilia and Afonsoconus
McMahon, Kirsten L., O’Brien, Henrik, Schroeder, Christina I., Deuis, Jennifer R., Venkatachalam, Dhananjeyan, Huang, Di, Green, Brad R., Bandyopadhyay, Pradip K., Li, Qing, Yandell, Mark, Safavi-Hemami, Helena, Olivera, Baldomero M., Vetter, Irina and Robinson, Samuel D. (2023). Identification of sodium channel toxins from marine cone snails of the subgenera Textilia and Afonsoconus. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 80 (10) 287, 287. doi: 10.1007/s00018-023-04935-0
2023
Journal Article
Horizontal gene transfer underlies the painful stings of asp caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Megalopygidae)
Walker, Andrew A., Robinson, Samuel D., Merritt, David J., Cardoso, Fernanda C., Goudarzi, Mohaddeseh Hedayati, Mercedes, Raine S., Eagles, David A., Cooper, Paul, Zdenek, Christina N., Fry, Bryan G., Hall, Donald W., Vetter, Irina and King, Glenn F. (2023). Horizontal gene transfer underlies the painful stings of asp caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Megalopygidae). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120 (29) e2305871120, e2305871120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2305871120
2023
Journal Article
Characterisation of elevenin-Vc1 from the venom of Conus victoriae: a structural analogue of α-conotoxins
Krishnarjuna, Bankala, Sunanda, Punnepalli, Seow, Jeffrey, Tae, Han-Shen, Robinson, Samuel D., Belgi, Alessia, Robinson, Andrea J., Safavi-Hemami, Helena, Adams, David J. and Norton, Raymond S. (2023). Characterisation of elevenin-Vc1 from the venom of Conus victoriae: a structural analogue of α-conotoxins. Marine Drugs, 21 (2) 81. doi: 10.3390/md21020081
2023
Journal Article
Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant
Robinson, Samuel D., Schendel, Vanessa, Schroeder, Christina I., Moen, Sarah, Mueller, Alexander, Walker, Andrew A., McKinnon, Naomi, Neely, G. Gregory, Vetter, Irina, King, Glenn F. and Undheim, Eivind A. B. (2023). Intra-colony venom diversity contributes to maintaining eusociality in a cooperatively breeding ant. BMC Biology, 21 (1) 5, 5. doi: 10.1186/s12915-022-01507-9
2022
Journal Article
Venom composition and pain-causing toxins of the Australian great carpenter bee Xylocopa aruana
Shi, Naiqi, Szanto, Tibor G., He, Jia, Schroeder, Christina I., Walker, Andrew A., Deuis, Jennifer R., Vetter, Irina, Panyi, György, King, Glenn F. and Robinson, Samuel D. (2022). Venom composition and pain-causing toxins of the Australian great carpenter bee Xylocopa aruana. Scientific Reports, 12 (1) 22168, 1-13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26867-8
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Sam Robinson is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Identification and characterisation of new pain-causing toxins from animal venoms
Almost all venomous animals use their venoms for defensive purposes—many solely. Defensive stings or bites, such as those of ants, wasps, scorpions and spiders, are often associated with intense pain caused by toxins that directly target sensory neurons, hijacking or overstimulating neuronal transmission. These pain-causing toxins have the potential to be used as tools to study the nervous system and uncover new pain signalling components (i.e. ion channels and/or receptors). The focus of this project will be the discovery and characterisation of pain-causing toxins from ant venoms.
The aims of this project will be:
- Discovery of novel pain-causing toxins
- Determine the mode of action of pain-causing toxins
- Use newly identified pain-causing toxins to investigate mammalian pain pathways
Techniques learned/applied may include (but are not limited to) venom collection, fractionation and purification; transcriptomics, proteomics and mass spectrometry; peptide synthesis; ion channel electrophysiology, microscopy, and in vivo pain models.
The identification and characterisation of new pain-causing toxins from venoms will provide new knowledge about methods of chemical defence used by venomous animals and has the potential to elucidate new components of human pain signalling. A better understanding of our pain physiology may ultimately lead to the development of new or improved pain treatments.
The project will be completed at the UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) under the supervision of Dr. Sam Robinson, Dr. Jennifer Deuis, and Prof. Irina Vetter. UQ has a strong, internationally-focused research culture, and it is consistently ranked in the top 1% of world universities. The IMB is a leading research institute in the Asia-Pacific region and is internationally renowned for excellence in venom research (with experts in all aspects of venom biology including venom-peptide pharmacology, chemistry, structural biology, and venoms-based drug discovery) and pain research (it is home to the IMB Centre for Pain Research).
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Evolutionary shifts in venom function and chemistry within Bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter, Dr Andrew Walker
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Doctor Philosophy
New Toxin Tools for Dissecting Pain
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter, Dr Thomas Durek
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Doctor Philosophy
Identification and characterisation of new pain-causing toxins from animal venoms
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Irina Vetter, Dr Jennifer Deuis
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Doctor Philosophy
Evaluation of Phylogenetic Patterns of Scorpion Pathophysiological Effects and Effectiveness of Next-Generation Antivenoms
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Glenn King, Professor Bryan Fry
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Sam Robinson directly for media enquiries about:
- ants
- bees
- cone snails
- stings
- toxins
- venom
- wasps
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