Researchers from University of Edinburgh will receive funding to accelerate research into fundamental cell biology – crucial for understanding rare genetic diseases and microbial drug resistance.
The £9 million funding for seven years, awarded by Wellcome, will bring scientists and technical experts together to explore fresh approaches to biological cell research, focussing on major unsolved scientific and health challenges.
The Discovery Research Platform for Hidden Cell Biology (DRP-HCB), based in the School of Biological Sciences, will develop new techniques to understand the biological functions of understudied proteins, visualise the inner workings of cells and explore rare cellular events – that can cause changes inside human cells leading to abnormalities.
Blind spots
Over the past 100 years, scientists have made remarkable progress in understanding cells and proteins – the fundamental building blocks of all organisms. This knowledge is essential to understand living systems and underpins the development of new drugs and therapies to fight disease.
However, technical limitations and investigative bias have left numerous ‘blind spots’ – areas of research that have remained intractable or unexplored. For example, thousands of human proteins are simply too small to be studied efficiently with current methods, so it remains unclear which roles they play in cells and human disease.
Rare events inside cells, that are difficult to detect, can cause drug resistance to infectious bacteria, fungi and parasites. If these changes enhance the survival of these pathogens or provide other benefits, they can quickly spread and cause persistent disease.
Collaborative research
These knowledge gaps – where the functions and connections between numerous proteins remain unknown and rare cellular events go unnoticed – are known as Hidden Cell Biology and are a major barrier to scientific progress.
Through collaborative research and new techniques, DRP-HCB plans to overcome these barriers to make understudied areas accessible to general research and medical communities.
The Centre will refocus cell biology towards neglected areas and major unsolved challenges, develop tools to produce new scientific insights and make it easier to analyse and access vast and varied datasets.
“I am delighted to see the establishment of our Discovery Research Platform for Hidden Cell Biology and I’d like to thank Wellcome for their ongoing and visionary support. Combining our current expertise in cell biology with fresh academic and technical input promises to accelerate future scientific breakthroughs in this field, to benefit all.”
-Professor Peter MathiesonPrincipal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh
Wellcome platforms
The announcement follows a £73 million initiative from Wellcome, for eight new Discovery Research Platforms – home to transformative research environments that will empower researchers to overcome specific barriers holding back progress in their various fields of research.
“By bringing together diverse expertise and technology to focus on neglected areas of cell biology, our Discovery Research Platform for Hidden Cell Biology represents a new approach to discovery research, I am excited to see the new scientific fields and insights into disease mechanisms that emerge as our Platform re-defines the research landscape.”
-Adele MarstonProfessor of Cell Biology and Director- Discovery Research Platform for Hidden Cell Biology.
“Discovery Research Platforms are a brand-new approach for Wellcome. By providing substantial support focused on specific research challenges, these environments have the potential to revolutionise fields and provide maximum possible benefit for researchers around the world. I am particularly excited that Discovery Research Platforms span such an exciting range of disciplines, showcasing our increasingly inclusive approach to funding.”
-Michael DunnDirector of Discovery Research- Wellcome.
