Research Interests

Life is sustained by the collective function of subcellular molecular machines termed organelles. Much is still to be understood about the assembly and function of organelles – a question which is critical to human health and disease.

We seek to understand the fundamental functions of centrosomes – microtubule-based organelles that allow cells to divide, move and sense their environment. Defects in centrosomes cause many poorly understood developmental diseases and are also implicated in carcinogenesis. Our work uses combined tools from fluorescence microscopy, genome editing and biochemistry, to understand the function of centrosomes across scales, with a long-term goal to treat human disease.

During cell division centrosomes form spindle poles, and thus are important for accurate chromosome segregation. My work has developed technologies to study centrosomes directly inside living cells, and proposed new models for how centrosomes are constructed from component parts during mitosis. Centrosomes also form cilia: hair-like appendages used for cell sensing and motion in a range of different human tissues. My recent work has pioneered imaging of cytoskeletal fibres nucleated by centrosomes termed rootlets, with a view to understanding human ciliary structure and function. We are collaborating with groups from across the University of Leicester to understand centrosome functions in human tissues from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Scientific Inspiration

Alan Turing, Marie Curie, Robert Oppenheimer. Giants who saw things differently and were aware of the wider context of their research.