Research objectives

Under the lead of Professor Sussan Nourshargh the overall research objectives of this Centre are to investigate the molecular and cellular events within the microvasculature, focusing on the mechanisms associated with leukocyte trafficking, vascular permeability, flow and development together with regulation of vascular integrity, morphology and function. These responses are investigated under both physiological and pathological inflammatory conditions.

The Centre employs a multi-disciplinary approach for addressing its research objectives, including the use of molecular and cellular biology techniques and the use of numerous in vivo inflammatory models.

Imaging expertise

In addition, the Centre has a strong and internationally acknowledged expertise in the application of specialised imaging methods, such as confocal intravital microscopy. The latter allows in vivo observation of events within the microcirculation, for example, leukocyte vessel wall interactions, in 3D, in real time.

Key Recent Publications

• Woodfin A, Voisin M-B, Beyrau M, Colom B, Caille D, Diapouli, F-M, Nash G. B, Chavakis T, Albelda S. M, Rainger G. E, Meda P, Imhof B. A, and Nourshargh S (2011). Junctional adhesion molecule-C (JAM-C) regulates polarized neutrophil transendothelial cell migration in vivo. Nature Immunol. Available on-line. 12:761-769.

• Voisin M.B, Pröbstl D, and Nourshargh S (2010). Venular basement membranes ubiquitously express matrix protein low expression regions: Characterisation in multiple tissues and remodelling during inflammation. Am J Path.176:482-95.

• Woodfin A, Voisin M.B, Imhof B.A, Dejana E, Engelhardt B, and Nourshargh S (2009). Endothelial cell activation leads to neutrophil transmigration as supported by the sequential roles of ICAM-2, JAM-A, and PECAM-1. Blood. 113:6246-6257.

• Ley K, Laudanna C, Cybulsky MI and Nourshargh S(2007). Getting to the site of inflammation: the leukocyte adhesion cascade updated. Nat Rev Immunol.,7:678-89.

• Scheiermann C, Meda P, Aurrand-Lions M, Madani R, Yiangou Y, Coffey P, Salt TE, Ducrest-Gay D, Caille D, Howell O, Reynolds R, Lobrinus A, Adams RH, Yu AS, Anand P, Imhof BA and Nourshargh S (2007). Expression and function of junctional adhesion molecule-C in myelinated peripheral nerves. Science. 318:1472-5.

News

The Centre has relocated to state-of-the-art and newly refurbished laboratories on the 4th floor of the John Vane Science Centre, Charterhouse Square Campus of Barts and The London School of Medicine.

Awards and Prizes

Dr Abigail Woodfin was awarded a British Heart Foundation Intermediate Basic Science Fellowship (to be activated in summer of 2011).

Abigail was also the recipient of a number of other awards, such as a prize from the British Microcirculation Society for her innovative work on investigations of leukocyte transmigration by confocal intravital microscopy (April 2011) and best poster prize at the 5th Amsterdam ZOO Meeting on Cell Adhesion & Migration in Inflammation and Cancer (May 2011).

Dr Martina Beyrau won two prestigious EU grants in 2009, a Marie Curie and an EMBO fellowship. She activated her Marie Curie Fellowship aimed at investigating the role of integrins in monocyte trafficking in the Centre in Jan 2011.

Dr James Whiteford was the recipient of a prestigious AR-UK Fellowship (activated in Sept 2009) to investigate the role of Syndecans in inflammatory events.

Dr Mathieu-Benoit Voisin was recently awarded an AR-UK fellowship. Mathieu was also the recipient of the 2010 Werner Risau New Investigator Award in Vascular Biology from the American Heart Association Journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology for his paper entitled “Monocytes and neutrophils exhibit both distinct and common mechanisms in penetrating the vascular basement membrane in vivo” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 29(8):1193-9.

Dr Voisin and Dr Pröbstl (former PhD student in the Centre) won the First Prize in the British Heart Foundation’s 2010 “Reflections of Research” image competition. The image entitled “Looking through the heart” received much publicity including being published in the Daily Mail and The Reporter.

Vacancies

Whilst there are no open positions at present within our Centre we welcome enquiries from enthusiastic researchers interested in joining our team.

More jobs at Queen Mary, University of London

Funding

Research in the Centre is funded by a Wellcome Trust Programme Grant (2007-2012) as well as additional grants from the British Heart Foundation, AR-UK, Wellcome Trust, EU, William Harvey Research Foundation and start-up funds from Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London.