Edinburgh Cancer Research
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Institute of Genetics and Cancer
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Simon Wilkinson

Autophagy in Tissue Homeostasis and Cancer

Dr Simon Wilkinson
Dr Simon Wilkinson - Principal Investigator, CRUK Senior Fellow

Research in a Nutshell 

Autophagy is an evolutionarily-conserved mechanism by which cells remove old proteins and organelles by transporting them to the lysosome (in effect, a cellular garbage disposal facility). The autophagy pathway also acts as a hub for control of cell fate by degrading specific signalling and structural proteins of the cell. These actions are important for the progression of a number of cancers. We use protein-protein interaction screens, imaging techniques and transgenic models to unpick the molecular events set in train by autophagy within pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. Thusly we gain understanding of new cellular processes that could be targeted for future cancer therapies.

 

Research Programme 

Simon Wilkinson Research Group (Left to right: Natalie Jimenez-Moreno, Marisa Di Monaco, Mihaela Bozic, Tian En Lim, Carla Salomo-Coll, Jocelyn Bisson and Katie Winnington-Ingram).
Simon Wilkinson Research Group (Left to right: Natalie Jimenez-Moreno, Marisa Di Monaco, Mihaela Bozic, Tian En Lim, Carla Salomo-Coll, Jocelyn Bisson and Katie Winnington-Ingram).

People

  
Simon Wilkinson

Principal Investigator, CRUK Senior Fellow
Natalia  Jimenez-Moreno Postdoc
Marisa Di Monaco Postdoc
Mihaela Bozic Student
Tian En Lim Student
Carla Salomo-Coll Student
Jocelyn Bisson Student
Katie Winnington-Ingram Research Technician

Contact

S.Wilkinson@ed.ac.uk

Collaborations

  • Christian Behrends (University of Munich)

  • Ivan Dikic (Goethe University)

  • Jennifer Morton (CRUK Beatson Institute)

  • Claus Jorgensen (CRUK Manchester Institute)

  • Damian Mole (University of Edinburgh)

  • Mark Arends (University of Edinburgh)

  • Neil Carragher (University of Edinburgh)

  • Juan Carlos Acosta (University of Edinburgh)

  • Terje Johansen (University of Arctic, Tromso)

Partners and Funders

  • Cancer Research UK / Senior Fellowship / 72 months / £2.1M

  • Cancer Research UK / Studentship / 36 months

  • Cancer Research UK / TRACC (pre-MBChB clinical) Studentship / 36 months

Scientific Themes

Autophagy, Cell death, Inflammation, Exocrine system, Ageing, Cancer

Technology Expertise

Protein-protein interaction, CRISPR/Cas9-genome editing, Super-resolution microscopy, Electron microscopy, Transgenic mouse models

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