Protein and RNA fate | The University of Manchester

How the fate of proteins and RNAs is regulated is critical to understanding cellular, tissue and organismal biology as well as disease. We combine expertise on post-transcriptional and post-translational control of gene regulation with structural biology, computational biology and genomic medicine to dissect the processes involved.

Our research spans diverse systems and areas of biology investigating how the fate of different proteins and RNA molecules are regulated and contribute to cellular physiology and pathology.

We use a range of systems including, various tissue culture models, yeast, zebrafish, worms and drosophila to study:

RNA processing, localisation and stability;
Cellular responses to stress;
Protein targeting and sorting;
Protein synthesis and folding;
Global regulation at the protein and RNA level.

This research area is led by Professor Mark Ashe and Professor Steve High.

Major research activities

RNA processing, localisation and stability

RNA serves critical functions- both as a source of information and more directly in catalysis and regulation. We study how RNA functions can be controlled in terms of RNA processing and modification, the position of RNA within the cell and the level to which the RNA is targeted by the degradation machinery.

Cellular responses to stress

Cells are exposed to a host of insults including nutritional stress, oxidative stress and viral infection. We dissect the mechanisms and adaptive responses that cells and tissues employ to counteract and overcome these conditions.

Protein sorting and quality control

The modification, subcellular delivery, membrane insertion and sorting of proteins determine function and facilitate biological control. By investigating specific models, we will establish how these processes regulate the activity and fate of different proteins. These fundamental ground rules will give us a molecular understanding of their proteome wide contribution in a cellular context.

Protein synthesis and folding

The synthesis and correct folding of proteins is critical to life. Many diseases are associated with defects in these processes and the capacity to regulate protein production is crucial to synthetic biology. We explore the machinery, mechanism and regulation of protein synthesis and folding with a particular focus on human disease and biotechnology.

Global regulation at the protein and RNA level

Proteomics and transcriptomic technologies are revolutionising our understanding of how gene expression is controlled. Key to these technologies has been the development of tools to enable the interpretation of large datasets. We study large datasets using computational approaches to infer a deep-rooted understanding of biology at a genome-wide scale.

Our researchers

Discover more about some of our key researchers making outstanding contributions to research in protein and RNA fate.

Principal investigators

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Principal investigators

Research staff

Postgraduate research students

Featured researchers

Professor Stephen High

Professor of Biochemistry

Stephen High is a Professor of Biochemistry and a Wellcome Trust Investigator. Research in his lab aims to understand how proteins are inserted into lipid bilayers to form biologically functional membranes.

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Dr Ray O’keefe

Senior Lecturer

Ray O’keefe is a Senior lecturer who studies how mRNA is processed using yeast as a model. His recent work has exploited this system to identify mechanistic consequences underlying specific human disease mutations.

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Professor Simon Hubbard

Professor of Computational Biology

Simon Hubbard is a Professor in Computational Biology. His main research focus at present is on quantitative proteomics: how can we measure the levels of all the individual proteins in cells, and understand how levels change under different conditions.

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Dr Shane Herbert

Fellow

Shane Herbert is a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow. His research aims to explain the mechanisms and timing cell of identity decisions during blood vessel formation in zebrafish. He has a particular interest in the role of RNA localisation in these processes.

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Postgraduate opportunities

Individual group leaders within the protein and RNA fate research area have PhD studentship projects as part of the following funded programmes:

Contact us

Academic enquiries

Professor Mark Ashe
email: mark.p.ashe@manchester.ac.uk

Administrative enquiries

Yasmin Moore
email: yasmin.moore@manchester.ac.uk
tel: +44 (0)161 306 7104