Gregory Moorhead

Dr. Gregory Moorhead

PhD

Positions

Professor

Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences

Member

Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute

Contact information

Email

moorhead@ucalgary.ca

Phone number

Office: 403.220.6238

Background

Educational Background

B.S. Biological Sciences, Queen's University, 1988

Doctor of Philosophy Biological Sciences, Queen's University, 1992

Biography

Dr. Moorhead completed his PhD at Queeen’s University followed by postdoctoral research in Dundee with Sir Philip Cohen and Carol MacKintosh where he developed his interest in protein phosphatases. He joined the University of Calgary in 1998 and continues to work on protein phosphatases and their role in cell signaling.

Research

Areas of Research

Protein Phosphatases in Cell Signaling
  • Protein Phosphatase in Cell Signaling
Summary of Research

Our primary goal is to define the role of protein phosphatases in cellular events in response to both intra- and extra-cellularly derived signals. Protein phosphorylation is a common means to control protein function and regulates essentially every aspect of cell biology. We use a combination of biochemistry, molecular cell biology, bioinformatics, metabalomics and proteomics to investigate plant phosphatase function. Current projects include cell cycle control by type one protein phosphatases, novel plant PPP-type phosphatases, protein phosphatase evolution, plant starch phosphatases and proteomics of PP1-complexes.

 

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
BCEM 411 Laboratory Techniques I Fall
BCEM 530A Honours Research Project in Biochemistry
BCEM 561 Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology Fall
BCEM 530B Honours Research Project in Biochemistry
BCEM 547 Signal Transduction and Regulation of Metabolism Winter

Awards

  • CD Nelson prize, 2006
  • University of Calgary International Fellowship, 2006
  • Killam Resident Fellowship, 2005

Publications

  • Lipidomic profiling of Arabidopsis chloroplast protein phosphatase SLP1 mutants reveals altered diurnal lipid remodeling. . Chris White-Gloria, Greg B. Moorhead and Adriana Zardini Buzatto . BBA Advances 9 100180.. (2026)
  • Phospho-proteomics identifies D-group MAP kinases as substrates of the Arabidopsis tyrosine phosphatase RLPH2. 2. Anne-Marie Labandera, Ryan Toth, Sierra Mitchell, Jayde J Johnson, Brooklyn Kurucz, Juliette Puyaubert, Emmanuel Baudouin, R. Glen Uhrig and Greg B Moorhead. . Plant Direct. 10:e70137.. (2026)
  • Plant Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase: The Eukaryotic Form and the Prokaryotic Form.. Dilawar Niazi and Greg BG Moorhead . BBA Advances . 100148. (2025)
  • Eukaryotic-like Phosphoprotein Phosphatase (PPP) enzyme evolution: interactions with environmental toxins and regulatory proteins. David Kerk, Chris White-Gloria, Jayde J. Johnson, and Greg B.G. Moorhead . Bioscience Reports . 43 BSR20230378 . (2023)
  • Activity-based profiling of endogenous Phosphoprotein Phosphatases by mass spectrometry. 7. Brooke L. Brauer, Kwame Wiredu, Scott A. Gerber, Sierra Mitchell, Greg B Moorhead and Arminja N. Kettenbach . Nature Protocols. 16: 4919–4943. . (2021)
  • The origin and radiation of the phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPP) sequences of Eukaryotes.. 8. David Kerk, Jordan F. Mattice, Mario Valdez Trescano, Sergei Noskov, Kenneth K.-S. Ng, and Greg B.G. Moorhead . Scientific Reports. 11:13681. (2021)
  • Origin of the Phosphoprotein Phosphatase (PPP) sequence family in Bacteria: critical ancestral sequence changes, radiation patterns and substrate binding features.. 9. David Kerk, Mario E. Valdés-Tresanco, Ryan Toth, Sergei Y. Noskov, Kenneth K.S. Ng, and Greg Moorhead . Biochem Biophys Acta. 1 100005. (2021)

More Information

Publications

2019

  • Amr R.A. Kataya, Douglas G. Muench and Greg B. Moorhead (2019) A Framework to Investigate Peroxisomal Protein Phosphorylation in Arabidopsis. Trends in Plant Sci, 24: 366-81.

2018

This paper is recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field by F1000 Faculty Member Mark Dell’Acqua https://f1000.com/prime/733248607?subscriptioncode=2f84aaf6-18ea-4fa4-98...

This also got a second recommendation by  F1000 Faculty Member Dr. Hiro Yamano:  https://f1000.com/prime/733248607?ref=ypp&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pr...

  • Chris White-Gloria, Jayde J Johnson, Kayla Marritt, Amr Kataya, Ahmad Vahab and Greg B Moorhead (2018) Protein kinases and phosphatases of the plastid and their potential role in starch metabolism. Frontiers in Plant Science July 2018 | Volume 9 | Article 1032 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01032/full

2017

  • Isha Nasa, Laura Trinkle-Mulcahy, P. Douglas, Sibapriya Chaudhuri, S.P. Lees-Miller, Kyung S. Lee, Greg Moorhead. (2017) Recruitment of PP1 to the centrosomal scaffold protein CEP192. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 484(4)-864-870
  • R. Glen Uhrig, Anne-Marie Labandera, Lay-Yin Tang, Nicolas Sieben, Marilyn Goudreault, Edward Yeung, Anne-Claude Gingras, Marcus Samuel, and Greg Moorhead. (2017) Activation of mitochondrial protein phosphatase SLP2 by MIA40 regulates seed germination. Plant Physiology 173(2):956-969.

2016

  • R. Glen Uhrig, Anne-Marie Labandera, Jamshed Muhammad, Marcus Samuel, and Greg Moorhead (2016) Rhizobiale-like phosphatase 2 from Arabidopsis thaliana is a novel phospho-tyrosine specific PPP-family protein phosphatase. J. Biol. Chem. 291: 5926-5934

2015

  • David Kerk, Dylan Silver, Glen Uhrig and Greg Moorhead (2015) "PP2C7s", genes most highly elaborated in photosynthetic organisms, reveal the bacterial origin and stepwise evolution of PPM/PP2C protein phosphatases. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0132863.
  • Anne-Marie Labandera, Ahmad R. Vahab, Sibapriya Chaudhuri, David Kerk and Greg Moorhead (2015) The mitotic PP2A regulator ENSA/ARPP-19 is remarkably conserved across plants and most eukaryotes Biochem. Biophys. Research Comm. 458:739-744.