University of Leicester Biochemistry Department

		Department of Biochemistry


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Areas of Research

The research interests of members of the Biochemistry Department cover a wide area from physico-chemical mechanisms through to cell and developmental biology. Departmental research is focused on the follwing themes:

Protein structure and dynamics

Gene expression

Intracellular signalling

Cell motility and the cytoskeleton

Cell division

Stem cell biology

Cancer cell biology

Cardiovascular and microbial-based diseases

PhD projects operate within these areas - to find currently available projects see FindaPhD or request a brochure

To illustrate the overlapping expertise and internal collaborations, research interests are summarised in the grid below. In addition to these collaborations, many projects involve joint research with other members of the School of Biological Sciences and other groups within the Medicine and Chemistry, as well as external collaborators. Click on staff names in the grid to find more detail of specific interests or explore specific topics below.


Method/Area	Protein Structure & Enzymology	Transcription	RNA splicing & cytoplasmic regulation	Cell motility & cytoskeleton	Signalling Pathways	Cell division	Stem cell & developmental biology	Cancer	Cardiovascular disease	Microbial Biochemistry & disease	Method/Area
Computational methods	Moody Schmid										Computational methods
NMR	Carr Pfuhl Roberts Nielsen	Carr Schwabe	Nielsen	Roberts	Roberts				Pfuhl	Carr	NMR
Crystallography	Moody	Schwabe									Crystallography
Rapid-reaction Techniques	Bagshaw Roberts Gutierrez			Bagshaw El-Mezgueldi					El-Mezgueldi		Rapid-reaction Techniques
Mass spectrometry & protein modification	Carr	Schwabe Barlev	Makarova		Barlev			Farmer Barlev			Mass spectrometry & protein modification
Protein interactions (pull-down, Y2H, co-immuno)	Wallis	Carr Schwabe Barlev	Eperon Makarova	Critchley Shackleton Tanaka	Dickens Leyland Prigent Macip	Fry Patel Tanaka	Cowley	Critchley Prigent Barlev Macip	Dickens Leyland	O'Hare	Protein interactions (pull-down, Y2H, co-immuno)
Nucleic acid biochemistry (protection, cross-linking, complex purification)		Cundliffe	Eperon Makarova		Macip		Cowley	Farmer Macip		Cundliffe	Nucleic acid biochemistry (protection, cross-linking, complex purification)
Transfection & expression assays		Cowley Barlev		Critchley Fry Shackleton	Dickens Manson Pritchard Prigent Macip	Fry Manson Patel	Cowley	Critchley Fry Manson Pritchard Prigent Macip	Dickens	O'Hare	Transfection & expression assays
Microarrays									Dickens		Microarrays
Fluorescence microscopy (imaging single molecules & cell localization)			Bagshaw & Eperon Barlev	Bagshaw Critchley Fry Tanaka	Dickens Manson Barlev Macip	Fry Manson Patel Tanaka	Beck	Critchley Fry Manson Macip	Dickens		Fluorescence microscopy (imaging single molecules & cell localization)
Transgenic mice		Cowley		Critchley Pritchard Shackleton	Pritchard		Beck Cowley Pritchard	Critchley Pritchard			Transgenic mice
Method/Area	Protein Structure & Enzymology	Transcription	RNA splicing & cytoplasmic regulation	Cell motility & cytoskeleton	Signalling Pathways	Cell division	Stem cell & developmental biology	Cancer	Cardiovascular disease	Microbial Biochemistry & disease	Method/Area

Specific Topics of Research

CELL BIOLOGY Cell motility and the cytoskeleton

The molecular basis of cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix

Structure and function of mammalian stress-activated signalling pathways

Molecular processes of chromosome segregation

Cell Regulation and the mitotic checkpoint

Meiotic function and regulation of the spindle pole body in fission yeast

Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Chemoprevention

Molecular Biomarkers of Dose and Effect of Genotoxins
New modulators, effectors and functions of the p53 tumour supressor pathway

CELL SIGNALLING

Structure and function of ion channel scaffolding proteins

Signal transduction by receptor tyrosine kinases

Raf protein kinases and their roles in ERK activation, apoptosis and cancer

Nuclear architecture and its role in human disease

Genetic regulation of mammalian development

GENE EXPRESSION

Molecular mechanisms of pre-mRNA splicing, and the regulation of alternative splicing

Control of Gene Expression by Alternative Splicing

Control of gene expression by histone-modifying enzymes

The role of lysine methylation in the regulation of tumour suppressors

Gene Regulation by Nuclear Receptors

Regulation of antibiotic production in Streptomyces

PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS

Myosin-based motility probed by fluorescence spectroscopy

Molecular mechanisms of the focal adhesion assembly involving talin and vinculin

Structural and functional studies of proteins, protein-protein and protein-DNA complexes of biomedical importance using NMR spectroscopy

Protein structure prediction and molecular modeling

Crystallography of proteins and enzymes

Protein-ligand interactions by NMR methods

Enymes involved in drug metabolism

CARDIOVASCULAR AND MICROBIAL-BASED DISEASES

Structure, function, dynamics and interactions of multidomain proteins in health and disease by solution NMR spectroscopy

Contractile Proteins and Heart Diseases

Protein kinases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Complement activation and immunodeficiency

Last updated: 27 June 2008
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