Adam Byron (Affiliate)
Cancer Cell Adhesion Networks

Research in a Nutshell
Cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix is of fundamental importance to multicellular biology, with critical roles in cell migration, differentiation and survival. Dysregulation of cell adhesion can result in a wide range of pathological processes, such as fibrosis, inflammation and cancer invasion and metastasis. Adhesion involves cells binding to extracellular ligands and recruiting intracellular adhesion proteins to form membrane-bound signalling complexes. How these complexes interact with, and respond to, the cellular environment and become dysregulated in cancer is poorly understood. Moreover, it is unclear how various cellular processes control the intracellular trafficking of adhesion proteins to a range subcellular locations, which is critical for normal cellular functions.
It is becoming clear that interconnected networks of adhesion proteins and their regulators profoundly influence many aspects of cancer cell behaviour. Understanding how these networks operate in cancer will aid the identification of targetable subnetworks that could be therapeutically exploited.
Dr Adam Byron uses systems-level approaches, integrating state-of-the-art proteomics, bioinformatics, functional cell biology, super-resolution imaging and cancer models, to discover new properties of cancer cell adhesion networks. His research aims to generate mechanistic insights into cellular interactions with, and responses to, the tumour microenvironment that control fundamental aspects of cancer cell behaviour.
People |
|
Adam Byron |
Research Fellow |
Linda Kogerman |
Masters student |
Alex Loftus |
PhD student (with Margaret Frame and Steve Pollard) |
Rob Grecian |
Clinical PhD student (with Sarah Walmsley, Margaret Frame and Moira Whyte) |
Aleksandra Slawinska |
PhD student (with Alan Serrels and Alex von Kriegsheim) |
Athanasia Yiapanas | PhD student |
Didier Devaurs | Postdoctoral cross-disciplinary fellow (joint with Douglas Armstrong and Oksana Sorokina) |
Contact
Collaborations
- Professor Margaret Frame, University of Edinburgh
- Professor Val Brunton, University of Edinburgh
- Professor Neil Carragher, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Tim Kendall, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Andy Sims, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Alan Serrels, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Bin-Zhi Qian, University of Edinburgh
- Professor Charlotte Proby, University of Dundee
- Dr Viktor Korolchuk, Newcastle University
- Professor Rachel Lennon, University of Manchester
- Dr May Tassabehji, University of Manchester
- Dr Leanne de Koning, Institut Curie
- Professor Roman Zubarev, Karolinska Institutet
- Dr Ádám Dénes, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Partners and Funders
- Cancer Research UK
Scientific Themes
cell adhesion, adhesome, extracellular matrix, cancer biology, intracellular trafficking, signal transduction, adhesion proteins, network biology
Technology Expertise
biochemistry, cell biology, proteomics, network analysis, data visualisation