Prof Iain Hagan
Cell Division Group
Paterson Institute for Cancer Research
Manchester
Understanding how cells grow and divide
Professor Iain Hagan leads the Cell Division Group at our Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester. His research focuses on understanding how cells grow and divide and he has an outstanding track record in this field. Uncontrolled cell division lies at the heart of cancer development so Professor Hagan's work is critical for understanding what goes wrong in cancer cells.
Listen to an interview with Professor Hagan, discussing how research into yeast is providing important clues to cancer and leading to new treatments:
Professor Hagan and his team use yeast as a simple system to study cell growth and division. Although this may seem far removed from what goes on in the human body, many of the molecules controlling these processes are the same in both yeast and human cells.
Understanding how cells split in two
The process by which any cell (yeast or human) splits in two, known as mitosis, is tightly controlled by a network of checks and balances. Professor Hagan's pioneering work in this area has provided important insights into the key proteins involved including Cut12, Plo1 and Fin1.
He continues to use a range of cutting-edge techniques to explore the whole process in much greater detail. His work is revealing the 'bigger picture' by showing how mitosis is influenced by several other processes going on in the cell.
Investigating how cells grow
Professor Hagan's team is also investigating how yeast cells actually grow in size. They have already identified a network of proteins at the tips of yeast cells that play an important role.
These discoveries are highly relevant to understanding how human cells grow and move. And this work forms the basis for studying how these vital processes are disrupted in cancer cells.
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