The London Research Institute research groups are based at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Clare Hall. Our major research themes are: the biology of tumours and tissues, cellular regulatory mechanisms and genomic integrity and cell cycle.
Sally Leevers : Growth Regulation
The aim of the Growth Regulation Laboratory headed by Sally Leevers was to characterise the molecules and mechanisms involved in growth control, thereby providing insight into growth de-regulation in human disease. The lab studied growth in an experimental system where genetics, cell biology and biochemistry could be readily applied – the fruit fly, Drosophila.
During metazoan development, growth (mass increase) is regulated to ensure that organisms grow to appropriate and reproducible sizes. Growth is one of the most basic aspects of cell behaviour, and many of the molecules and mechanisms that regulate and execute growth are highly conserved. The acquisition of both self-sufficiency in growth signals and insensitivity to growth inhibitory signals are seen as key requirements for tumourigenesis.
Sally is now the Academic Director at the LRI.
Significant LRI Papers
- Orme MH, Alrubaie S, Bradley GL, Walker CD, Leevers SJ. Input from Ras is required for maximal PI(3)K signalling in Drosophila. Nature Cell Biology. 2006;8:1298-1302 (Abstract)
- Wu MY, Cully M, Andersen D, Leevers SJ. Insulin delays the progression of Drosophila cells through G2/M by activating the dTOR/dRaptor complex. EMBO J. 2007;26:371-9 (Abstract)
- Marygold SJ, Roote J, Reuter G, Lambertsson A, Ashburner M, Millburn GH, Harrison PM, Yu Z, Kenmochi N, Kaufman TC, Leevers SJ, Cook KR. The ribosomal protein genes and Minute loci of Drosophila melanogaster. Genome Biol. 2007;8:R216 (Abstract)
- Andersen DS, Leevers SJ. The essential Drosophila ATP-binding cassette domain protein, pixie, binds the 40 S ribosome in an ATP-dependent manner and is required for translation initiation. J Biol Chem. 2007;282:14752-60 (Abstract)
- Coelho CMA, Kolevski, Bunn C, Walker C, Dahanukar A, Leevers SJ. Growth and cell survival are unevenly impaired in pixie mutant wing discs. Development. 2005;132:5411-24 (Abstract)
- Coelho CM, Kolevski B, Walker CD, Lavagi I, Shaw T, Ebert A, Leevers SJ, Marygold SJ. A Genetic Screen for Dominant Modifiers of a Small-Wing Phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster Identifies Proteins Involved in Splicing and Translation. Genetics. 2005;171:597-614 (Abstract)
Sally Leevers