Simon Wilkinson Research Group

Research in a Nutshell

Autophagy is an evolutionarily-conserved mechanism by which cells remove old proteins and organelles by transporting them to the lysosome (in effect, a cellular garbage disposal facility). The autophagy pathway also acts as a hub for control of cell fate by degrading specific signalling and structural proteins of the cell. These actions are important for the progression of a number of cancers. We use protein-protein interaction screens, imaging techniques and transgenic models to unpick the molecular events set in train by autophagy within pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. Thusly we gain understanding of new cellular processes that could be targeted for future cancer therapies.

• Christian Behrends (University of Munich)
• Ivan Dikic (Goethe University)
• Jennifer Morton (CRUK Beatson Institute)
• Claus Jorgensen (CRUK Manchester Institute)
• Damian Mole (University of Edinburgh)
• Mark Arends (University of Edinburgh)
• Neil Carragher (University of Edinburgh)
• Juan Carlos Acosta (University of Edinburgh)
• Terje Johansen (University of Arctic, Tromso)

• Cancer Research UK / Senior Fellowship / 72 months / £2.1M
• Cancer Research UK / Studentship / 36 months
• Cancer Research UK / TRACC (pre-MBChB clinical) Studentship / 36 months