Cell Motility Laboratory
Previous and current research
The spatial and temporal regulation of cell adhesion and motility is essential during development and throughout the lifetime of multicellular organisms. Consequently, defects in cell adhesion and migration can be devastating, causing tumour cells to metastasise to distant parts of the body and establish new tumours. Understanding the molecular basis of signalling networks and their role in regulating the complex processes of cell adhesion and migration represents a formidable task. The work in my lab is aimed at unravelling this problem using a multidisciplinary approach, involving the latest imaging, biochemical and genetic approaches in a variety of systems. This includes the use of vaccinia virus as a model for both actin- and microtubule-based motility.
Future projects
- Characterisation of the regulation and dynamics of virus-induced signalling cascades and actin-based motility.
- Analysis of the role of Rho-GTPases in vaccinia-induced cell motility and morphogenesis.
- Identification of protein complexes required for the microtubule-dependent motility of vaccinia and the establishment of in vitro viral motility assays.
- Characterisation of the cellular role of Tes, a putative tumour suppressor.
