Research groups

There are currently over 30 research groups at the Dunn School, investigating different aspects of the molecular and cellular basis underlying health and disease.
Research area:

Mechanisms of Genome Stability

Dragana Ahel

Uncovering the mechanisms that maintain genome integrity

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DNA Repair Mechanisms and Human Disease

Ivan Ahel

Exploring the pathways underlying genome stability, in particular the role of the post-translational protein modification ADP-ribosylation

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Caspase Functions Beyond Apoptosis

Luis Alberto Baena

The Baena-Lopez group will relocate to the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBM) in Madrid, Spain.

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Organelle Biogenesis and Homeostasis

Pedro Carvalho

Investigating the role of the ER in protein degradation and organelle biogenesis.

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Innate immunity and neuroinflammation

Sally Cowley

Director of the James and Lillian Martin Centre for Stem Cell Research

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Molecular immunology of T cell surface receptors

Omer Dushek

Understanding how the immune system discriminates between normal and abnormal tissues, and harnessing this knowledge to develop new therapies

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Genome Stability and Evolution

Fumiko Esashi

Investigating the mechanisms that drive changes in the genome during cell growth and dormancy

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Molecular Mechanisms of RNA Virus Replication

Ervin Fodor

Elucidating the fundamental mechanisms underlying the replication of RNA viruses such as Influenza, Nipah, and SARS-CoV-2

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Cell Biology of Signalling

Matthew Freeman

Investigating the interface between membrane proteins, the cell biology of signalling, and mechanisms of human disease

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Ecology and Evolution of Microbial Communities

Kevin Foster

Ecology, evolution and the human microbiome

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Macrophages, Inflammation and Drug Development

David Greaves

Using knowledge of macrophage cell biology to develop new anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial drugs

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R-Loop Biology in Health and Disease

Natalia Gromak

Studying the role of a unique type of non-canonical RNA/DNA structure in healthy cells and in neurodegenerative diseases.

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Regulation of Mitotic Progression and Chromosome Segregation

Ulrike Gruneberg

Elucidating how faithful chromosome segregation during cell division is ensured, and how this goes awry in cancer

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RNA Dependent DNA Damage Response and Gene Expression Regulation

Monika Gullerova

Understanding how intronic gene silencing is de-regulated in cancer cells and how synthetic tsRNA can be used therapeutically

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Structure and Function of Cancer Genes

Bass Hassan

Identifying and validating functional genomic co-dependencies to improve precision of cancer treatment.

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Molecular Parasitology

Matt Higgins

Unpicking host-parasite interactions in molecular detail. Matt Higgins has a joint appointment between the Biochemistry Department, the Kavli Institute and the Dunn School. His group is based in the Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building.

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Germline mutation and Meiotic recombination

Anjali Hinch

Uncovering the mechanisms and impacts of meiotic recombination and de novo mutation.

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Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Membrane Biogenesis

Georgia Isom

Using a combination of structural biology, biochemistry and bacterial genetics to study Gram-negative bacterial membrane transport systems

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Macrophage Modulation During Viral Infection and Neuroinflammation

William James

William James has now retired.

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Recognition of Abnormal Cells by Leukocyte Receptors

Anton van der Merwe

Investigating the mechanisms by which leukocytes use cell surface receptors to recognise infected or otherwise abnormal cells

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Assembly and Regulation of Macromolecular Ciliary Dynein Motors

Girish Ram Mali

Investigating how cells assemble axonemal dyneins, in particular the role of DNAAFs in this process

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The Transcriptional Cyclin-Dependent Kinases and Control of Gene Expression

Shona Murphy

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the connection between transcription and RNA processing

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Cell Cycle and Gene Expression in Cancer

Chris Norbury

Studying the role of cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) in cancer cells and their normal counterparts

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RNA Polymerase II Derived Nascent Transcription and Co-transcriptional RNA Processing in Mammalian Genomes

Nicholas Proudfoot

Studying the molecular mechanisms that define the extent of transcription units generated by RNA polymerase II across mammalian genomes

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Centrioles, Centrosomes and Cilia in Health and Disease

Jordan Raff

Understanding how centrioles assemble and function, using a combination of biochemistry, genetics, live-cell imaging, computational/structural analysis and mathematical modelling

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Motor Proteins, Cilia and Intracellular Organisation

Anthony Roberts

Investigating how motor proteins generate movement and spatial organisation within living cells and organelles.

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Transcriptional Regulators of Mammalian Development

Elizabeth Robertson

Exploiting genetic strategies to identify the key signalling cues and downstream transcriptional regulators that mediate cell fate decisions in the developing mouse embryo

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Mechanisms of Virus Biogenesis and Immune Evasion 

Sumana Sanyal

Investigating mechanisms of flavivirus biogenesis, using Zika and Dengue as models, and their strategies of evading host immune responses

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Lymphocyte function in health and disease

Quentin Sattentau

The Sattentau group has relocated to the Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch.

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Poxvirus Evasion of Innate Immunity

Geoffrey L Smith

Studying the mechanisms by which orthopoxviruses suppress innate immunity

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Molecular Mucosal Immunology

Emma Slack

Elucidating the mechanisms by which the mucosal immune system can control the abundance and pathogenicity of opportunistic pathogens

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Mechanisms and Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance and Tolerance

Mathew Stracy

Studying how bacteria respond to antibiotics from multiple perspectives; ranging from molecular biology to infection epidemiology

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Bacterial Pathogenesis: Molecular Mechanisms to Prevention

Christoph Tang

Understanding how pathogens colonise specific niches in the body, evade elimination by the immune system, and cause disease

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Bacterial pathogenesis and innate immune signaling

Teresa Thurston

Elucidating the mechanisms by which intracellular bacteria overcome the host’s innate immune response.

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Structural Biology of Molecular Machines, from Atoms to Cellular Context

Katerina Toropova

Discovering how molecular machines perform essential cellular functions using cryo-electron microscopy/tomography and live fluorescence imaging.

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Molecular Pathology of Post-Translational Modification

David Vaux

Studying the molecular mechanisms by which pathological perturbations in the post-translational modifications of proteins can lead to severe human disease

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