Spatial Organisation of Signalling

Understanding how cells sense the surrounding environment and receive messages is crucial to biology

Cells sense the environment and receive messages through large numbers of protein receptors expressed on the cell surface. Receptors and the signals they generate therefore control all aspects of life, from early development and neuronal activity, to the progression of diseases including cancer and CNS disorders. By developing and using new interdisciplinary techniques to visualise and map signals inside cells, we aim to understand how the signals receptors generate control a diverse variety of cell responses. This knowledge can be used to develop drugs that target only disease relevant signals, to increase the effectiveness of medicines and decrease their side effects.