Cell Differentiation Group

Name:

Dr. Jane Wakeman

Position:

Email:

j.wakeman@bangor.ac.uk

Location:

Brambell

Phone:

+44 (0)1248 382341(office)

Other Contacts

Tel: +44 (0)1248 382369 (lab.)

Fax: +44 (0)1248 370731

Current group members:

Post-doctoral: Dr. Melanie Davies

Post-graduate: Debalina Sarkar

Current Research

Mammalian development is characterized by signaling mechanisms that are highly conserved throughout different species, which ultimately result in cell fate commitment and differentiation. Aberrant activation of these key pathways is a hallmark of many cancers. Our group is interested in the tumour suppressor protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a critical regulator of the wnt signaling pathway. Mutations in APC are associated with the majority of sporadic colorectal carcinomas, and germline mutations result in an inherited pre-disposition to cancer in a condition known as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. We are investigating the role of APC and its splice variants in normal and tumour cells.

Recent Awards

The British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG) awarded the 2007 North West Region Travel Bursary to Ms Debalina Sarkar of the North West Cancer Research Fund Institute, University of Wales, Bangor. Ms Debalina Sarkar won the Bursary for her excellent presentation of the work she is doing into interactions of the gene of colon cancer, APC, with b-catenin in different cell densities to see how these differ in cancer cells from normal cells. The international conference on molecular therapies will be in June in Glasgow.

Selected Publications

Davies ML, Roberts GT, Spiller DG, Wakeman JA. Density-dependent location and interactions of truncated APC and beta-catenin. Oncogene. 2004 Feb 19;23(7):1412-9.

Roberts GT, Davies ML, Wakeman JA. Interaction between Ku80 protein and a widely used antibody to adenomatous polyposis coli. Br J Cancer. 2003 Jan 27;88(2):202-5.

Current Support

North West Cancer Research Fund (NWCRF)
Tenovus