Wakefield Lab
  • Home
  • Research
    • Mitosis
    • Galleria mellonella
  • Current Lab Members
    • Past Lab Members (2010-)
    • Pictures of the Group
  • Publications
  • Movies and Images
  • Drosophila Links
    • MS
    • Lab Blog
  • Contact Us

Picture
Prof. James Wakefield 
Group Leader
Associate Professor of Integrative Cellular Biology
Tel. +44 (0) 1392 724670                     
​  J.G.Wakefield@exeter.ac.uk                   
                                                             
My research interest has always been that of mitosis and cell division, stimulated by the fundamental beauty of the process as viewed using a fluorescence microscope, and its key role in diseases such as cancer. When I was an "A" level student I had an inspirational Biology teacher, Alan Wright, who told me that one day, when I grew up, I should go and find out how microtubules organised themselves during mitosis. I'm still working on an explanation - but then I'm not yet really grown up.


Picture
Dr Karolina Jaworek 
Postdoctoral Research Associate
k.jaworek@exeter.ac.uk                                                           

​My research uses the brain and embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as an in vivo model to study mitosis. I am interested in understanding how Embryonic Stem Cells acquire their Stem Cell identity for the very first time under normal conditions, and what the underlying mechanisms are that lead to their transformation into malignancies.


Picture
Dr Jennie Campbell 
NC3Rs funded Postdoctoral Research Associate
j.campbell2@exeter.ac.uk                                                             

During my PhD at the University of Bristol I used Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to study the response of the organism’s innate immune cells (termed hemocytes) to tissue damage. I am now working to further our understanding of hemocytes in the waxmoth Galleria mellonella by investigating hemocytes subtypes, and how they respond to Candida albicans infection primarily using flow cytometry. A major goal of my postdoctoral project is to generate a hemocyte-specific transgenic Galleria ​strain to diversify the experiments possible with the organism. 



Picture
Dr Stacey Scott 
Research Technician
s.j.scott2@exeter.ac.uk                                                           

My primary research interest is the process of cell division and the cellular consequences should this occur incorrectly i.e. cancer. My PhD focused on the identification of cell division defects and the role they play in whole genome doubling, in oesophageal adenocarcinoma and its precursor lesion Barrett’s oesophagus. Prior to this my research was focused on the identification of novel mitotic microtubule associated proteins in the early Drosophila embryo.

Having just completed my PhD, I have now taken the post as research technician in the Wakefield lab, returning to work with the Drosophila early embryo.


Picture
James Pearce 
DSTL PhD Student
jp699@exeter.ac.uk                                               




Picture
Ivan Canada Luna
DSTL PhD Student
i.canada-luna@exeter.ac.uk                                                           




Picture
James Marks 
BBSRC PhD Student

jpm215@exeter.ac.uk

My main area of interest is in the dynamics of chromatin-driven spindle formation, which is often unregulated in cancer cells with abnormal centrosome numbers. Since starting my PhD in September 2015 (funded by the BBSRC) I have been investigating the roles of a variety of mitotic proteins in this pathway using Drosophila embryos in combination with fluorescence microscopy, quantitative image analysis (with our collaborator Jeremy Metz) and a variety of biochemical techniques.  Outside the lab I am a keen classical guitar player, and dabble in jazz when given the chance, and enjoy skiing, brewing and kayaking.


Picture
Ammarah Tariq 
Palmer Legacy PhD Student

at543@exeter.ac.uk

The precise regulation of microtubule dynamics and interactions differs over cell development, the cell cycle, and intracellular space, and is essential to the cellular processes in which microtubules function. However, the molecular mechanisms by which MAPs regulate the dynamic properties of microtubules are still poorly understood. In collaboration with the lab of Christian Soeller, a biophysicist, am investigating microtubule dynamics by combining biochemical in vitro reconstitution with purified protein components, single-molecule total-internal-fluorescence (TIRF) imaging, and microfluidics techniques. Outside of the lab I enjoy creating art through various mediums, cooking, playing table-tennis and, whenever possible, travelling.


Picture
Constantino (Costa) Salomao 
PhD Student

cs624@exeter.ac.uk





Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Research
    • Mitosis
    • Galleria mellonella
  • Current Lab Members
    • Past Lab Members (2010-)
    • Pictures of the Group
  • Publications
  • Movies and Images
  • Drosophila Links
    • MS
    • Lab Blog
  • Contact Us