School of Biosciences

Pathophysiology and Repair

Embryonic stem (ES) cells growing in culture.

Pathophysiology and Repair focuses on the molecular mechanisms underpinning disease and the processes that drive repair and regeneration.  The Division has a broad strength that spans biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics and signal transduction. The groups within Pathophysiology and Repair focus on a variety of biological systems both in vivo and in vitro, and augment studies on human cell lines and tissues with studies in model organisms such as the mouse. Pathophysiology and Repair is a well-funded Division with excellent modern facilities for a broad range of techniques. It has close links with CITER, the Cardiff Institute of Tissue Engineering and Repair, and also with the Cardiff CR-UK Cancer Centre. The Division also has numerous global academic and industrial partners.

Research within the Division is relevant to several areas of human disease, but is particularly strongly linked to cancer and tissue repair. The spectrum of research activities include:

Research Areas

• Genetically engineered murine models of human cancer
• Epigenetics of normal development and disease.
• Mammary cancer and cell death
• Stem/progenitor  cells in mammalian organogenesis
• Pathophysiology of calcium signalling specifically related to pancreatitis
• Inflammation, atherosclerosis and regulation of gene expression
• Molecular mechanisms of nutrient sensing
• Monoclonal antibody technologies to study onset of degenerative joint diseases
• Synovial joint biology
• Structure and function of the minor collagens of cartilage, cell signalling pathways associated with mechanical and cytokine mediated cartilage degeneration
• Cartilage proteoglycan metabolism in osteoarthritis
• Cellular control of extracellular matrix secretion and organisation in connective tissues
• Signalling mechanisms regulating bone and cartilage turnover, in osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
• Connective tissue mechanobiology
• Functional significance of synuclein proteins in the normal and degenerating nervous system
• Investigation of cell death mechanisms
• Cell fate determination in Xenopus
• Elucidating the function of lysosomes in health and disease
• The role of normal mammary stem and progenitor cells in the generation of breast cancer phenotypic heterogeneity and cancer stem cells
• Cell preservation technology
• Development of autologous cell-based methods for repair of the degenerate nervous and immune systems
• Molecular mechanisms mediating channel regulation by reversible protein phosphorylation and mechanisms underlying volume regulation
• Morphogenetic mechanisms in the organisation of oriented connective tissues