Professor Catherine Nobes
B.Sc., Ph.D.(Lond.)
Current positions
Professor of Cell Biology
School of Biochemistry
Contact
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Research interests
Our work is of relevance to tumour cell motility and invasion. We are interested in understanding the molecular pathways that direct cancer cells away from the primary tumour and how the tumour microenvironment contributes to cancer cell migration and metastasis.
We work on a phenomenon known as contact inhibition of locomotion; collisions between migrating cells lead to collapse of actin-driven cell protrusions and a change in the direction of migration. Many cancer cells fail to show contact inhibition of locomotion when confronted to normal cells and this switch to attractive migratory behaviour has been suggested to underlie invasive metastasis. We have shown that EphB receptors are upregulated in metastatic prostate cancer cells and are functionally required for attractive migration after contact with stromal fibroblasts and endothelial cells.
My group continues to focus on how Eph-ephrin signalling regulates cell migration and cell-cell interactions in the context of cancer and wound healing.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
THE ROLE OF EPH/EPHRIN INTERACTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNER EAR INNERVATION
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Physiology, Pharmacology & NeuroscienceDates
01/02/2007 to 01/03/2011
RESEARCH EQUIPMENT SUPPLEMENT SCHEME
Principal Investigator
Dates
01/05/2004 to 01/05/2005
CELL AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING NERVE AXON GUIDANCE AND REGENERATION
Principal Investigator
Dates
01/09/2003 to 01/09/2006
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
13/06/2019Ephrin/Eph receptor interaction facilitates macrophage recognition of differentiating human erythroblasts
Haematologica
Ephs and ephrins
Current Biology
Ephrin-Bs Drive Junctional Downregulation and Actin Stress Fiber Disassembly to Enable Wound Re-epithelialization
Cell Reports
EphA receptors regulate prostate cancer cell dissemination through Vav2-RhoA mediated cell-cell repulsion
Biology Open
Regulation of contact inhibition of locomotion by Eph-ephrin signalling
Journal of Microscopy