Projects

Hormone action in the normal breast

The aim of this project is to understand the role of hormones in regulating normal breast development and identify the underlying mechanisms through which progesterone signalling pathways increase breast cancer risk.

In this project we are investigating the individual cell types in the normal breast and the effects of progesterone and oestrogen on specific cell populations.

Nuclear structure and hormone regulation in breast cancer

This project is interrogating the role of the nuclear structure of the cell in defining progesterone effects in normal and malignant breast cells. Progesterone acts by binding to a nuclear receptor protein, which interacts with nuclear DNA to switch on specific genes.

We are investigating how the altered structure of the cell nucleus in cancer influences interactions between the progesterone receptor and DNA.