Cancer and Genome stability
Cancer and Genome stability
The following groups perform research in this area:
Mechanisms of genome stability
The maintenance of a complete and undamaged genome is critical for survival. Because DNA is continuously exposed to genotoxic stress, cells have evolved mechanisms that are specialized for correcting different types of DNA damage. These mechanisms play essential roles in the maintenance of genome integrity and their deficiencies have been...
DNA repair mechanisms and human disease
Our genome is constantly exposed to various types of DNA damage, both endogenous and exogenous. It has been estimated that the DNA in every cell of our body suffers thousands of DNA lesions per day, which, if left unattended, can lead to mutations and/or cell death. Our cells have evolved a variety of mechanisms to counteract...
Genome Stability and Cell Cycle
Our research goal is to elucidate how proliferating human cells safeguard their genomic DNA against various stresses coming from the environment (e.g., radiation, genotoxic agents) and from normal processes of cell growth (e.g., DNA replication, transcription & mitotic chromosome dynamics).
Regulation of mitotic progression and chromosome segregation
Cell division is the fundamental basis for growth and development of an organism. Millions of cell divisions have to occur before an organism reaches its final size. Throughout the life span of an organism, blood, skin and intestinal cells have to be constantly replaced by further cell division. High fidelity...
Structure and function of genes that regulate tumour phenotypes
Multiple cellular pathways are deregulated in tumours as a result of gene disruption, some of which alter growth and the propensity for tumour cells to invade and spread to other body sites. The importance of an experimental understanding of the basic science that underpins our knowledge of tumour...
Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in cancer.
We study post-transcriptional aspects of gene regulation, and specifically how these differ between cancer cells and their normal counterparts. One project in this area focuses on translation initiation factor eIF3e (also known as INT6), high levels of which in breast cancer are...
Molecular dissection of centrioles, centrosomes and cilia
Centrioles organise the assembly of two important cell organelles: centrosomes and the cilia; our goal is to understand how these organelles function at the molecular level.
Molecular pathology of post-translational modification
The group is interested in the molecular mechanisms by which pathological perturbations in the post-translational modifications of proteins (including proteolytic maturation, oligomeric assembly, ubiquitination, phosphorylation and fatty acyl modification) can lead to severe human disease. Conditions resulting from...