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Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 2344 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 7171 |
| Email: | c.l.bishop@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: |
Centre for Cutaneous Research, |
Biography
Cleo Bishop was awarded a PhD in Biological Sciences in 2001 from University College London. She then spent four years as a Career Development Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Chris Higgins at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London. Since joining Prof. David Beach’s group in 2006, she has developed a research interest in p16 and its role in senescence, cancer and ageing. Cleo has recently been appointed to the position of ‘Non-clinical Lecturer’ and is continuing her research into the regulation of the INK/ARF locus and its role in senescence, cancer and ageing.
Research Activity
Multicelluar organisms have the ability to renew and regenerate tissues. This regulated cell proliferation is essential for human longevity and contrasts with the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. During early tumourigenesis, cells harbouring precancerous lesions often respond by activating tumour suppressor proteins and by entering premature cell cycle arrest, or senescence. This process represents a vital barrier to cancer progression. One of the key effectors of this process is a protein called p16. It is a master regulator of the cell cycle whose expression results in senescence and its gradual accumulation is observed during healthy ageing. The genetic locus that encodes p16, the INK/ARF locus, has recently been associated with a host of ageing associated diseases, including type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Cleo’s research focuses on the molecular pathways that regulate p16 and its locus, together with the interplay between senescence, ageing and cancer.
Key Publications
CL Bishop, AH Bergin, D Fessart, V Borgdorff, E Hatzimasoura, JC Garbe, MR Stampfer, J Koh, DH Beach (2010) Primary cilium dependent and independent Hedgehog signaling inhibits p16INK4A. Molecular Cell. 40(4):533-47.
V Borgdorff, ME Lleonart, CL Bishop, D Fessart, AH Bergin, MG Overhoff, DH Beach (2010). Multiple microRNAs rescue from Ras-induced senescence by inhibiting p21(Waf1/Cip1). Oncogene 29(15):2262-71.
CL Bishop, M Ramalho, N Nadkarni, WM Kong, CF Higgins and N Krauzewicz (2006). A role for centromeric heterochromatin and PML-nuclear bodies in the cellular response to foreign DNA. Molecular and Cellular Biology 26(10), 3997.
