A functional edge

11 February 2010

Professor Wendy Bickmore, Medical Research Council, Human Genetics Unit has been awarded an Advanced grant of €1.7m from the European Research Council (ERC). These 5 year grants are designed to support, innovative investigator-initiated research projects by leading established investigators in Europe.

The grant entitled “Functional Edge” will investigate how the very edge of the cell nucleus affects the functions of the genome. This leads on from Wendy’s original observation ten years ago, that human chromosomes are not randomly arranged but that certain chromosomes are preferentially located at the edge of the nucleus, whilst others locate far away. Half of the grant will be used to follow up recent findings from Wendy’s lab that positioning a gene against the edge of the nucleus can impede that gene’s expression and will ask how important this spatial information is in development. The rest of the grant will tackle the neglected idea that the edge of the nucleus has a role in protecting parts of our genome from DNA damage. Wendy said:

“I am particularly pleased that we can now address this exciting idea, because it was considered too risky for funding by more conventional grant agencies. Its a bold move by the ERC to support more speculative biological research”.

The research will open up new horizons on our understanding of the multiple levels of control through which genes and genome stability are regulated and the implications of this in both development and disease.

New fellows: The Royal Society of Edinburgh

5 March 2010

The Centre for Molecular Medicine is delighted to announce that Professor Jack Satsangi has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Professor Jack Satsangi's election recognises his outstanding work in inflammatory bowel disease, in particular his breakthroughs in identifying genetic risk factors for Crohn’s disease.