Professor David Fell

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Professor in Biochemistry

Department of Biological and Medical Sciences - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Contact details

Phone number: +44 (0)1865 483247
Email: dfell@brookes.ac.uk

Research activities

My Research groups

Cell systems modelling

Details of my research

The unifying theme in my research is the attempt to understand the general principles governing the organization, regulation and control of metabolism. This involves the development and application of suitable theoretical tools: metabolic control analysis, computer simulation and other forms of algebraic and numerical analysis.

Potential applications are the rational design of changes in metabolism (metabolic engineering) and improved understanding of how hormonal and environmental signals can cause large changes in specific metabolic processes with minimal other disruption to the cell.

Find out more

Recent publications

  • Fell, D , Poolman, M and Gevorgyan, A . ( 2010 ). Building and analysing genome-scale metabolic models. Biochem Soc Trans. (Part 5) View more details »
  • Williams, T , Poolman, M , Howden, A , Schwarzlander, M , Fell, D , Ratcliffe, R and Sweetlove, L . ( 2010 ). A genome-scale metabolic model accurately predicts fluxes in central carbon metabolism under stress conditions. Plant Physiology. (1) View more details »
  • Poolman, M , Miguet, L , Sweetlove, L and Fell, D . ( 2009 ). A genome-scale metabolic model of Arabidopsis and some of its properties.. Plant Physiology. (3) View more details »
  • Fell, D , Poolman, M , Sebu, C and Pidcock, M . ( 2007 ). Modular decomposition of metabolic systems via null space analysis. Journal of Theoretical Biology. (4) View more details »

Papers

  • Fell, D. A. 2010. Evolution of Central Carbon Metabolism. Molecular Cell, 39, 663-664.
  • Fell, D. A., Poolman, M. G. & Gevorgyan, A. 2010. Building and analysing genome-scale metabolic models. Biochemical Society Transactions, 38, 1197-1201.
  • Poolman, M. G., Miguet, L., Sweetlove, L. J. & Fell, D. A. 2009. A Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Arabidopsis and Some of Its Properties. Plant Physiology, 151, 1570-1581.
  • Williams, T. C. R., Poolman, M. G., Howden, A. J. M., Schwarzlander, M., Fell, D. A., Ratcliffe, R. G. & Sweetlove, L. J. 2010. A Genome-Scale Metabolic Model Accurately Predicts Fluxes in Central Carbon Metabolism under Stress Conditions. Plant Physiology, 154, 311-323.
  • Wolkenhauer, O., Fell, D., De Meyts, P., Bluthgen, N., Herzel, H., Le Novere, N., Hofer, T., Schurrle, K. & van Leeuwen, I. 2009. SysBioMed report: Advancing systems biology for medical applications. Iet Systems Biology, 3, 131-136.
  • Chase, J. R, Poolman, M. G. and Fell, D. A. 2009. Contribution of NADH Increases to Ethanol's Inhibition of Retinol Oxidation by Human ADH Isoforms. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33, 571-580. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00871.x
  • de Figueiredo, L.F., Schuster, S., Kaleta, C. and Fell, D. A. 2009. Can sugars be produced from fatty acids? A test case for pathway analysis tools. Bioinformatics, 25, 152-158. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btn621
  • Gevorgyan, A., Poolman, M. G. & Fell, D. A. 2008. Detection of stoichiometric inconsistencies in biomolecular models. Bioinformatics, 24, 2245-2251.
  • Schuster, S., Pfeiffer, T. & Fell, D. A. 2008. Is maximization of molar yield in metabolic networks favoured by evolution? Journal of Theoretical Biology, 252, 497-504.
  • Sweetlove, L. J., Fell, D. & Fernie, A. R. 2008. Getting to grips with the plant metabolic network. Biochemical Journal, 409, 27-41.
  • Visser, A. E. & Fell, D. A. 2007. Systems biology meets chromatin function - Workshop on nuclear organization. Embo Reports, 8, 446-450.
  • Poolman, M. G., Sebu, C., Pidcock, M. K. and Fell, D. A. (2007). Modular decomposition of metabolic systems via null space analysis. J. Theoret. Biol. 249, 691–705.
  • Poolman, M. G., Bonde, B. K., Gevorgyan, A., Patel, H. H. and Fell, D. A. (2006). Challenges to Be Faced in the Reconstruction of Metabolic Networks from Public Databases, IEE Proc. Syst. Biol. 153, 379-384.
  • Poolman, M. G. (2006). ScrumPy: Metabolic Modelling with Python IEE Proc. Syst. Biol. 153, 375-378.
  • Chassagnole, C., Jackson, R. C., Hussain, N., Bashir, L., Derow, C., Savin, J. and Fell, D. A. (2006). Using a Mammalian Cell Cycle Simulation to Interpret Differential Kinase Inhibition in Anti–Tumour Pharmaceutical Development, Biosystems 83, 91-97.
  • Vogt, A. M., Elsasser, A., Pott-Beckert, A., Ackermann, C., Vetter, S., Yildiz, M., Schoels, W., Fell, D. A., Katus, H. A. and Kubler, W. (2005). Myocardial Energy Metabolism in Ischemic Preconditioning and Cardioplegia: A Metabolic Control Analysis, Mol. Cell. Biochem. 278, 223-232.
  • Fell, D. A. (2005). Enzymes, Metabolites and Fluxes, J. Exp. Bot. 56, 267-272.
  • Poolman, M. G., Assmus, H. E. and Fell, D. A. (2004) Applications of metabolic modelling to plant metabolism, J. Exp. Bot. 55 (400), 1177-1186.
  • Poolman, M. G., Venkatesh, K. V., Pidcock, M. K. and Fell, D. A. (2004). A Method for the Determination of Flux in Elementary Modes, and its Application to Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 88, 601-612.
  • Schafer, J. R. A., Fell, D. A., Rothman, D. and Shulman, R. G. (2004). Protein Phosphorylation Can Regulate Metabolite Concentrations Rather Than Control Flux: The Example of Glycogen Synthase, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101, 1485-1490.
  • Chassagnole, C., Quentin, E., Fell, D. A., de Atauri, P. and Mazat, J. P. (2003). Dynamic Simulation of Pollutant Effects on the Threonine Pathway in Escherichia coli, C. R. Biol. 326, 501-508.
  • Poolman, M. G., Fell, D. A. and Raines, C. A. (2003). Elementary modes analysis of photosynthate metabolism in the chloroplast stroma, Eur. J. Biochem. 270, 430-439.
  • de Atauri, P., Fell, D. A., Chassagnole, C., Magret, D., Mazat, J. P. and Cascante, M. (2002). Dependence of control coefficient distribution on the boundaries of a metabolic system: A generalized analysis of the effects of additional input and output reactions to a linear pathway, J. Theor. Biol. 215, 239-251.
  • Carlson, R., Fell, D. A. and Srienc, F. (2002). Metabolic Pathway Analysis of a Recombinant Yeast for Rational Strain Development, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 79, 121-134.
  • Schuster, S., Hilgetag, C., Woods, J. H. and Fell, D. A. (2002). Reaction routes in biochemical reaction systems: Algebraic properties, validated calculation procedure and example from nucleotide metabolism, J. Math. Biol. 45, 153-181.
  • Vogt, A. M., Nef, H., Schaper, J., Poolman, M., Fell, D. A., Kubler, W. and Elsasser, A. (2002) Metabolic control analysis of anaerobic glycolysis in human hibernating myocardium replaces traditional concepts of flux control, FEBS Lett. 517, 245-250.
  • Vogt, A. M., Poolman, M., Ackermann, C., Yildiz, M., Schoels, W., Fell, D. A. and Kubler, W. (2002). Regulation of glycolytic flux in ischemic preconditioning - A Study employing metabolic control analysis, J. Biol. Chem. 277, 24411-24419.
  • Vauclare, P., Kopriva, S., Fell, D. A., Suter, M., Sticher, L., Ballmoos, P. V., Krähenbühl, U., Camp, R. O. D. and Brunold, C. (2002). Flux Control of Sulphate Assimilation in Arabidopsis thaliana: Adenosine 5-Phosphosulphate Reductase is More Susceptible Than ATP Sulphurylase to Negative Control by Thiols, Plant J. 31, 729-740.
  • Wagner, A. and Fell, D. A. (2001). The Small World Inside Large Metabolic Networks, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) Series B. 268, 1803-1810.
  • Chassagnole, C., Rais, B., Quentin, E., Fell, D. A. and Mazat, J. P. (2001). An Integrated Study of Threonine-Pathway Enzyme Kinetics in Escherichia coli, Biochem. J. 356, 415-423.
  • Rais, B., Chassagnole, C., Letellier, T., Fell, D. A. and Mazat, J. P. (2001). Threonine Synthesis from Aspartate in Escherichia coli Cell--Free Extracts: Pathway Dynamics, Biochem. J. 356, 425-432.
  • Chassagnole, C., Fell, D. A., Rais, B., Kudla, B. and Mazat, J. P. (2001). Control of the Threonine-Synthesis Pathway in Escherichia coli: A Theoretical and Experimental Approach, Biochem. J. 356, 433-444.
  • Poolman, M. G., Olcer, H., Lloyd, J. C., Raines, C. A. and Fell, D. A. (2001). Computer modelling and experimental evidence for two steady states in the photosynthetic Calvin cycle, Eur. J. Biochem. 268, 2810-2816.
  • Gleiss, P. M., Stadler, P. F., Wagner, A. and Fell, D. A. (2001). Relevant cycles in chemical reaction networks, Advances in Complex Systems 4 (5), 207-226.

Review article

  • Papin, J. A., Price, N. D., Wiback, S. J., Fell, D. A. and Palsson, B. O. (2003). Metabolic pathways in the post-genome era, Trends Biochem.Sci. 28, 250-258.

Book chapters

  • Fell, D. A. (2007). How Can We Understand Metabolism?, in Systems Biology: Philosophical Foundations (Boogerd, F., Bruggeman, F., Hofmeyr, J.-H. S. and Westerhoff, H. V., eds.), chap. 4, Elsevier, Amsterdam, ISBN: 978-0-444-52085-2.
  • Schuster, S. and Fell, D. A. (2007). Modelling and Simulating Metabolic Networks, in Bioinformatics: From Genomes to Therapies (Lengauer, T., ed.), vol. 2, chap. 20, pp. 755-806, Wiley. VCH, Weinheim.
  • Fell, D. A. (2005). Metabolic Control Analysis, in Systems Biology: Definitions and Perspectives (Alberghina, L. & Westerhoff, H. V., eds.), vol. 13 of Topics in Current Genetics, pp. 69-80, Springer. Verlag, Berlin.
  • Fell, D. A. (2004). Metabolic Control Analysis for the NMR Spectroscopist, in Metabolomics by in vivo NMR (Shulman, R. G. & Rothman, D. L., eds.), chap. 3, Wiley, Chichester.
  • Fell, D. A. (2000). Signal Transduction and the Control of Expression of Enzyme Activity, Advan Enzym Regul 40, 35-46. 

Media enquiries

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