Dr Catherine Wilson – Group Leader
Associate Professor
Office Phone: +44 (0) 1233 3 39682
Keywords
Myc, transcription, cell cycle, cardiomyocyte, cardiovascular disease, cancer, regeneration, myocardial infarction.
Investigator Biography
Catherine Wilson completed her Ph.D. studies with Prof. Julian Sampson and Prof. Jeremy Cheadle in the Department of Medical Genetics in Cardiff University where she determined the role of Harmatin (Tsc1) in a novel model of renal cell carcinoma. She then moved to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to work with Dr David Adams, focusing on functional validation of intestinal cancer genes. Catherine then moved the Department of Biochemistry in the University of Cambridge to work with Prof. Gerard Evan where she focused on Myc, a highly pleiotropic, basic helix loop helix transcription factor involved in cell replication, differentiation, metabolism and apoptosis. In October 2019, Catherine was appointed as a University Lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge.
In 2020 Cathy spoke to the Naked Scientists https://www.thenakedscientists.com/ about her work on Myc in the heart https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/short/cancer-gene-vital-heart-regeneration
Lab Members
Postdoctoral researchers
- Ping Ong (2023 – 2027; MRC AstraZeneca Industry Postdoctoral Fellowship)
- Camillia Ascanelli (AZ/Wellcome, 2022- present)
- Chris Batho (2023 –present, BHF)
- Adam Seaton (Animal technician, 2021 - present)
PhD students
- Aleksandra Boikova (2020 – 2024; AZ 4-year PhD Studentship)
- Elsa Lawrence (2021 – 2024; BHF CRE 3-year PhD Studentship)
- Laura Blenkarn (2020 – 2024; Wolfson College – David James Pharmacology – SBS DTP PhD Studentship co-supervision with Prof Itzhaki)
- Rowda Dahir (2022 – 2026 Department of Pharmacology – MRC Toxicology Unit - Newnham College– SBS DTP PhD Studentship)
- Janice Neng (2023 – 2026; CSC Cambridge Scholarship, currently an MPhil student in the lab)
- Raluca Alexii (2023 – 2027; Sensors CDT, co-supervision with Professor Ulrich F Keyser)
- Nourhan Ahmed (Jan 2024 – 2026; Cambridge Trust)
Research Assistants
- Anne Grangaard (2024)
Key publications
Kreuzaler P*, Clarke M*, Brown E, Wilson CH, Piterman N, Littlewood TD, Evan GI, Fisher J. Heterogeneity of Myc Expression in Breast Cancer Reveals New Susceptibilities through Executable Mechanistic Modelling (2019). PNAS 116 (44), 22399-22408. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903485116.
Kortlever RM, Sodir NS, Wilson CH, Burkhart DL, Pellegrinet L, Brown Swigart L, Littlewood TD, Evan GI. Myc cooperates with Ras by programming inflammation and immune suppression (2017). Cell 171(6):1301-1315.e14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.013
Gamper I*, Burkhart DL*, Bywater MJ*, Garcia D*, Wilson CH, Kreuzaler PA, Arends MJ, Littlewood TD, Zheng Y, Perfetto A, Evan GI. Determination of the physiological and pathological roles of E2f3 in adult tissues (2017). Sci Rep 7(1):9932. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09494-6
Hall Z, Ament Z*, Wilson CH*, Burkhart DL*, Koulman A, Littlewood TL, Evan GI, Griffin JL. Myc linked to aberrant lipid metabolism in lung cancer by mass spectrometry imaging (2016). Cancer Research 76(16):4608-18. * Joint second author. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-3403