News

Published in Cell, a new paper from the Roberts group reveals insights into the organisation and function of human intraflagellar transport “trains”.

Dr Viktoriya Stancheva from the Sanyal lab at the Dunn School was awarded a Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellowship.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Anthony Roberts will be joining the department in April 2023, strengthening our research in cell and structural biology.

A new study published in Current Biology by the Gruneberg lab advances our understanding of the mechanisms by which cells correct mistakes during chromosome segregation. 3.8 million duplicated genomes have to segregate equally into daughter cells every second in our body to maintain normal cell and tissue function. Any problem in the chromosome segregation process...

Published in EMBO reports, a new paper from the Murphy group uncovers novel roles for CDK9 and PP2A in the regulation of transcription and RNA processing. CDK9 is a kinase critical for RNA polymerase II transcription. Without it, RNA polymerase II either does not escape promoter regions or prematurely terminates. To study the function of...

Many congratulations to Monika, who is now Professor of Molecular Medicine This recognition is part of the University of Oxford’s annual Recognition of Distinction Exercise. Prof Gullerova is also Tutor of Medicine at Wadham College. Prof Gullerova studied molecular biology at Comenius University in Bratislava and did her PhD at the University of Vienna. In...

Published in the Journal of Cell Biology, work by the Raff lab uncovers a key new mechanism mediated by protein phosphorylation that regulates centriole growth and duplication during the cell cycle. The cell cycle is a highly regulated cellular process required for tissue development and homeostasis, whose dysregulation is associated with cancer. Centrioles are microtubule-based...

The Dunn School held its annual summer party in the University Parks After many months of social distancing and restrictions, the famous Dunn School summer party returned to roam the University Parks on Sunday, the 17th of July. Approximately 350 Dunn Schoolers and their family members attended the summer party, among them students, postdocs, staff...

Dame Professor Louise Richardson hosted the 2022 Vice Chancellor’s Environmental Sustainability Awards, attended by staff and students from across the University of Oxford. The awards recognise and celebrate contributions towards the environmental goals of the University. 35 labs/facilities across the Dunn School were awarded LEAF status – with 9 receiving Gold, 16 receiving Silver and...

Prof Ivan Ahel’s leading contribution to the field ADP-ribosylation and genome stability has been recognised by his election to the membership of The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

In a story published in the EMBO Journal, Wong, Wilmott et al. shed light on the mechanism of Polo action in the assembly of the centrosome. Cell division is an essential function of cells, and appropriate partitioning of DNA and other cellular materials is critical for the daughter cells’ functioning and survival. In animals, this process...

Dr Benjamin Dodsworth completed his PhD in the Dunn School and went on to co-found and become the Chief Scientific Officer of PIPRA (Pre-Interventional Preventive Risk Assessment) based in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 2019, PIPRA is a digital health company that aims to combat Postoperative Delirium, the most common post-surgical complication affecting 20% of patients...

Published in Cell, a collaboration between the groups of Alberto Kornblihtt (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina), Adrian Krainer (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA) and Nick Proudfoot (Dunn School) reports an improved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease of the central nervous system, causing muscle weakness and wasting. Affecting...

Published in Nature Communications, work by the Gromak lab uncovers key new functions for RNase H2 during transcription, and provides molecular explanations for the pathology behind Aicardi Goutières Syndrome. Aicardi Goutières Syndrome (AGS) is a severe neuroinflammatory disease caused by mutations in RNase H2 in more than 50% of the cases. RNase H2 is an...

The Gruneberg lab student was recognised with the BSCB Young Cell Biologist of the Year Prize At the recent BSCB/BSDB joint spring conference at the University of Warwick, Iona Manley, a 4th year PhD student in the Gruneberg lab, won this year’s BSCB Young Cell Biologist of the Year Prize with her poster “A novel...