2020 BSCB Magazine BRITISH SOCIETY FOR BIOLOGY

BSCB Magazine 2020

News 2 Features 6 Meeting Reports 23 Summer Students 31 Society Business 36

Editorial

In this issue of the BSCB magazine we are worth hearing about. Interviews with Pleasan- Front cover: Scanning electron microscopy image looking both backwards and forwards, like tine and Euginia are on pages 14–19. We would of a 16-week-old human Janus. We have had a lot of celebrate over the also congratulate the winners of the UK Young retinal organoid generated past year, particularly due to the hard work Cell of the Year: Laura Hankins, Raff from pluripotent stem of our PhD and Postdoctoral representatives. lab, Oxford. The Postdoc poster prize went to cells using bioreactor We are very excited to launch two new BSCB our own: Gautam Dey, Buzz lab, . Our technology. Image has been pseudo-coloured to awards, the Martin Raff award for the best PhD Early career symposium was very well received, highlight rod (Purple) and project and the Postdoctoral award to recognise judging by all of the tweets and feedback. cone (Cyan) photoreceptor excellence in our early career members. Please In 2020 we will be having one of our first outer-segments, the cell see pages 4 and 5 for more information about overseas meetings in Paris with the French structures of the retina this and how to apply. Society for . This means our usual capable of capturing light and transforming it Reaching our 55th anniversary as a society Spring meeting will move to the late summer, into vision. The image, by this year some of our committee members we are looking forwards to seeing you there. For Patrick Ovando Roche at have carried out an extensive research project more information please see our website, we UCL, was the 1st Prize looking into our history as a society. This has will be opening registration after Easter. winner of the BSCB Image Competition 2019. been quite important as some of our founding We continued with our series of excellent members are now entering their 90’s but due to meetings, including the meeting, the unstinting work of David Archer and Andrew The North of England Cell Biology forum, the Carter we have been able to interview them to Actin meeting and UK membrane trafficking find out more about what motivated the foun- meeting. If you have an idea for a meeting dation of the BSCB and what our first meetings please get in touch with our meetings secre- were like. Please read more on pages. As part tary as we have funding available for one day of this we have been eager to get copies of focussed meetings. We consider applications early newsletters, if you have newsletters from in our Spring and Autumn committee meet- 1995 or earlier please get in touch! ings. To find out what we are upto and for news Last year we had an excellent meeting with updates please do follow along on twitter @ the BSDB in Warwick which took place between official_BSCB the 7th and 10th of April. The meeting had a Its important to us as a society that we re- particular focus on Cancer Cell biology and flect our members’ needs and interests, so we mechanosensing and was organised by Susana are launching a membership survey in January. Godhino and our previous WICB prize winner The survey is still open at www.quicksurveys. Vicky Sanz Moreno. We again commend Anne com/s/f4Y7D so if you haven’t responded Straube our meetings secretary for doing a please do so here. I’ll look forwards to putting professional job of coordinating the meeting. the feedback for you in the 2021 edition. Denise Montell gave the opening plenary lec- It’s great to be back editing the Magazine, ture on collective of the Neural I’d like to thank Susana and Stephen for their Crest. A topic which appealed to both BSCB hard work on the last edition, and Giles Newton and DB members. We were delighted to award who does our production. I hope you enjoy our Pleasantine Mill the Women in Cell Biology 2020 edition and look forwards to seeing you Prize and Eugina Piddinia the Hooke medal. If in Paris. you haven’t heard their talks please head over to our website www.bscb.org as they are well Ann Magazine Editor: Ann Wheeler Production: Giles Newton, Deadlift Media Printer: Hobbs BSCB website: www.bscb.org 1 2 NEWS pun…). Unusually for the entitled Cell la Vie (a French (SBCF), and Cell Biology fellow French Society for Paris, shared with our will be a special event in Our 2020 annual meeting . inherited is defective in patients with and how this process form her latest work on how cilia ) spoke about of Pleasantine Mill (University Career Award Medal winner Early Women in Cell Biology org/)/ The 2019 BSCB our website (https://bscb. YouTube channel linked to can watch it on our BSCB you missed her talk, you If mammalian cells in culture. both Drosophila and on cell competition, using latest innovative research filled talk describing her Bristol) gave a movie- of Eugenia Piddini (University BSCB Hooke Medal winner the winners. The 2019 and hear the Lectures from award our two BSCB medals It is always a pleasure to changes during the meeting. and manage last-minute together the programme BSDB co-organisers to put who worked with the two Moreno and Susana Godinho to Vickygrateful Sanz- University. We are really (BSDB) at Warwick Biology Society for Developmental meeting with the British biology. We shared the April special focus on cancer cell exciting science, with a of Warwick University full was Our 2019 annual meeting at look forward to 2020. 2019 and a few highlights of your Society. Here I describe about information full of BSCB Magazine, which is I hope you enjoy this year’s BSCB President’sReport2019 Society News and hence several Irish Society,own Cell Biology Ireland does not have its This reflects the fact that non-UK committee member. the committee has had a April. This is the first time Galway), who joined us in Ireland University of Ciaran (National Morrison committee welcomed This year the BSCB their French counterparts. results and experiences with unique event to share their postdocs will join us at this UK PhD students and event. We hope that many postdoc evening social also be a PhD student and the meeting. There will of will be awarded at the end students and postdocs best posters by BSCB PhD In addition, prizes for the PhD and postdoc abstracts. all speakers selected from students and postdocs with organised and run by PhD the meeting, of beginning Graduate Symposium at the submit. There is also a from abstracts that you 33 talks will be selected present their work. First, students and postdocs to for PhD many opportunities The meeting will include River Seine. is an evening cruise on the conference dinner, which the highlights will be the of present their Lectures. One Medal winners will also Cell Biology. The two 2020 session on New Methods for Biology, a and includes to Synthetic topics ranging from biology has nine sessions on cell Meeting. This Paris meeting rather than our usual Spring September (23rd to 25th) BSCB, this will be held in interested in being a BSCB you are membership. If BSCB and the values of BSCB, BSCB meetings, University to promote the within your Institute/ Ambassador, acting locally you can become a BSCB our website. Finally,of Awards and Grants section about this please see the topic. For more information meeting on a cell biology to help run a one-day to the BSCB for funding addition, you can apply in your laboratory. In summer studentship out a 6-8 week to carry sponsor an undergraduate BSCB members can also aregrants eligible to apply. any travel funds in their who do not currently have meeting. Group leaders biology, a BSCB including workshop relevant to cell costs for any meeting or travel and registration award to help fund your for an Honor Fell travel or postdoc, you can apply you are a PhD student If the annual BSCB meeting. addition to a discount on have many benefits in As a BSCB member, you the UK or Ireland. scientists who work in either Career Award Medal, open to Early Women in Cell Biology the Hooke Medal and the make our two medals, We have also decided to in being on the committee. out who would be interested in Ireland to find BSCB members contacted our meetings. We attend BSCB and regularly the BSCB of are members cell President BSCB more about the BSCB. ambassadors and find out committee members and these meetings to talk to look out for our stands at sponsored meetings. Please our and/or at one of in Paris next September 2020 at our annual meeting many BSCB members in I look forward to meeting our website. details are also available on All send you information. and he will Andrew Carter our Membership Secretary Ambassador, please contact

NEWS 3

POSTDOC REP ISREP POSTDOC PRELIGHTS TOP REVIEWER! 2019, September 24 On of Company the Biologists 500 preLights celebrated pre- are Prelights posts. by selected highlights print researchers postdoctoral science life the across round big A community. ofGautemto applause who, rep postdoc our Dey 16 contributed having ofone is posts, topthe reviewers! prelights.biologists.com UPDATE SCHOOLS 2019the for entries In in examinations A-level thesubjects, science of number girls for entries for boys for those exceeded ever. time first the been have I material The Professorwith producing on Greaves Mel Sir BiologyCancer beenhas inclusion in for selected resources recommended course training a for oncologists young for material This India. in diagrams many contains linksand PowerPoint in YouTube selected to presentations. beingalso is material The BSCBthe to uploaded bscb.org/learning- website: resources/softcell-e- learning/ cancer-biology/ David Archer THEJOINS RAFF JORDAN COMMITTEE ASCB Congratulationsourto Raff Jordan ex-president ASCBthe to election his on committee.

FROM THE FROM MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY was structure fee new A 2019 January introduced in payers debit direct which in compared less (£35) pay credit by paying people to of Several (£45). card switched already have you If debit. to direct over you nowthis do to like would logplease BSCBthe into theon members area (https://hg3.co.uk/ website infill bscb/members.aspx), debit direct the return and form.mandate and feedback your value We surveya opened have we ofsomembers BSCB all what know us let can you importantis and you to Societya as BSCB the how itsto useful more be can already will We members. about you emailed have opened which survey the 2020 February early in closewill and April1 on thefill in Please 2020. https://www. here: survey quicksurveys.com/s/f4Y7D OLDANY HAVE YOU DO NEWSLETTERS? BSCB in-depth the Following ofroots the on research we6 page on BSCB the time- more our ask would servedifmembers they of copies have BSCBthe before from newsletter If1994. canplease so Carter Andrew contact you ([email protected]. ac.uk) tolooking also are We undergraduate an recruit member current or student thewith assist could who of generation onlinean of repository originalthe documents,Society meetingsand newsletters proudthe reflect would that historyof CellBritish Biology in the 20th Century. Ifof know you someone contactplease interested Editor. the In brief... - -

Wanted! NewWanted! andPhD Reps Postdoc and a lot years After several of work on the com hard mittee, both Joyce Yu and Yu both Joyce mittee, will be looking Gautem Dey PhD and as down to step of reps Postdoc the BSCB. we will be sorryWhile to say to look for we need goodbye recruits. new a passion for have Do you want an oppor Cell Biology, mingle tunity to meet and with leading Cell Biologists to shaping and contribute the 2020s? the BSCB for ofaspect key A rolethe postdoc/ organise involves thein events student-focused This meetings. BSCB annual includecan career early the symposium, researchers social workshops, career The events. networking and bewill period handover annualBSCB the around 2020. September in meeting inwill be student the Ideally of year second their PhD by oftime the the handover. If you, this sounds like or please email Joyce Gautem.

Jennifer Rohn If more like would you informationthejoin to or group policy contactplease me. Meanwhile the BSCB have have BSCB the Meanwhile resources more developed engagementpolicy. with for oflist email an year This interested members BSCB updates policy receiving in relevant to contributing and wasConsultations up. set newsletter policy first The was August in out sent 2019. Politics remains extremely extremely remains Politics I moment. the at volatile Christmasthe attended ofreflection a As chaos, this have we year, past the in four than fewer no had shuffles.Minister Science servedSam Gyimah until November in resigning 2018 December From 2018. wasit 2019 Chris July to to July from Skidmore; wasit 2019 Jo September Skidmore then and Johnson; dust again. The over took theon settle to have will Brexit and Election General Government the before startstomind its putting again, policy domestic are We includingscience. forward looking verymuch and general, in science to in biologycell research partbecoming of particular, more. once agenda the Advocacy Report on Reception Parliamentary networkinga 2018, Dec 5 together bringing event of representatives groups Society Royal the under of parent our Biology, wasIt useful organisation. Labour the from hear to Chi Newcastle, for MP sciencea has who Onwurah, background.mentionedShe beingis everything that Brexit, by overshadowed withdo to includinganything funding. its and science Science 4 NEWS completion. but to work should be close not required for the award, advocacy. A publication is outreach or scientific community engagement, such as conferences, public community engagement project summary, and excellence, based on a on their research Medal will be assessed Candidates for the Raff and more widely in the UK. from the LMCB programme many PhD students both of mentor and supporter has been a great Martin 100 career cell biologists. today having trained over meeting. It still continues attend the annual BSCB tutorials and, importantly, through labs, receive expert to rotate opportunity It offered students the a unique programme: in 1993, this was started (LMCB) at UCL. When for Molecular Cell Biology at the MRC Laboratory in Molecular Cell Biology programme PhD graduate and running the first 4-year instrumental in setting up was Martin MRC support, from 1992 – 1995. With the BSCB president of Raff,Martin who the was named after Medal has been The Raff meeting. our 2019 autumn committee unanimously approved in PhD rep Joyce Yu and was developed by our own BSCB cell biology. The medal was contributions to UK/Ireland have made outstanding BSCB PhD students who developed to recognise Medal. The medal was Raff a new BSCB award, The We are delighted to launch BSCB PhDAward-RaffMedal BSCB FundingNews the following spring. for BSCB annual meeting for the awardee to register committee meeting in time announced after the autumn committee. Results will be will be judged by the BSCB the BSCB Secretary, and letters should be sent to Nominations and supporting listof • CVincluding • 2-page projectsummary 1-page letter • Supporting • 1-page cover letter contain: The nomination should October each year Nomination: Deadline is 1st member. does not have to be a BSCB collaborator. The nominator or a their PhD supervisors be nominated by one of months. Candidates must in the previous 12 who have submitted their BSCB PhD student members The scheme is open to all talk. and will give a short be presented with a medal meeting at which s/he will the upcoming BSCB annual and UK/Ireland travel for registration, accommodation The awardee will receive free attended posters andmeetings publications, abstracts, excluding references) figures(including but submission) thesis thedate of include or collaborator (must from aPhDsupervisor and postdocs meetings forPhDstudents regional careerdevelopment BSCB meetingfundingfor meeting. the Since we want are involved in running each from more than 1 university BSCB members preferable if career development and it is meetings should be short these The theme of primary careers and networking students and postdocs on regional meeting run by PhD stream for a new type of have launched a funding our PhD and Postdoc reps April 2019 members. As of targeted for our early career funding stream specifically we have developed a new the BSCB annual meetings early career researchers at feedback from students and Postdoc survey and Following our PhD and biology training programme. Thebiology intoamolecularcell backgrounds students fromdiverse scientific of that facilitated theintegration rotations the introductionof innovations, championed Martin programme. Among anumber of theLMCBfour-year PhD of driving force inthedevelopment hasbeenamajor Raff Martin proposal.) to discuss their ucl.ac.uk and Gautam Dey, g.dey@ Yu, [email protected] representatives (Joyce BSCB student and postdoc applicants to contact the encourage potential Prior to applying, we £500 for ~0.5 day activity up to We of can offer grants the programme. of discussions can be part willing to consider scientific BSCB members. We are and Postdocs, particularly meeting is open to all PhD members we ask that the to all our PhD and postdoc benefit meetings to be of advocacy. his wonderful acknowledgement of training,graduate thisaward isa outstanding of and theimportance new approaches implementation of has continued tolobby for the intheUK.Martin opportunities training thebestgraduate some of widely adopted elsewhere and offers four-year hasnow been format

NEWS 5 Any one lab may receive receive may lab one Any per awards three to up countingnot year, calendar to participate awards in meeting. BSCB spring the discretionary are Awards available to subject and funds. applicationsIncomplete considered. not be will a presenting When antalk, or poster of acknowledgement beshould funding BSCB becan which displayed, ourfrom downloaded website. sent to the BSCB Secretary BSCB the to sent the by judged be will and Results committee. BSCB afterannounced are Committee Autumn the meeting. should application The contain: letter cover 1-page applicants’the outlining UK/ to contributions BiologyCell Ireland includingCV oflist abstracts, publications, meetingsand posters attended Supporting letter 1-page advisor postdoctoral from collaborator. or • • • • • • •

in the online applicationonline the in portalfullthe and upload form.application normally are made Awards stagesearly the in those to of careers their been have must Applicants aleast at for member a studentPhD a be (or year of year first their in study). be must Applications monthone least at made of advance in meetingthe support which for is requested. no have who Group leaders available funding current for eligible are travel for Supportour COB Grants. receive will applicant No per award one than more award an However, annum. springBSCB the attend to precludedoes not meeting travel another getting year. same the in award be must applicant The aor poster a contributing talk. hold a groupa hold leader (includingposition through Development Career a permanenta or Award) aat position academic research or university institute. collaborator) or advisor abe to have does not member. BSCB publicationfirst-author are pre-prints (biorxiv theirfrom acceptable) lab. postdoctoral deadlineapplication The year. each October 1st is be should Applications 3 Complete your details Complete your 3 usuallyrules following The of discretion the (at apply Committee): the • • • • • • • Nominator (postdoctoralNominator • a have must Applicants • Application •

members are considered considered members are courseor meeting any for biology. cell to relevant locationthe on depends of course. meeting or the website: see our Please more for www.bscb.org information. portalapplication online website. BSCB the from form,application complete pdf. single a as save and who are currently postdocs currently are who not must applicant the you have your full fundingfull your have you atsubmitted application travel. to prior weeks 6 least theassess to us allows This appropriatelyapplications successfulthe ensure and award the have applicants fortime good in monies include some We trip. the reportsmeeting ourfrom in award Travel Fell Honor 25. page on 2019 are: criteria Fell Honor The BSCBfrom Applications • ofamount The • award the apply: to How the BSCBwith Register 1 fullthe Download 2 BSCB postdoc award we award postdoc BSCB next the for looking are of generation inspirational The leaders. scientific free receives awardee UK/Ireland and registration annual next the to travel bewill they where meeting shorta give to expected bewill awardee The talk. and Medal a with presented certificateof recognition in achievements. their Eligibility • Open to all BSCB members oftime the At • application, We manage a high volume high a manage We ofparticularly applications, oftime the around BSCBthe for registration theand meeting spring thatask We meeting. ASCB update Buss Folma welcome We (right) Tooze Sharon and over taken have who of administration BSCB’s the Julie from schemes Award want thankto We Welburn. the over work her for Julie Honor The years. 5 past been has award Travel Fell this ever than popular more and members, our with year betterand streamline to we awarding the manage email new a created have applications for address . [email protected] Fell Honor the Between Support C.O.B. award, awards) (PI travel Grants the awards Childcare and over funded has BSCB over from applications travel of100 This members. our several includesenabling BSCBthe members to attend hope We meeting. spring and wasthis enjoyable an the for experience productive recipients. award Honor Fell Travel award The BSCB Postdoctoral Postdoctoral BSCB The early recognises Award have who researchers career contributionmajor a made BiologyCell UK/Ireland to postdoctoraltheir during scientific as well As training. committeethe excellence applicant’s the consider will contribution independence, communityscientific the to through outreach and engagement and public theIn activities. other BSCB Postdoctoral Award Postdoctoral BSCB Gautem rep postdoc Our BSCBthe developed has Dey is award This award. postdoc researchers career early for owntheir have or not do who funding. The beginnings of the FEATURES British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB)

It is with some irony that we find ourselves writing this article at a time when the is trying to extricate itself from the EU, and the words ‘take control’ ring in the ears of some people. The irony being that the BSCB had its origins in similar circumstances and with similar thoughts. But enough of ‘now politics’, let’s go back in history to the early beginnings of the BSCB.

The European Tissue Culture Club (ETCC) did doctoral research in the Strangeways Laborato- The time is the early 1930s and ‘hot topic’ dances ry. After several moves Abercrombie came back as were the Rumba and the Samba. In biology the ‘hot its Director in 1970, following Honor Fell’s retire- topic’ was tissue culture, in the USA, in Europe and ment. [3] Leonard Franks, known as ‘Sam’ or ‘Sam- in the United Kingdom. The leading investigator in my’, qualified in medicine and spent some time this field was Honor Fell, who had become director working in the laboratory of Honor Fell. He became of the Strangeways Laboratory in Cambridge in an authority on tumour biology especially that of 1929 at the age of 29. Her ‘organ culture method’ prostate tissue. [4] John Paul. Paul initially qual- allowed cells to be cultured by surrounding them ified as a physician in 1944 but then obtained a with fragments of other tissues. In 1931 a 24-year- degree in . In 1953 he was appointed old from the Netherlands, Pieter Gaillard, arrived Director of the Tissue Culture Laboratory at Glas- at the Strangeways lab which he described as an gow University and in 1970 founded and directed ‘old villa’ at the top of Hills Road, Cambridge. He the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research. In 1976 was shown in and made to wait in the library until ‘The Beatson’ moved to a purpose built laboratory, a ‘mystery lady’ arrived and offered to show him the ergonomic design of which was largely deter- the garden. Eventually, as she probed his scientific mined by John Paul. [5] Neville Willmer obtained interests, he began to realise that he was talking a B.A. from Oxford University in 1924 and became to the director herself. Honor Fell, later told him a Demonstrator at the University of Manchester. how much she enjoyed his embarrassment as the From 1966 to1969 he held the post of Professor of realisation dawned. So began a lifelong friendship, at the . Willmer’s which in 1947 led them to co-found the European biological field of interest was tissue culture about Tissue Culture Club together. In April 1967, as which he wrote a three-volume treatise. Gaillard stood down from active involvement in the club, it changed its name to the European Tissue Metamorphosis Culture Society. Both he and Honor fell remained In the USA a Tissue Culture Commission (later involved with the ETCS, Honor Fell helping to draft Tissue Culture Association) was founded after a its new constitution. meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1946. Honor Fell was part of the founding Executive Commit- The British Tissue Culture Association tee, holding the position of “European Member at Biologists from the UK attended meetings of the Large”. The TCA developed standardised culture European Tissue Culture Club but around 1950 media, arranged teaching workshops and held a group of scientists in the UK with an interest in meetings. By 1958 however, as tissue culture tissue culture, decided to form their own British became an established technique, there was dis- Tissue Culture Association (BTCA). There were five cussion about the wisdom of having an association members of the group: [1] Honor Fell herself, who based on a technique. The subject was discussed was a world-renowned figure in tissue culture with and debated and needless to say there were some interests also in cell biology and radiobiology. Hon- who wished to retain the established structures. In or Fell had skills in administration and networking 1960 however a group led by Keith Porter broke and these contributed greatly to the success of the away and formed the American Society for Cell Bi- Strangeways Laboratory and the BTCA. [2] Michael ology (ASCB). In the UK a similar debate was held Abercrombie, a cell biologist and embryologist who but rather than form a break-away group, members

6 FEATURES of The British Tissue Culture Association, in a spirit ued and over time other activities were added. In of British compromise, simply decided on a name 1973 the BSCB published a Laboratory Manual for change. Thus, in April 1965 at the AGM in Aber- Cell Biology to aid teaching of Cell Biology. It was ystwyth the British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB) assembled by David Hall and Shirley Hawkins from was born. A notice reporting the name change was contributions submitted by the Society’s mem- placed in and an advertisement asking for bers. The contributions were lightly edited with the new members was included in the first issue of the aim of including “too much rather than too little Journal of Cell Science. information”. In 1975 the BSCB Committee accepted a do- The British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB) nation of £3000 that came from the profits of an The BSCB constitution dictated that there were International Society for Cell Biology Congress held three Officers. The President (officially Honorary at Sussex. They decided to use it to provide funds President) and a Meetings Convenor served for 3 for members to travel to the Society’s meetings. years. The Secretary/Treasurer served for 5 years. On 12th Feb 1974 Brian Richards (BSCB Treasur- John Paul was President of the British Tissue er/Secretary) and Michael Balls (the Meeting Con- Culture Association in 1965 and so became the venor) travelled to Cambridge to meet with Honor first BSCB President. Sammy Franks took on the Fell and ask if they could name these awards after role of Secretary/Treasurer. The constitution also her. She agreed and gave them a “splendid lunch”. specified 6 additional committee members and The first awards were presented at the 1975 BSCB up to 10 Honorary Members. The first Honorary spring meeting at the University of East Anglia. member was Honor Fell herself who by this time The meeting topic was “Organ cultures in biomed- had become a Dame Commander of the Order of ical research” and resulted in the publication of the British Empire. a Festschrift (a collection of writings published in The founding goal of the BSCB was “to promote honour of a scholar) for Honor Fell to celebrate her the advance of research in relation to all branches 75th birthday. of cell biology and to encourage the interchange By the early 1980s the role of Secretary/Treas- of information”. In 1965 they planned to hold “two urer was split into two, with Nancy Lane becoming meetings a year, consisting of a one-day sympo- Secretary and John Pitts taking on the role of sium with invited speakers, followed by a general Treasurer. took over from the Hungar- session for proffered papers.” It is not clear ian born Laszlo Lajtha as President. Colin Hopkins whether this schedule was adhered to. The 1966 was meeting secretary and the driving force behind meeting was held on 1st-2nd April at UCL on the an expansion in the number and size of meetings. subject of extra-nuclear DNA. The meetings contin- The BSCB started to hold major international

1965 1980

7 symposia covering multiple topics along the lines Left: Nancy Lane and of the ASCB meetings in the USA. These were John Gurdon profitable and reported to be the best cell biology meetings in Europe. The BSCB had a long history FEATURES of holding meetings jointly with other Societies. In 1984 the Committee agreed to combine forces on a regular basis with the British Society for Develop- mental Biology. The goal was to hold even larger Spring meetings with more overseas invited speak- ers. The first of these was in Glasgow in 1985 and included sessions on early amphibian development (BSDB), growth factors (BSCB), modelling mor- phogenesis and invasiveness in vitro (joint BSCB/ BSDB) and eukaryote (BSCB). John Gurdon was on the Board of the Company of Biologists (CoB), publisher of the Journal of Cell Science which had had links to the BSCB from its earliest days. In the early 1980s the CoB had spare funds, was looking to support cell biology in the UK and generously agreed to provide support for the BSCB. John Pitts recalls meeting the CoB Secretary in Cambridge to discuss how the funding BSCB Officers might be set up and how the BSCB would use it to help expand the Honor Fell awards. Since the 1980s the BSCB has continued to Presidents innovate new ways to support Cell Biology. The John Paul (Glasgow) 1965–1968 Hooke medal, “to recognise an emerging leader in Michael Abercrombie (UCL) 1969–1971 the field of cell biology”, was launched in 2000. Michael Stoker (ICRF) 1971–1973 The first awardee was Anne Ridley, who is now our Murdoch Mitchison (Edinburgh) 1974–1977 president. In 2008 the BSCB summer studentship Laszlo Lajtha (Manchester) 1977–1981 scheme was launched. Our Women in Cell Biology John Gurdon (Cambridge) 1981–1985 Early Career medal was first awarded in 2016. This Lewis Wolpert (UCL) 1985–1992 year our Student and Postdoc representatives led Martin Raff (MRC-LMCB) 1992–1995 the development of a new scheme to fund career Ron Laskey (Cambridge) 1996–1998 events and networking opportunities. There will be Fiona Watt (ICRF) 1999–2006 more to come! Clare Isacke (ICR) 2007–-2010 Jordan Raff (Oxford) 2011–2016 David Archer and Andrew Carter. October 2019. Anne Ridley (Bristol) 2017–- We would like to thank Michael Balls, John Pitts, Colin Secretary/Treasurers Hopkins, John Gurdon and Nancy Lane for their corre- Sammy Franks (ICRF) 1965–1970 spondence regarding the BSCB. Other sources include Brian Richards (Searle Labs) 1970–1975 the biography of Honor Fell by Dame Janet Vaughan, Michael Balls (Nottingham) 1975–1980 Honor Fell’s papers in the Wellcome collection, records John D Pitts (Glasgow) 1980–1981 in Cell Biology International Reports and the ASCB/ TCC/TCA archives at the University of Maryland, Secretary Baltimore County (with thanks to librarian Robin Martin Paul Whur (MCRI, Oxted) 1982 for sending copies of documents related to the BSCB). Nancy Lane (Cambridge) 1982–1990 Thanks also to Ann Wheeler and Sharon Tooze for Robert Johnson (Cambridge) 1991–1995 pointing us in the right direction. Birgitte Lane (Dundee) 1995–1999 Following the extensive research for this project we Michael Whitaker (Newcastle) 2000–2005 intend to upload the records to an online repository. If Elizabeth Smythe (Sheffield) 2006–2010 you would be interested in assisting with scanning old Grant Wheeler (UEA) 2011–2016 newsletters – or know of a History of Science student Vas Ponnamalam (Leeds) 2016– who may be interested in this please get in touch with Andrew Carter – our Membership secretary. We Treasurer are missing some information about who served as John D Pitts (Glasgow) 1982–1985 Meetings Secretary and which meetings the BSCB held Fiona Watt (ICRF) 1986–1990 between 1965 and 1973. We are also missing the Martin Humphries (Manchester) 1991–1995 newsletters between 1980 and 1995. If anyone has Stuart Kellie (Oxford) 1995–2000 any information or records please contact us. Jo Adams (MRC-LMCB) 2000 Mark Marsh (MRC – LMCB) 2001–2006 Adrian Harwood (Cardiff) 2007–2012 Caroline Austin (Newcastle) 2012–2017 David Elliot (Newcastle) 2017–

8 The LMCB’s 25th FEATURES Anniversary

In 1993, the Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) opened its doors as one of the first centres in the UK dedicated to studying cells at the molecular level.

efore the LMBC opened, cell biology in the UK founding director. Presentations from current LMCB Bwas fragmented; while there were excellent members and alumni followed, spanning topics in scientists in the field, there was no central hub cell biology such as cancer immunology, host-path- focusing on this fundamental area of biomedical ogen interactions and neuroscience. State-of-the-art research. Dai Rees, then director of the Medical innovation and technology developments at the Research Council (MRC), recognised a need for a LMCB were showcased with an introduction to the research institute dedicated to molecular cell biolo- High Content Biology Laboratory by Robin Ketteler gy, and asked Colin Hopkins, from Imperial College and a presentation on the future of microscopy by London, to make this happen. A new laboratory was Ricardo Henriques. Early career researchers were built at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus and a number also given the opportunity to present their research of cell biologists, including Martin Raff, Alan Hall, in 3-minute flash talks. In closing, Martin Raff gave Mark Marsh, Anne Mudge, Dan Cutler, Bill Rich- an overview of life at the LMCB during the last 25 ardson and Jo Adams, were recruited to establish years, recounting his role in establishing the UK’s the new institute. Since then, the LMCB has been first 4-year PhD programme. Following the sympo- dedicated to pushing the boundaries of innovation, sium, attendees gathered to celebrate with drinks developing new molecular understandings of cell and cake. function through discovery-based research support- Through the years, LMCB researchers have ed by state-of-the-art technologies. received prestigious awards including, most recently, 2018 offered the opportunity for a celebration the Hooke Medal and Leverhulme Prize to Ewa and on July 13th current LMCB members, alum- Paluch, a Lister Institute Prize Fellowship to Yanlan ni and key stake holders gathered at UCL for the Mao, and L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science LMCB’s 25th Anniversary Symposium and Cele- Fellowships to Yanlan Mao and Sophie Acton. But Below: The LMCB’s 25th bration to celebrate our people and achievements. success can also be seen through the numbers of Anniversary Symposium The symposium opened with remarks from Mark LMCB alumni who have not only garnered accolades, and Celebration Marsh, the current director, and Colin Hopkins, the but gone on to prestigious appointments and highly successful careers in research, industry and re- search-associated activities. Together these achieve- ments highlight the value and regard in which the LMCB is held across the research community. From the outset, the LMCB has been commit- ted to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment, an ethos that continues and was recognised in 2016 by an Athena SWAN Gold Award. Currently, the LMCB is entering an exciting new phase of its life and in the coming months will be welcoming a new director and a new cohort of junior group leaders, for which a programme of recruitment will be announced shortly. Over these 25 years, BSCB and LMCB have a strong and long-standing association. In the 1980s, Colin Hopkins was BSCB Secretary, while Martin Raff was BSCB President from 1992 to 1995. More recently, Dan Cutler, Mark Marsh, Kate Nobes, and Buzz Baum have all held BSCB committee positions. We hope these good relations will endure and that the LMCB will continue to contribute to BSCB’s ongoing success.

Giorgia Siriaco

9 The London Cell Motility FEATURES Club – Relaunched

The London Cell Motility Club has been relaunched as a CRICK HEI network mini symposium series.

lmost 60 years ago, the London Cell Motility and more latterly the which for the first time AClub was initiated by the then Professor of Zool- allowed the club to invite speakers working outside ogy at University College, Michael Abercrombie. His London and the UK. In 2012, after 11 fruitful years pioneering work with Joan Heaysman in the 1950s Gareth stood down as organiser and Michael Way had developed the concept of contact inhibition (CRICK, London) took over the organising role of of locomotion and made significant contributions the Club for the next 5 years. In February 2017, to many other aspects of cell migration. Michael Michael handed over this role to Ferran Valderrama Abercrombie’s seminal contribution to cell migra- (St George’s, University of London) and Matthias Above: A still from a Krause (King’s College London). film made by Joan E. M. tion (“Michael Abercrombie: the pioneer ethologist Heaysman, C. A, Middleton, of cells” Trends in Cell Biol. 8; 124-126) was also Recently, the London Cell Motility Club was Susan M. Pegrum, and recognised a posteriori when following his death in relaunched as a CRICK HEI network mini symposi- Michael Abercrombie, The 1979 a conference fund was established to support um series. There are two mini symposia a year in a Cell Group, Department of a quinquennial symposium. very open and interactive format. The first meeting, , University College, London. The origins of the club in the early 1960s rest held in May 2019, had Klemens Rottner as keynote with Michael. He established it as a common speaker and four short talks were given by early ca- meeting ground for informal discussions on cell reer researchers. The event was very well attended, behaviour at a time when there was considerable and there were lively discussions over drinks and a discord between Michael Stoker of ICRF and Jack light food reception, keeping the interactive nature Ambrose of Chester Beatty Research Institute at of the event originally set by Abercrombie. The Fulham Road. Michael, ever the conciliator, invited keynote speakers for the next two CRICK-London both groups to his laboratory meetings on neutral Cell Motility Club mini-symposia will be Erez Raz ground. Along with these two influential groups, sci- (17th of October 2019) and Xavier Trepat (21st of entists with similar interests, amongst them Lewis May 2020). Wolpert (Middlesex Hospital Medical School), Ruth The organisers hope that this new format encour- Bellairs (Anatomy UCL) and Charles Vernon (Chem- ages networking and helps fostering interactions istry UCL) were also part of this initial club. and collaborations that promote research in cell Such was the success of the meetings, it was motility, which is at the interface between develop- decided to continue the club after Abercrombie left mental biology, cell biology, the cross-disciplinary to become Director of the Strangeways Research mechanobiology field and requires state-of-the-art Laboratory in 1970. The organisation of 4 meet- computer modelling and microscopy techniques. ings per year passed to the sturdy hands of Conrad Thus, if your lab is interested in cell motility please King, a young lecturer at the time, who introduced consider joining the London Cell Motility Club. You a wine and snacks reception as part of the format, can sign up to the mailing list (https://mailman. along with an invitation to join the chosen speaker kcl.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/londoncellmotilityclub), for dinner. These traditions happily continue to this to keep up-to-date about the forthcoming sympo- day. sia. Years passed by, with a host of contributors from For more information about the network please the increasing number of London-based labora- see https://cytoskeleton.wixsite.com/londoncell- tories joining the club. The discoveries of the Rho motility. proteins and their roles in migration served to enlarge the gatherings into a major meeting place Gareth E Jones, Ferran Valderrama and Matthias for free exchange of unpublished information. Upon Krause. the retirement of Conrad in 2001 - after some 30-plus years of steadfast service - the successful The CRICK-London Cell Motility Club is organised organisation of the club passed to a past student by: Ferran Valderrama (St George’s, University of Abercrombie, Gareth Jones (King’s College Lon- of London) and Matthias Krause (King’s College don). During Gareth’s tenure the club was some- London) what reorganised, soliciting sponsorship from An- dor Technologies and the MRC (through the LMCB)

10 FEATURES The Society is 100

Our sister society, the Genetics Society, celebrated its centenary this year.

his occasion has been marked by a wide tural Society Chelsea flower show as on Trange of events. The Genetics Society opportunity to create a garden showcasing teamed up with the Mendelanium, a muse- plants which have been studied by geneti- um dedicated to the work of “the father of cists throughout history. Led by Professor genetics”, Mendel, to host the International Bickmore, the exhibit showcased plants such Mendel Day at the Royal Institution in Lon- as peas, snapdragons, petunias, lilies and don on Friday 8th March. Since Friday 8th strawberries, telling the story of genetics March is also International Women’s Day a and why its study is fundamental to our programme dedicated to Mendel and wom- understanding of health and disease. This en in Genetics was presented. Following this event was a remarkable success with the on 25th June 2019, 100 years to the day garden being awarded the Royal Horticultur- since the first meeting of the then named al societies’ silver medal. “Genetical Society”, a birthday get-together To round off the year of celebrations a of past presidents, medal winners and com- meeting celebrating 100 years of genetics mittee members was held at the John Innes will be held in Edinburgh. The centenary gar- Centre (JIC).Two blue plaques were unveiled den is expected to be opened in its’ perma- by ex Society President Sir , nent home at the Royal Botanical Gardens, one dedicated to each of these remarkable Edinburgh during this event. scientists, and will be erected in Cambridge Professor Wendy Bickmore (former at a later date. Sir Paul was presented with President of the Genetics Society,Director the Genetics Society Centenary Medal by of the MRC Human Genetics Unit and BSCB president Laurence Hurst, and then gave member!) and fellow members of the society a talk about his work with yeast, peppered have brought home a prestigious award by with plenty of interesting and entertaining taking genetics to the general public at this anecdotes. year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In its centenary year, the Genetics Society viewed the world-renowned Royal Horticul- Ann Wheeler, with thanks to Wendy Bickmore Science Writing Prize Winner 2019 – Laura Hankins

Keeping Everything in Proportion: why cell size must be kept under control.

ur bodies contain around 37 trillion cells that in Cell may provide insights into why size seems to Ocome in all shapes and sizes, from rotund fat matter so much. cells to the cells that line our organs and resemble The range of sizes exhibited in a healthy popula- microscopic paving slabs. However, if you focus tion of one specific cell type is generally narrow. If, on one particular cell type, cell size is remarkably like me, you’ve ever wondered why you can’t quite consistent across the population. This narrow dis- reach the top shelf of the cupboard whilst others tribution suggests that it is important to control the can access the biscuit stash with ease, it’s generally size of our cells, just as it is crucial to regulate our because those taller office mates have produced internal body temperature. Now, a study published more cells, rather than grown larger ones like some

11 human Michelin man. In fact, changes to cell size the cell may therefore grow proportionately. This are associated with several diseases; cancer cells type of growth is known as ‘isometric’. One famous may be smaller than their peers. Maintaining a con- example of an organelle that grows isometrically sistent cell size therefore seems to be important, with the cell is the nucleus. FEATURES although it is unclear why. However, an increase in organelle size does not In the lab, it is possible to perturb cell size by always correspond to an increase in organelle preventing cells from dividing. is performance. Mitochondria are, of course, the orga- the process of one cell splitting to produce two nelle that launched a thousand memes, with most daughter cells, thus allowing the population of cells students knowing them as ‘the powerhouse of to proliferate. This proliferation is the main reason the cell’. There is a good reason for this accolade; that co-worker Geoff developed long enough arms mitochondria produce ATP, a molecule used as an to consistently swipe the custard creams. Cells usu- energy source to drive many of the cell’s chemical ally increase in size before dividing, to ensure the reactions. It has been shown that the number of two new cells inherit the sufficient cellular machin- mitochondria increases with cell volume. However, ery to survive. It’s rather like lovingly preparing a their optimum rate of activity is only achieved in toolkit for your kids when they leave home, readying cells of an intermediate size. Similarly, this latest them to face their first leaking roof. If you block study has demonstrated that rate of protein pro- division, either by applying drugs or by mutating duction does not scale with cell size once the DNA proteins involved in progression, cells to cytoplasm ratio becomes too low. Ultimately, may grow without being able to split in two. there might be an optimal cell size at which this A recent report published in Cell has taken ratio is appropriate to support adequate protein advantage of this approach to investigate why production. regulating cell size is important [1]. Researchers This optimal size may explain why cells be- prevented yeast cells from dividing by mutating come senescent (a state reached when older cells a key cell cycle protein. With the brakes on cell become unable to continue dividing as normal). division applied, the cells started to swell, but were These ageing cells are larger than their younger unable to divide or to initiate DNA replication. This neighbours, due to accumulated errors from past erroneous growth led to problems; the scientists cell divisions. The researchers found that old yeast found that, once the brake was released, the now cells behaved like the large ones they had artificially engorged cells progressed through the cell cycle created. They even showed that enlarging human slower than their smaller counterparts. fibroblast cells made them more likely to become To explore why this might be happening, the senescent and stop dividing. This raises the pos- team measured how the cell volume and the total sibility that cells enter senescence once their size protein content of these arrested cells changed as increases to suboptimal levels. they grew. They found that, initially, protein levels In beginning to uncover why cell size control is increased at the same rate that cell volume did – so important, this study raises implications for our the two processes were neck-and-neck. However, health when this regulation goes wrong. But the key there came a point where the cells became so take-home? Well, always remember to keep things large that their volume was increasing faster than in proportion. their protein levels. Somehow, protein production became unable to keep pace with the ballooning cell size. This could result in the dilution of the [1] Neurohr, Gabriel E., et al. “Excessive Cell cell’s proteins, presumably affecting reaction rates. Growth Causes Cytoplasm Dilution and Contributes Imagine you and your friends are placed in a room, to Senescence.” Cell (2019). blindfolded, and have to walk silently until you find each other. You would locate each other faster in a About the author: cupboard than you would in a sports hall. Similarly, Having completed a BA in Biological Sciences at diluting proteins out in a larger cell makes them the , Laura Hankins stayed less likely to interact with their reaction partners, on in the city to take up a place on the Wellcome perhaps explaining the larger cells’ slower pace of Trust’s and life. DPhil programme. A graduate student at Merton But what caused protein production rates to fall College, she is now in the third year of her PhD in behind cell growth rate in the first place? Primarily, Jordan Raff’s lab, where she is studying the process it was somehow due to DNA levels becoming limit- of centriole biogenesis as a model to understand ing as cell volume increased. When the researchers how organelle growth is regulated. doubled the yeast cells’ DNA content, the cells managed to grow to a larger size before the onset Comments from our judge, Dr Jennifer Rohn (@ of protein dilution; in other words, their protein JennyRohn) on the winner of the 2019 compe- production rate was able to scale with their growth tition: The topic was a very abstract, hard-to-de- rate for a longer period of time. scribe bit of science that was brought to life and This issue of scaling has been considered before. made relevant with some beautiful writing. Cells are composed of several subunits called ‘organelles’, all performing different roles, including protein production. Some of these organelles are able to ‘scale’ to the size of the cell; that is, as the cell grows, the organelles also grow at a similar rate. Like the popular children’s toys that expand evenly when immersed in water, multiple parts of

12 SECTION HEADER 13 - -

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1st Prize winner: Patrick Ovando Roche, UCL Roche, Ovando winner:Prize 1st Patrick of image microscopy electron Scanning 16-week- a pluripo- from generated organoid retinal human old Image technology. bioreactor using cells stem tent (Purple)rod highlight to pseudo-coloured been has the outer-segments, photoreceptor (Cyan) cone and of structures cell of capable retina the capturing transformingand light vision. into it I startedinback field Cell Stem the in training my - Train Doctoral BBSRC generous a to thanks 2008 EmbryonicHuman in MRes/PhD a do to ing Grant BiologyCell Stem underLondon College Imperial at supervisionthe of comple- Following Cui. Wei Dr oftion carriedI 2014, in PhD Postdoctoral out my theunder London College University at research supervisionof BWH/ at and Ali, Robin Professor supervisionthe under School Medical Harvard of institu- both at time my During Khurana. Vikram Dr of engineering genetic in trained I tions pluripotent establishedand Institute Sanger the at cells stem - approach differentiation organoid and editing ofmodeling disease vitro in for es - dystro retinal I Currently diseases. neurodegenerative and phies - Therapeu CRISPR for Scientist Cell Stem a as work USA. Massachusetts, Cambridge in tics Barts Romano, Lisa Prize: 2nd Londonthe and of School Medicine cells neuroblastoma shows image confocal The which coverslip, coated a fibronectin in cultured formationthe allowed of structure adhesion focal foris labelling migration.cell during The required ad- focal for red (cytoskeleton), yellow vimentin in nuclei for blue vinculin and marker hesion (DAPI). Image Competition 2019 Image Competition Hooke medal winner 2019 – FEATURES Eugenia Piddini

Eugenia Piddini received the 2019 Hooke Medal, established to recognise an emerging leader in cell biology. The Hooke Medal is awarded at the an- nual spring meeting of the British Society for Cell Biology.

ugenia Piddini studied at the University of Paler- workings of a cell become important for the sur- Emo, Italy, before moving to the European Mo- rounding cells, or cells within a community. lecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, for her PhD on the role of motor proteins The beginning of your passion for cell competition in cell shape changes under the supervision of and its mechanisms? Carlos Dotti. Her postdoctoral work was carried out Yes and I think the field of cell competition is with Jean-Paul Vincent at the National Institute for really at its prime today. It has only been a few Medical Research (now part of the Crick Institute, years since it was established and accepted that London). There, Eugenia worked on morphogen cell competition is happening across species – for gradients during Drosophila development and a long time, it was considered a Drosophila-only later turned to understanding the mechanisms of phenomenon – and across tissues as well, from cell competition. She became a group leader at development to adulthood. So it is becoming the , Cambridge, UK, in 2010, to increasingly clear that it is a fundamental biological investigate the mechanisms of cell competition in phenomenon that can have massive implications homeostasis and in a tumour–host-cell context. In for health and disease. 2016, Eugenia moved to the University of Bristol, UK, as a Senior Research Fellow and was appointed What questions related to cell competition are you Professor one year later. trying to answer in your research group? We try to understand the role that cell competition What inspired you to become a scientist? plays in cancer, and for that we use both Drosophila As a child, I was fascinated by different things, and mammalian cell culture models. We are also many science- related. I dreamt of being an interested in the physiological contexts in which archaeologist because I liked the discovery aspect. cell competition may be happening. As an example, But when I was in high school, I became passion- in a recent project, we are investigating whether ate about genetic engineering – or the bits I could cell competition plays a role in wound closure, and understand about it at that time. I was amazed by we have evidence that indeed some cells that are the idea of making square tomatoes so they would involved in wound healing are cleared at the end fit better in boxes, things like that. This led me to of the process by cell competition, using pathways wanting to understand of how cells work and how that we have previously identified in the lab. In gen- we can use that for health and societal benefits. eral, the broad question we are trying to address Sicily is a good place to grow up if you’re interested is what is it that is different about the cells that are in archaeology In fact, my parents had a summer eliminated by competition when they are no longer house right by the sea on top of a hill, which was so fit? We are looking at cellular defects and trying formed of sandstone. Embedded in the sandstone, to understand which of these defects turns them when you started digging, there were these very into, so to speak, ‘losers’. ‘Loser’ is the definition beautiful marine creatures, shells and other hidden we give to cells which are eliminated when a fitter things. I enjoyed going there as a child to dig and cell population is present. find these fossils and remains. The cell competition choice to lose a cell can be How did you decide to do your PhD at the EMBL in beneficial or deleterious to the organism – how Heidelberg? does this come about? It is a great example of a I had a really strong desire to leave Italy and expe- biological process that has evolved to the benefit of rience science abroad, and the EMBL was one of the organism but that can be exploited in patholog- those locations that I dreamt of because it looked ical conditions like cancer. A tissue that is made of fantastic and I wanted to be there. My training a multitude of cells, which need to live as a com- was in cell biology and I travelled across certain munity for quite a long time, benefits from quality organelles, so to speak – from mitochondria via control; if cells accumulate damage or start behav- the ER to the cytoskeleton; a good voyage inside ing aberrantly, it is beneficial in some ways if you the cell. At the end of my PhD and for my postdoc, have a sentient mechanism that recognises these it became central to me to address how the inner cells and cleans the tissue of them. This would

14 FEATURES therefore be one of around us, it is clear that there are questions that the main functions of come of age or will be in demand. I was just very cell competition – to lucky; it was a bit serendipitous that I became remove compromised interested in competition, because it was not or mis-specified cells. something my postdoc lab was working on and we Furthermore, in adult stumbled over it. I was absolutely fascinated by it tissues, the first cells so I decided to continue working on it and it was a that accumulate phenomenon that we knew relatively little about, so neoplastic mutations it was a perfect fertile ground that you want to start may be recognised on for your independence, and it turned out to be and eliminated by the right strategic decision. competition. This happens in a number Having a strategy is therefore important advice you of contexts and you would give to someone seeking independence? can see how this Senior researchers may have a bit of perspective on mechanism might the fields and can advise you on what would be a be hijacked by a cell when it manages to persuade good or a bad choice for an area to be working in. I their neighbours that they’re fitter and how this believe there are three things that are really impor- might become a problem for the organism. tant in helping to make a scientist successful. One is the research area, but there are also the model What would be an example of this hijacking? system that one uses and technologies and method One observation goes back to my postdoc in development that are really transformative. The Jean-Paul’s lab; during fly development, cells with combination of a good question, a powerful model reduced Wnt pathway signalling activity are elimi- system and a transformative technology is an ideal nated through cell competition as a means to clear recipe to start an independent career. mis- specified cells. At the time we also showed that overactivation of the Wnt pathway can result in Regarding the model system – research in these cells killing cells that are wild type. The Wnt Drosophila has, again, proven how powerful ‘clas- pathway is overactivated in a number of cancers, sic’ model systems are. particularly in intestinal tumours where a mutation This is a really important point, also in terms of in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene – a thinking strategically: how does one go about negative regulator of the Wnt pathway – is an early answering scientific questions? For me, it is about event in tumorigenesis. This led us to hypothe- finding the best system to address a question – if size that cell competition might play a role in the you do that, then it takes care of whether a model establishment of these tumours. More recently in system is ‘hot’ or not. It is unjustified to shut my group, using an APC-driven Drosophila intesti- down a model system because of its age, much nal cancer model, we have shown that tumour cells as it is unjustified to stick to one system because with mutations in APC kill surrounding host cells your career was built on that and you’re trying to and, if we prevent their ability to kill, they can no answer any and all questions on that system. Try longer expand and form intestinal tumours. Thus, to be smart about which model system is best in this context, cell competition is hijacked by can- suited to answer a specific question. We started as cer cells and becomes a driver of tumorigenesis. a Drosophila and mammalian cell culture lab; my first postdoc was experienced with flies and the How are these processes controlled through second and third were trained in mammalian cell mechanical interactions and their influence on culture. I thought this was going to be important cellular signalling? to allow us to progress and it turned out we were There is accepted evidence now that cells have possibly the first lab to combine both systems to multiple ways to compete. They may do so through work on cell competition. specific ligand–receptor interactions or differences in sensitivity to their mechanical environment. We What characteristics do you look for when were able to identify the tumour suppressor p53 as recruiting new group members? a key sensor for cell competition and mechanical Who you recruit for your lab absolutely defines how stress. Every cell finds itself in a physical environ- successful you will be. I believe that you can only be ment and needs to integrate physical information as good as the people that you have in your group with (bio)chemical information. Therefore, having and I find it essential to recruit scientists that are a general pathway like p53 that is also a node for very excited and driven by the discovery process stress signalling convergence, seems to me like a and are in it because they really enjoy research. very evolved, adaptive way to be able to translate Then, working in the lab becomes a blast and stress signalling into mechanical sensitivity. It al- having motivated people helps to form a commu- lows cells that are stressed to be eliminated if they nity within your group – it becomes an exciting are surrounded by non-stressed neighbours. environment that makes things happen. Unfortu- nately, when it comes to recruitment, I and many You mentioned that you see the cell competition colleagues are currently experiencing the ‘Brexit field is at its prime. Did you anticipate this earlier effect’, which is not sending a very positive, friendly in your career? and welcoming message to international applicants No, I didn’t. It is true that we are not trained to from Europe and all around the world. This is think that way; once you have more experience and something that comes up all the time when I am at a better appreciation for what happens in science conferences talking to students and postdocs.

15 Do you discuss careers outside academia with your students? Yes, because I think that we shouldn’t be training a Meetings Calendar 2020 generation of unemployed people. Only a few per- FEATURES cent of PhD students will go on to become a group leader. What are we going to do, be oblivious to January this? Academic research is but one of many career prospects and many are just as exciting. After my RNA UK PhD, I seriously considered going into consulting. I 24–26 January 2020. Windermere, UK wanted to do an MBA and move into consulting for venture capitals and I found that incredibly exciting. Had I embraced a career in consulting, I am sure March I would have been just as fulfilled and excited as I am now. With that in mind, to me it has never been The Astbury Conversation: Seeing into Cells about ‘alternative’ careers; it’s been about you and 23–24 March. University of Leeds your vocation and where your interests take you once you’ve done a PhD. April Is this part of your advice to students and post- docs working with you? British Microtubule meeting I first want to know what they want to do in their 27 April 2020. Edinburgh career. Then, I want to make sure they made that decision because they think it is best for them UK Cilia Network and not because they think that this is all they can 28 April 2020. Edinburgh achieve. Two of my postdoc alumni have stayed in academia and two left academia to go into the Autophagy UK network meeting private sector. They were both convinced that this is 29–30 April 2020. Avon Gorge Hotel, Clifton, Bristol what they wanted and they are satisfied with their decision. May How do you get the most out of the meetings you attend, particularly in the early stages of your Cell Dynamics: Host-Pathogen Interface career? 17–20. May 2020. Wotton House, Surrey Conferences are one of the most exciting things we get to do as scientists. I like to combine the unmissable, topical conferences with the ones that September have a much bigger breadth and areas that are not exactly spot on with what one does. For the BSCB Annual Meeting 2020 latter, I just sit back and enjoy the show having all 23–25 September 2020. Institut Pasteur, Paris. these talks parading and enjoy being impressed by the next discovery I wasn’t expecting. I find it very North of England Cell Biology forum inspiring. With regards to presenting your data, es- Sheffield University pecially early in your career, I feel that what makes a talk successful is disclosing unpublished informa- tion because this is what will open up the possibil- December ity of collaborations, or someone will come to see you and tell you ‘I think you should be looking at x Actin 2020. Bristol University because this is what we have seen etc.’. It is from these interactions that progress sparks. UK Membrane Traffic meeting. UCL

Could you tell us an interesting fact about yourself American Society of Cell Biology. Philadephia PA, USA that people would like to find out about you? We talked about Sicily at the beginning and that’s where I also would like to finish! I’d like to high- light that I am a proud Sicilian. Even though I left home 21 years ago, I still feel every bit Sicilian as I did then and I am very proud of my origins and my heritage. It has shaped who I am in countless ways – the warmth of the people, their passion for life, family values and their communication. I think this all permeates who I am, as well as how I do science.

Eugenia Piddini was interviewed by Manuel Breuer, Features & Reviews Editor at Journal of Cell Science. This piece has been edited and condensed with ap- proval from the interviewee.

16 FEATURES Women in Cell Biology Early Career Award Medal 2019 – Pleasantine Mill

Pleasantine Mill was awarded the Women in Cell Biology Early Career Award Medal 2019. This annual honour is awarded to an outstanding female cell biologist who has started her own group in the UK within the last 6 years.

leasantine Mill graduated in microbiology and lot of information in them but it is often lost with- Pimmunology from McGill University, Montréal, out understanding the context of cellular time and Canada, and completed her PhD in medical and space. Imaging is my secret passion – well, it’s not molecular genetics at the University of Toron to, such a secret, is it! Canada. There, under the supervision of Chi-chung Hui, she studied Hedgehog signalling pathways What questions are your lab trying to answer just in skin development and tumorigenesis. For her now? postdoctoral research, Pleasantine moved to Ian We are interested in the cell biology of cilia. Why Jackson’s laboratory at the MRC Human Genetics are cilia different on different cell types? We think Unit, Edinburgh, UK, with a Natural Sciences and it informs on human disease – patients can have Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) similar mutations in the same gene but very dif- fellowship, followed by a Caledonian Research fel- ferent phenotypes. Studying cilia in cell lines only lowship. Initially focusing on neural crest develop- captures an iota of what’s really going on in our ment, she identified and studied several mouse mu- bodies during development and during homeosta- tants that displayed defects in ciliogenesis and cilia sis in adulthood. Thus, we try to understand the dif- structure that went on to be implicated in human ferences between the cilia types that we find in our disease. Pleasantine established her own research bodies and what they do in terms of . program at the MRC in 2014. Her group investi- Ultimately, we’re also looking at how these mech- gates the genetic programme for cilia structure and anisms can inform on new therapeutics, which is function and the links to human ciliopathies. exciting. What we do is cross-disciplinary, maybe multi-disciplinary cell biology on an organismal What inspired you to become a scientist? scale, informed by genetics. Both my parents are architects, so I grew up in a very creative and intellectual environment. We drew What has been the most influential publication or on the back of napkins at the dinner table, we were work in your field recently? always building or creating things, always problem What has been most exciting and influential for solving with lots of discussions. We travelled lots our field is the movement towards preprint servers and visited many museums and galleries. It was a like BioRxiv, and the early and interactive discus- very privileged environment to grow up in. I knew sions amongst the community it has been stirring. that I didn’t want to be an architect – I can’t draw a It is also immensely empowering for early-career straight line with a ruler! Rather, I wanted to be an researchers to get DOIs for their work in order to astronaut and do space medicine. Then, through secure funding or get citations while they are in phenomenal science teachers at high school and af- formal review. It makes the system much more ter my first lab experience doing actual research, it dynamic and allows you to adapt some new data or really struck me that basic discovery research was develop new hypotheses early for guiding your own what I wanted to do. research. A specific example I can think about is a great paper from John Wallingford’s and Steven A big aspect in architecture is the beauty of form, Brody’s groups on the discovery of dynein axone- shape and pattern. Do you think that sparked your mal assembly particles, which are these intriguing interest in developmental and cell biology? phase-separated organelles where dynein subunits Yes. I’m a very visual person and there is some- dynamically associate with their assembly fac- thing very aesthetic about the type of research we tors. Genetics had told us that these things were do – symmetries, pattern formation and so on. Dry interacting and now there’s spatial and temporal datasets don’t do much for me. They might have a information in the cell on how this assembly might

17 occur. A year later when it was published, the paper moving is necessarily had improved with peer review, but had not signifi- a good measure of cantly changed and we had been able to use it early how productive you to shape what we’re doing, what questions we’re are as a scientist, FEATURES asking, where we need to move in the space. Our nor the most efficient lab reads a lot, and we read broadly; sometimes, to way of doing great focus is more difficult for us. [laughs] science.

Are there any new techniques that you’re adapting “Being crea- for your research right now? Cell biology sometimes uses a very heavy-handed tive is where sledge hammer approach to look at things; you science makes grossly overexpress proteins and look at their localisation in a cell line. What we’ve been doing re- the leaps and cently is to engineer endogenously tagged reporter bounds.” mice for key genes of interest, which lets us look at changes in protein composition specifically and dynamically in cilia in an inducible fashion. It allows How are the chal- us to capture a particular snapshot of development lenges that you’re or disease process, and to ask what in this popula- facing now different? tion of cilia in this particular region of the brain in- It’s always about forms on physiology. It’s a very nuanced application funding and doing more science. On a personal of tools that people have developed, but applying it level, you have always got to be thinking two steps in what we think is an elegant and powerful way to ahead with your research to keep your people on, to get at disease mechanism with organelle resolution. hire new people, to get new equipment. It doesn’t stop. If anything, it starts to ramp up because you Research communities often distinguish curiosity- realise your productivity has to be more to meet and hypothesis-driven research. Would you place your growing responsibilities. Also, as part of the yourself in the former? research community, I have definitely become I am definitely curiosity driven. You need to really much more active in outreach and advisory roles. understand the system to be able to ask the right Now more than ever, we need to keep telling the questions. I struggle a little bit with the concept of public and funders how important supporting our hypothesis-driven research because it sometimes basic research is. seems premature; a hypothesis represents the curiosity at later stages well into some of our pro- How do you go about recruiting group members? jects and can drive us to keep going in a particular We’ve had great luck with people. I’m a big believer direction, but it’s not the space that we often start in developing people being the most valuable part with. Being creative is where science makes the of what we do in research. The training of students leaps and bounds. The language that goes with a is incredibly important – let different skill sets hypothesis-driven question and the structure that come forward over time. I have a phenomenal team comes with it in a research proposal is often easier of people and we are lucky that the MRC unit has for people to gauge and may be why funding bodies an excellent rotation-based PhD programme. The seem to prefer hypotheses-driven applications. students often come through the lab because they But science needs both types – even though I’m are attracted to the projects and are constantly in certainly curiosity driven! exchange with the people who are already in place. I think having a healthy happy lab to start off with What challenges did you face when starting your always brings more of the same spirit in and en- own lab that you didn’t expect? courages creative science. From my postdoctoral time with Ian onwards, I al- ways had some independence, especially regarding What is the best science-related advice you ever the setup of a cilia-centered research focus. At the received? same time, I didn’t have to move city or country A very helpful piece of advice I got was ‘there is no again to start a new group, and that is something such thing as a dead end in science’, which means that people often struggle with. I also didn’t have that there is nothing that you choose that you can’t to re-establish myself as a group leader, which I come back from. It came at a time I was slightly think was very helpful and I didn’t lose momentum. frozen in what to do, how to make the right choice Moving wasn’t really an easy option since I had between career and balancing the rest of my life. a complicated mouse colony at the institute and In the end, there is no right answer and nothing also family engagements, including three young that you can’t come back from. It helped me to kids and a partner who is also a research group make that decision and continues to help me today leader. The downside of it, which I think may have – there may be easier ways to do research, but been held over me, is that people question your there’s never a dead end. independence because you have stayed in the same environment. I feel it’s an unfortunate trend that What advice or guidance do you pass on to your people feel you have to move to prove yourself. I students? would argue that – particularly for scientists with It’s about the individuals going through the lab. children or other familial commitments – this view We’re not just concerned about getting data for still represents a handicap for some. I don’t think our papers when we have PhD students. When

18 FEATURES mentoring students, you are building skill sets that How do you get the most out of the meetings you are going to allow them to apply this knowledge for attend, particularly in the early stages of your whatever they end up doing. I also want to make career? sure people are happy and grounded to be able to Conferences are absolutely key; by meeting people ask the right questions, think critically about their from your field, you get conference ‘buddies’ who data and where they need to be next. And to be ex- will follow you throughout your career and that cited about their research! I try to spend time with you will become close to, and they will be future them trying to make sure it is all coming together reviewers for grants, for papers and everything somehow and they’re not just stalled – that it’s not else. It is about establishing a diverse network of just about the data for a thesis but about a bigger contacts in terms of fields, nationalities and career picture and the training too! stages. At the same time, you also meet a lot of people who are in a similar situation of starting their own group, and any exchange of thoughts and How do you achieve a work–life balance when experiences provides help. Of course, when you you’re trying to establish yourself as an independ- have kids, your ability to travel goes down and it is ent investigator? hard to balance those things, but if you can do it The difficult thing with science is that you always and find ways to do it with childcare, it is definitely think there is going to be a better time – you are worth it. going to get that paper and you are going to get that grant, it’s all going to be sorted and that will Could you tell us an interesting fact about yourself be the time. The thing is: life is short. You do not that people wouldn’t know by looking at your CV? know what is going to lie ahead tomorrow, next I’m Pleasantine the 6th. My mother is Pleasantine, week, a year away, so you need to make sure you my grandmother is Pleasantine and so on...It is a are happy with where you are at each moment. Of name that goes via the eldest daughter in a family. course, it’s never perfectly balanced – I like to say Luckily, I have all boys so the onus of tradition we are always one step ahead of total chaos – but wasn’t on me! [laughs]. the kids are happy, we’re happy and we seem to be doing okay. I’m not sure it is a balance, but it has Pleasantine Mill was interviewed by Manuel Breuer, worked so far. Features & Reviews Editor at Journal of Cell Science. This piece has been edited and condensed with ap- proval from the interviewee.

Most-read JCS articles (October 2018–September 2019)

Research Articles: 1. Actin cytoskeleton self-organization in single epithelial cells 2. p62-mediated phase separation at the intersection of the and fibroblasts under isotropic confinement ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy Alberto Danieli, Salma Jalal, Shidong Shi, Vidhyalakshmi Acharya, Ruby Yun-Ju Sascha Martens; Journal of Cell Science 2018 131: jcs214304 Huang, Virgile Viasnoff, Alexander D. Bershadsky, Yee Han Tee; doi: 10.1242/jcs.214304 Journal of Cell Science 2019 132: jcs220780 doi: 10.1242/ https://jcs.biologists.org/content/131/19/jcs214304 jcs.220780 https://jcs.biologists.org/content/132/5/jcs220780 3. Reconstituting the reticular ER network – mechanistic implica- tions and open questions Ning Wang, Tom A. Rapoport 2.The ER membrane protein complex promotes biogenesis of Journal of Cell Science 2019 132: jcs227611 doi: 10.1242/ sterol-related enzymes maintaining cholesterol homeostasis jcs.227611 Norbert Volkmar, Maria-Laetitia Thezenas, Sharon M. Louie, https://jcs.biologists.org/content/132/4/jcs227611 Szymon Juszkiewicz, Daniel K. Nomura, Ramanujan S. Hegde, Benedikt M. Kessler, John C. Christianson; Journal of Cell Sci- Features: ence 2019 132: jcs223453 doi: 10.1242/jcs.223453 1. Cell scientists to watch – Gloria Brar and Elçin Ünal; Journal of https://jcs.biologists.org/content/132/2/jcs223453 Cell Science 2019 132: jcs229260 doi: 10.1242/jcs.229260 https://jcs.biologists.org/content/132/2/jcs229260 3. Nuclear envelope localization of PIG-B is essential for GPI-an- chor synthesis in Drosophila 2. Cell scientist to watch – Siobhan Braybrook; Journal of Cell Miki Yamamoto-Hino, Eri Katsumata, Emiko Suzuki, Yusuke Mae- Science 2018 131: jcs225607 doi: 10.1242/jcs.225607 da, Taroh Kinoshita, Satoshi Goto; Journal of Cell Science 2018 https://jcs.biologists.org/content/131/20/jcs225607 131: jcs218024 doi: 10.1242/jcs.218024 https://jcs.biologists.org/content/131/20/jcs218024 3. Cell scientist to watch – Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan; Journal of Cell Science 2019 132: jcs234088 doi: 10.1242/jcs.234088 Reviews: https://jcs.biologists.org/content/132/11/jcs234088 1. p62/SQSTM1 – steering the cell through health and disease Pablo Sánchez-Martín, Masaaki Komatsu; Journal of Cell Science Manuel Breuer 2018 131: jcs222836 doi: 10.1242/jcs.222836 https://jcs.biologists.org/content/131/21/jcs222836

19 A Day in the Life of a Science FEATURES Journalist

The BSCB postodoc and PhD reps organised an excellent careers round- table as part of the BSCB annual meeting this year. As part of this we are featuring a day in the life of a science journalist, Journal of Cell Science Executive Editor Sharon Ahmad.

05:30 for the upcoming annual strategy session with the My husband takes our children to school in the Board of Directors. The Publisher also reminds us morning and I pick them up in the evening, so I that we need to start thinking about setting our have an early start and early finish. I’d prefer not budgets for next year. We have a few staff updates, to get up this early every morning, but it’s the only and for AOBs today, we discuss the date for the time I have to fit in some exercise; with a job that next pot-luck lunch – a fairly regular, and popular, involves a lot of desk time, I think it’s important. I occurrence in the Company. That takes us to noon, head to my gym class. and as we set a time limit of two hours for the managers’ meeting, we hold over additional items 07:30 for next time. Arrive at the office. I work a compressed week – full-time hours over four days – which means I need 12:00 to be in quite early. I start up my computer and I catch up on emails that have come in during look through any emails that might have come in the time I’ve been away from my desk. There is a overnight. There is nothing urgent I need to respond request from the Publication Ethics Coordinator to to right away, so I pull up my to-do list and organise meet later this afternoon to discuss a tricky case in- what I need to get done today. volving the figures in one our papers, so I set a time with her for that and put a reminder in my calendar. 08:00 I start by replying to emails – I go for the easy wins 12:30 to get them out of my inbox. I then tackle some We often have 10-minute talks in the Company, of the more complicated ones, such as adding my when different people talk about the specifics of thoughts on an email string about possible options their role, or the Publisher gives updates on Com- for a cross-journal project we are working on (The pany-wide initiatives. They are casual and informal, Company of Biologists publishes five journals). and people bring their lunch along. Today the Pub- I also narrow down which papers from our most lisher is talking about our charitable grants, which recent issue I plan to write research highlights on include small and large meeting grants, grants to and let the copy editors know. The Editor-in-Chief is scientific societies (like the BSCB) and travelling preparing an editorial about some recent chang- fellowships for collaborative visits to other labs. es we have made on Journal of Cell Science and It’s really useful information for new starters, but a would like my input on it, so my next task is to go good reminder for me that our charitable giving is through it and suggest some edits. just one of the reasons I’m proud to work for The Company of Biologists. 09:00 We have a meeting with all the journal managing 13:00 editors and the Publisher on alternate Tuesdays, Journal of Cell Science front-section-team meeting. and this is one of those Tuesdays. To prepare, I I have a regular catch-up meeting once a month look over the agenda, print out the papers I’ll need with my whole team, which includes Editorial and go through them all, making notes on things I Administrators, Copy Editors and Reviews Editors, want to bring up in the discussions. but today it’s just with my Reviews Editors. We discuss commissioning ideas for reviews for what 10:00 we call the ‘front section’ of the journal. Many of Managers’ meeting. This meeting is key to en- the ideas come out of a conference from which the suring that all of us are on the same page about Senior Editor has just returned. We discuss these projects, and gives us the chance to update each ideas in the context of our ‘pipeline’ of articles, to other on journal-specific issues and get feedback ensure we’re covering the right areas. We discuss where necessary. Today, one of our main agenda the conference as well, and where each of us is items is a discussion on what we need to prepare going next. Finally, we run through our list of whom

20 SECTION HEADER 21 Towards the end of end the initiative new a year last Towards the learnedthe internaand running building societies - hasworld OA an journals.tional Progress towards but sciences, biomedical the in rapid most been of number the in growth significant despite journal of number the indeed and articlesavailable, freely accessi- freely is all content journals where OA full enthusiasticthose for slow progress feels still ble, change. for ofcoalition a by led S’, ‘Plan called emerged more internationaland funders research dozen a than - ‘cOA as (known Europe in mainly based charities ofoutputs all that mandated have They S’). lition programmes, Januaryfrom research funded their andimmediate an via published be onwards, 2020 - ager’s office for a quick chat about chat quick a office for ager’s aboutI’m project website new a startto managing,offers he and - project-manage a through run to hethat with me presentation ment gratefullyI accept prepared. has that. do date to a up set we and 16:30 lap- my up I pack go. to Time offhead and top my up pick to are hours four next The children. of whirlwind exhausting an dinner, drop-offs and activity homework, and lunches preparing pick-ups, and day, bags next the school for Some- routines. bath-and-bedtime being relaxing more it find I times office. the in 20:15 again,finally quiet openI so It’s emails my check to laptop my officethe again. leave I Because up catch to like I early, relatively than rather now things few a on inlist the to them add to having morning.the bedtime, early an means rising Early bed. to so And morninga I’m me. but for well works it so person, of bit a have I even of more read to time book- my to lucky I feel but clubday, full a been has It book. always and busy – challenging, a job that I love have interesting!

he ambition to make the output ofoutput the make to ambition he publicly available freely scholarship and research funded

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Laura Bellingan examines a new push by funders to make all the researchLaura Bellingan examines a new push by funders to make all they support open access by January 2020. The implications of ‘Plan S’ The implications of 15:30 ofstring long a have now I desk. my to Back emails winseasy the do I usual, As with. deal to I need few A thought. more require that ones the then first, be flagI and I’ll so them waitto need will later, until theall at look then I quickly. them identify to able and yesterday since in come have that manuscripts theon based Editors different to the them assign ofall topic – by handled are papers research our Man- Production the to pop in I Editors. academic 15:00 go We complicated. indeed case is ethics The ofall through agreeand on a together data the will Coordinator Ethics Publication The decision. Editor-in-Chiefthe email summarya ifand, he closehopefully can we agrees, case. the 13:45 of chunk big the to down settle finally I can Iwork journal annual my preparing wanttoday: tackle to Editor-in-Chief The reportBoard. the to writes ofhealth the about journalthe for strategies and our have we can before report,this in but future the wantwe direction strategic what discussions about for the statistics all together pull to I have take, to ame gives it as this doing enjoy I year. previous the of overview good journalthe don’tI usual, as but, ofamount huge a have getI it. on spend to time - remind calendar my it, I know before and in, stuck meeting my attend to me prompting up, pops er case. ethics the about we want to include in our ‘Cell Scientist to Watch’ wantwe includeto Watch’ to Scientist ‘Cell our in quicka interviewIt’s issues. upcoming in series a have still I because great, is which today, meeting oflot to do. work fully OA route. It is likely that the Plan S ambition will hinge In other words, any researcher receiving funding on whether other big research blocks – China, the from this coalition of funding bodies must publish US and so on – join cOAlition S. The majority of in a fully open access journal. This excludes hybrid authors will need to balance their journal choice FEATURES journals – traditional subscription-based journals (made for a variety of reasons of reputation, visibil- that offer the option of publishing via OA. ity and community) with accessibility policies and While greater accessibility to scholarly output is available funding. supported across our sector, there are aspects of It has certainly rebooted the debate. The Royal Plan S that raise concern with learned communities Society of Biology is gathering views from across in particular. the sector and will be keeping abreast of develop- “The main concern of the BSCB and BSDB is ments throughout the year. that it will hurt not-for-profit publishing such as COB and Portland Press that supports BSCB, Laura Bellingan FRSB is Director of Policy and Public BSDB and Biochemical Society through block Affairs at the RSB. grants for many activities. In our joint officers meet- ing the BSCB and BSDB have suggested that the First published in The Biologist 66(1) p9 societies had to take a stance through RSoB.”

The Human Cell Atlas

The Human Cell Atlas aims to transform biological research by creating a comprehensive atlas of all human cells as a basis for both understanding human health and diagnosing, monitoring, and treating disease.

sing multiple ‘ omics approaches’ and cutting edge bioinfor- currently co-chaired by Dr. Aviv Regev of the Broad Institute of Umatics to chart the types and properties of all human cells, MIT and Harvard (USA) and Dr. Sarah Teichmann of the across all tissues and organs, the Human Cell Atlas Project Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK). The HCA is a foundational, aims to efine the exact characteristics of every single cell type open resource charting cells, tissues, organs and systems in the human. It has been compared to the Human Genome throughout the body. By making the Atlas freely available to Project in its scale and ambition. scientists all over the world, scientists hope to transform r esearch into our understanding of human development and the The current aims of the Human Cell Atlas in engaged in tack- progression of diseases such as asthma, Alzheimer’s disease ling these major challenges: and cancer. In the future, the reference map could also point the way to new diagnostic tools and treatments. • Understanding human development, by creating a pilot atlas of selected developing human tissues. This work has been For more information about The Human Cell Atlas, developed in a collaborative consortium between Newcastle visit https://www.humancellatlas.org. University and the Wellcome Sanger Centre, and is termed HDCA A recent overview of the Human Cell Atlas is published in eLife: • Creating a highly detailed atlas of the skin. Aviv Regev, Sarah A. Teichmann, Eric S. Lander (2017) Sci- • A spotlight on immune-related diseases such as Inflammatory ence Forum: The Human Cell Atlas. eLife 2017;6:e27041 DOI: Bowel Disease and coeliac disease. 10.7554/eLife.27041

The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) is an international collaborative A review of the aims of the HDCA is published in Development: consortium, steered and governed by an Organizing Commit- Sam Behjati, Susan Lindsay, Sarah A. Teichmann, Muzlifah tee, spanning 27 scientists from 10 countries and diverse areas Haniffa (2018) Mapping human development at single cell of expertise. The HCA Organizing Committee is resolution. Development doi: 10.1242/dev.152561

22 MEETING REPORTS Meeting reports

Joint BSCB–BSDB 2019 Spring Meeting Report

From April 7th to April 10th 2019, the two societies have joined hands again to organise a fantastic meeting at the University of Warwick. As student and postdoc reps, we had the opportunity to organize scientific and social events for the early career scientists.

Career Workshop - Sunday afternoon by very quickly, and at the end, we asked all the table leaders to The meeting started off with a career workshop, which was held stand in a line and give one piece of advice. As the organisers, in a ‘roundtable’ format, where participants can pick three tables even though we did not join in the roundtable discussions, just by to talk to table leaders working in various science-related careers. listening to what the table leaders said at the end, we felt like we As the organisers, we wanted to present a wide-range of career have also benefited from the workshop! The invaluable take-home options, therefore for non-academia careers, we tried our best to messages include: join the committee of a society to gain expe- find alumni of BSCB and BSDB who had the experience of doing rience, a career in industry does not equal job security, and on a PhD or postdoc. We ended up with a great line-up of table lead- the flip side, a position in academia can be competitive, but there ers, who work in fields ranging from industry, communications, are still various opportunities available. The general advice is that publishing, patent law, and funding and science policy. no matter what career one pursuits after a PhD/ postdoc, the Even though the career workshop was the first event on the transferable skills you gained during a research-based experience Sunday of the meeting, there was still a great turnout of over will always benefit you in one way or another. 80 participants! The workshop began with each table leader The feedback we had from the participants were very positive. giving a short introduction of themselves. Then the three rounds They said the format of roundtable gave them a chance to talk of 25-min discussion time started, and immediately the room to more people from different careers, and the table leaders gave settled into deep conversation. The two-hour workshop passed very insightful details about their jobs, and most of all, they were very honest about the pros and cons of their chosen career. We were very grateful to all eleven table leaders who were willing to sacrifice a Sunday afternoon to come and talk to our partici- pants!

Student/postdoc evening - Sunday evening The first evening of the conference is traditionally the time we re- serve for a relaxed social event – a way for students and postdocs to meet each other, and ease into what will invariably be a hectic whirlwind of science and networking over the next two and a half days. This year, we hosted a traditional pub quiz – that culminated in a rather active group challenge, building a tower of balloons with just a roll of adhesive tape. Scientists always love a competition, and it didn’t take long for people to join a table, develop strong loyalties for their new friends, and start frantically scribbling down their answers! Looking back, we think it’s fair to deem the event a success – people kept chatting long after we started scouring the room for balloon fragments, and had to eventually be gently nudged towards the bar downstairs.

23 MEETING REPORTS

Graduate Symposium - Monday afternoon Meet the Speakers- Monday night The graduate symposium was dedicated to give early career At a large society meeting, it’s always tricky for the organisers researchers the opportunity to speak. The format was six 3-min to ensure that all the attendees have a chance to meet and chat flash talks, sandwiched by four 15-min long talks. The speakers with their favourite speakers. This year, we devised a new twist on selected from abstracts had a good balance of subject area, the traditional “meet the speakers” networking event. Attendees gender and nationality. The Graduate Symposium started with were given a “passport”, and, each time a bell was rung, had to Nestor Saiz (Sloan Kettering Institute), who talked about his work find somebody new to talk to and collect a sticker. Of course, on investigating the robustness in mouse blastocyst patterning, it wouldn’t work to simply chat with your friends – only the through modelling and manipulating tissue size and cell number. speakers had stickers to give out! Filling out your passport would Next up was Laura Hankins (Dunn School of ), who qualify you to enter a prize lottery. Although it took a couple of discussed her fascinating work on how two coupled cell-cycle-au- rounds for everybody to get the hang of the system, the event tonomous oscillators can ensure centriole growth is coordinated really hit its stride about 30 minutes in. People said they spoke during biogenesis. Laura went on to win the BSCB poster prize to far more people than they would have ordinarily – though they later in the conference! did wish individual conversations could have been a bit longer! The two long talks were followed by a series of six 3-min flash talks. The idea of a flash talk is to allow speakers to briefly intro- Joyce Yu and Gautem Day duce their work, and encourage interested audiences to go visit their posters. Even though there was limited time, every flash talk speaker managed to convey the main idea of their projects in a concise and clear manner. We as organisers were very impressed and grateful with their abilities to stick to the 3-min time limit! Across the six flash talks, we heard Silas Boye Nissen (Niels Bohr Institute) telling us about how four simple rules are suffi- cient to reproduce mammalian blastocyst dynamics in silico. This was followed by our only bacteria-related talk of the symposium, where Camilla Godlee (Imperial College London) talked about using systematic mutagenesis to investigate the membrane integration and trafficking of the Salmonella virulence protein SteD. We then switched gears to learn about how a two-pronged mechanism generate non-centrosomal microtubule arrays from Ghislain Gillard (MRC LMB). Susana Ponte (CEDOC/NOVA) then talked about the role of mitochondrial dynamics during wound closure in Drosophila embryo epidermis. William Hill (Cardiff University) then discussed his work on how cell-cell interac- tions and EphA2-depending signalling are required to eliminate Ras-transformed cells from the pancreas. The final flash talk speaker was Henry De Belly (MRC LMCB), who talked about the cross-talk among membrane mechanics, cell shape and fate decisions in mouse ESCs. After the flash talks, the symposium continued on with a 15- min talk given by Daniel Toddie-Moore (University of Helsinki). He told us about how in the Drosophila pupal wing, cell shapes changes and upstream BMP signalling are coupled to refine sig- nalling range and determine cell fate of the crossveins. The final talk of the symposium was given by Sabrina Ghadaouia (Uni- versity of Manchester), who discussed her work on blood vessel formation in zebrafish embryos, specifically how endothelial cells integrates collective cell migration and cell division control. Over- all, the talks at the Graduate Symposium had a good balance of developmental biology and cell biology areas.

24 MEETING REPORTS 11th Telomere and Telomerase meeting 30 April – 4 May 2019. Cold Spring Harbor laboratories

This meeting is the biggest international conference on telomere bi- ology. It covers a wide range of topics, from replication at telomeres to the alternative lengthening of telomeres, which is a pathway utilised in 10–15% of cancers and is the basis of my PhD project. This was the reason I most wanted to go to this conference as there were ten talks and numberous on the subject, and I I knew I would learn a lot by interacting with people with similar interests.

Meetings at CSHL are always organised in the same way: the first set of talks started at 7.30pm on the first day. The remaining days started at 9am with talks on a different topic each time followed by a poster session in the afternoon and finally more talks at 7.30pm. All talks were sorted by theme but there was inevitably some cross-over between each of those which meant that each session contained relevant research to my project. I also learned a lot of new aspects of telomere biology I was unfamiliar with. I was given the opportunity to present my work as a poster which I did on the second day. About 60 posters were up at one time and the session started at 2pm. I was extremely encour- aged and happy that fellow scientists were interested in my research and there was a constant flow of people until 4.30pm. I found the experience very formative and valuable as I explained my research to people at various stages in their career that were experts in ALT or simply had an interest in it. It was also a ternational conference and overall, I really enjoyed attending this great platform to discuss other aspects of telomere biology and meeting and have gained a lot from it and it has further fuelled potential ideas for future research. I also found the second poster my desire to pursue a career in research. I found this conference session informative as I was not presenting and I was able to talk stimulated the exchange of ideas in a friendly environment and I to many presenters and able to ask a lot of questions which gave felt encouraged to ask questions. I am very grateful to the British me a lot of ideas for future work. Society for Cell Biology for awarding me the Honor Fell travel On the last evening a piano concert was organised followed by award to attend the meeting which made my presence at this a banquet and being on the East coast lobster was an option, meeting possible. which I gladly accepted! This last dinner was another great way to socialise and interact with more people. This was my first in- Helene Geiller

4th British Microtubule Meeting 13th May 2019, Edinburgh

As a researcher in the microtubule field I always look forward to the British Microtubule Meeting, set in the gorgeous city of Edinburgh with its fantastic architecture and vibrant culture.

Being on a Monday, many attendees take the opportunity to meeting itself gives the British research community working on spend the preceding weekend exploring Edinburgh, and its all aspects of microtubule biology an opportunity to discuss hidden gems including whisky houses, late night Scottish folk their work and network in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The music and Haggis Cigars (subject to personal preference). The meeting includes talks and poster presentations from a diverse

25 array of microtubule researchers, including structural, cell and original title to introduce exciting novel fluorescent live cell mark- molecular biologists. ers recognising post-translationally modified tubulin. This year, session one, chaired by Pleasantine Mill, began After a break for some lunch and a wonderful poster session, with Stephen Royle of Warwick asking how are a meiosis-themed 3rd session kicked off, chaired by Binyam Mo- stabilised in mitotic spindles. He described a mesh-like network gessie. Kayoko Tanaka from Leicester spoke about the molecular bridging kinetochore fibres composed chiefly of clathrin, TACC3 organisation behind microtubule anchoring in the peri-centriolar and ch-TOG is under the regulation of Aurora-A kinase. The work matrix during fission yeast meiosis. Mariana Costa from the included an exciting new ferritin-tag based approach to locating Ohkura lab in Edinburgh shared their work on the remodelling of MEETING REPORTS intra-cellular targets by correlative light and electron microsco- the spindle molecular architecture, including microtubule-asso- py. Elena Poser from the Barr Lab in Warwick then showed their ciated proteins, that occurs during fly oocyte meiotic metaphase work on Kif4A regulation in mitotic spindle alignment including arrest. Completing the session was Kirsten Garner from the Allan how condensin and PRC1 interact with its tail domain. Vicente Lab in Manchester describing a new adaptor protein, KASH5, Jose Planelles-Herrero from the Derivery Lab at the MRC-LMB and its structural elements responsible for recruiting dynein/dyn- then shared their work in on how mitotic asymmetry in Drosoph- actin to the meiotic nuclear envelope. ila is regulated by Elongator complex interactions with spindle After another comfort break, Jacqui Bond introduced the final microtubules. Next up, Sarah Trinclin from the Thèry-Blanchoin session. Daniel Dodd from the Mill lab in Edinburgh shared their lab in Grenoble presented fascinating work suggesting that the studies of axonemal dynein post-transcriptional regulation in a force of walking motor proteins can remove tubulin subunits primary ciliary dyskinesia mouse model. Alex Zwetsloot from from microtubules, creating defects that can be repaired by ad- Anne Straube’s lab in Warwick then presented their investigations dition of new tubulin dimers. The session was wrapped up with of bidirectional transport driven by the cooperative interactions James Bancroft from the Gruneberg Lab in Oxford discussing of dynein and kinesin-3. The final talk of the day was Alex Cook how Protein Phosphatase-1 promotes metaphase to anaphase from the Moores group at Birkbeck describing the unique struc- cell cycle transition. tural and functional features of a malarial kinesin-5 and their Following a short break of networking over caffeine and tantalising implications for targeted pharmacology. sucrose, the 2nd session was chaired by Simon Bullock. First- As is tradition, drinks, an informal dinner and a good-hu- ly, Alex Fellows from the MRC-LMB Carter lab introduced how moured but hotly contested quiz on the Edinburgh campus disease-linked endosome axonal transport deficits are modulated followed the meeting, giving attendees a great opportunity to by insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor signalling, possibly via better acquaint themselves with fellow UK-based microtubule altering BICD-1 dynein adaptor levels. Next up, Katerina Toropova researchers. Suiting 3D-printed microtubule models were pre- from the Roberts Lab at Birkbeck College presented beautiful sented to quiz and poster prize winners. Another great year was cryo-EM work on the dynein-2 complex and its assembly and concluded, with much learnt and shared and many new friends arrangement within intraflagellar trains. Maximilian Jakobs from and colleagues made. the Franze Lab in Cambridge then showed how dynactin locali- sation at axonal tips works to uniformly organise microtubules Joe Atherton (Birkbeck College, London) and further introduced useful automated microtubule kymograph analysis software (KymoButler). Finally, the EMBO YIP lecture was given Minhaj Sirajuddin from Bangalore, deviating from his

Cell Dynamics: Organelle–Cytoskeleton Interface 19–22 May 2019. Lisbon, Portugal

Following a hugely successful inaugural Journal of Cell Science Cell Dynamics meeting in May 2017 on the membrane–cytoskeleton interface, we held our second Cell Dynamics meeting in May 2019, this time focusing on the topic of Cell Dynamics: Organelle– Cytoskeleton Interface.

We had 130 delegates come together in beautiful Lisbon, Por- during which early-career and senior researchers had blocks of tugal to talk science, network and make new connections and 5 minutes to speak to people they didn’t know, set the tone for collaborations. We opened the meeting with our two EMBO-spon- the meeting perfectly. The sun was shining and feedback from all sored Keynote Speakers: Pietro de Camilli (Yale University & who attended was fantastic – many commented that they would HHMI, USA) and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz (HHMI Janelia like to see this event at every meeting. Research Campus, USA), who is also an Editor on Journal of Cell Early-career scientists had lots of time for interactions with Science. more senior researchers at the breaks and poster sessions and The ‘speed dating’ ice-breaker event on the first evening, were able to showcase their work during the poster flash talks.

26 MEETING REPORTS We also had some career talks from both an academic and an “It was a wonderful, first-class meeting. I greatly enjoyed it.” editorial perspective. Daniel Starr, University of California, USA We heard exciting talks on a range of topics, including neuro- degeneration, imaging, mitochondrial dynamics, septins, actin We are already looking forward to the next Journal of Cell Science and the nucleus. There were lots of unpublished data presented, Cell Dynamics meeting at Wotton House, Surrey, from 17–20 May and lively question periods. This meeting promoted open dis- 2020 on the topic of Cell Dynamics: Host-Pathogen Interface. We cussion and the exchange of ideas in a friendly and welcoming have an outstanding group of speakers who study a diverse range environment, and we have had some fantastic feedback from of pathogens and cellular processes, as well as how hosts respond attendees: to infection. As in previous years, we plan to include a large num- ber of talks picked from submitted abstracts, and will provide lots “Respect to Journal of Cell Science for putting together such a of time and opportunities for early-career researchers to highlight celebration of science.” themselves and their work. We hope that you will join us! Irina Kaverina, Vanderbilt University, USA Manuel Breuer

The Invadosome consortium: 7th meeting 19–22 June 2019. University of Roehampton

The 7th meeting of the Invadosome consortium, entitled Integrated mechano-chemical signals in invasion, was organised in collabora- tion with the University of Roehampton in London.

The meeting included non-overlapping sessions addressing vari- variety of cell systems, from neurons to haematopoietic cells to ous aspects of the regulation of invasive migration including cell aggressive cancer cells. The participants generated an excellent adhesion, cytoskeletal remodelling, mechanobiology and genom- atmosphere for open and constructive discussions during the ic regulation of invasion. During the sessions, the main speakers talks and the lively poster sessions. and those selected from the submitted abstracts presented cur- The work presented at the meeting addressed the signalling rent data regarding different mechanisms of invasion in a great pathways that regulate those better known mechanisms of cell

27 migration such as filopodia, lamellipodia and invadosome (inva- For example, several therapeutic interventions were proposed to dopodia and podosomes)-mediated as well as new mechanisms prevent cancer metastasis by interfering with the formation of such as tumour invasion facilitated by “strangulation of tumours” invasive adhesions as well as with the cellular interactions that by fibroblasts or passive dissemination of cancer cells via the in- promote cell mobilisation. terstitium. The first 3 days highlighted the latest findings on the The emerging role of the regulation of various cell organelles critical roles of actin filaments and microtubules in cell migra- such as mitochondria or the nucleus that coordinate several tion. Additionally, other components of the cytoskeletal system cellular functions like metabolism, cell cycle progression or gene such as septins, were introduced as new key players in regulating expression during cell migration was also highlighted at the con- MEETING REPORTS formation of classical invasive adhesions such as invadopodia. ference. The key role of the interplay between the adhesome and New high resolution microscopy technologies that enable a transciptome and even the genome axis to regulate cell migration further understanding of the structure and regulation of cell ad- and the overall cell behaviour was extensively covered during the hesions and cytoskeletal remodelling were also reported. These last day of the meeting. The presentations made evident that new technologies have led to new discoveries on the structure critical proteins classically associated with cell adhesions can and physical properties of focal adhesions and invadosomes also play a direct role in regulating gene expression by translocat- such as the presence of a characteristic molecular cap on the ing to the nucleus and viceversa. This is an emerging and exciting podosome core. angle for the study of cell migration that will surely expand in the A round table at the end of the 3rd day of the conference nearby future. fuelled a very dynamic discussion involving the panel and the au- The meeting was a great opportunity to review the current dience alike that reviewed the latest findings in the field and pos- state of the field and future directions and the atmosphere for sible future lines of investigation. It became evident from this dis- discussion and collaboration was exceptional. A special issue cussion and during the talks at the meeting that the field would dedicated to this meeting will be issued in the European Journal benefit from further collaboration and agreement on the experi- of Cell Biology that will published in 2020 and the next meeting mental procedures and analysis of invasive structures. There is of this exciting series will take place in France in 2022. See you a commitment from the Invadosome consortium to promote the there! development of tools to foster these collaborations (probably in the form of an interactive online resource). An additional aspect http://invadosomes.org highlighted was the current extraordinary opportunity to generate translational projects by applying all the knowledge from the ba- Yolanda Calle-Patino, Senior Lecturer, University of Roehampton sic research in cell invasion accumulated in the last two decades.

Gordon Research Seminar & Conference on Molecular Membrane Biology 13–19 July 2019 . Proctor Academy in Andover, NH United States.

I am a biochemist in my 3rd of 4 years PhD at the University of Bris- tol, UK, working on protein transport from the endoplasmic retic- ulum to the Golgi apparatus. Thanks to the funding of the BSCB, I could attend my first ever conference in the USA.

A bit secluded in New Hampshire lies Proctor Academy, host of same stage in their career as yourself. The seminar ended with many Gordon Seminars and Conferences. The campus is com- a mentoring slot, where we were free to ask questions to two posed of several wooden houses accommodating both post-grad- PIs about the transition from PhD to postdoc and then to PI, uate students, as well as PIs in the same building complexes in which was very informative and inspirational. During the first form of shared rooms with two beds (or if you are lucky to book free time we got (between GRS and GRC) my group of new early enough you have a room to yourself). While the shared acquaintances and I decided to go for a little hike and a swim bathrooms did surprise me, it was a great location for hosting in the nearby lake. The weather was overall very warm for this event surrounded by hills, lakes and forests. someone from the UK. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of sun- shine I could get, and the lake was perfect swimming temper- Gordon Research Seminar ature. It was amazing to meet other young researchers in this The conference started with a 2-day seminar, where only more casual arrangement and I was able to bond with many of post-graduate students were invited to attend and present them in a way I don’t think is as easily possible during normal their posters and/or talks. The keynote presentation was held conferences. I highly recommend the seminar to anyone; it is a by Nobel prize winner Randy Schekman. I had a great time great place to make lasting friends for both your scientific and with my fellow PhD students and postdocs. It is great to meet personal live. so many new people from all over the world who are at the

28 MEETING REPORTS Gordon Research Conference riding, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking (the later 3 for The days were scheduled with an early breakfast around 8, fol- $40 each) to do during the after-lunch free time. They also had lowed by sets of talks starting at 9am, with coffee break and a gym, tennis, American and non-American football courts, a lunch break after every 4 speakers (talks were 10 – 20 minutes pool table and piano on campus. There were plenty of net- + half discussion). Free time was after lunch from 1:30 – 4pm working possibilities from sitting next to someone new during every day, followed by 2 hours of poster session. The posters meals, while walking between the talk/poster/drinks and meal were scheduled to be hung up for 2 days, with one day of venues and during free time activities. presentation – regardless, most people presented their posters It was a great event to attend with many amazing scientists on both occasions including some after dinner. The food was and informative and thought-provoking presentations. I received a overall good with buffets covering both vegetarian and non-veg- lot of input and suggestions regarding my research and positive etarian options and fresh fruit (I, however, did notice how the feedback from people visiting my poster, as well as invitations quality in food went drastically up from the GRS (toast with for potential future job opportunities and collaborations. I can fried egg) to the GRC (Belgium waffles and American pancakes undoubtedly say that I left the conference inspired, encouraged and maple syrup). In the evenings the bar was open and invit- and with more self-confidence towards my career choices after ed for more conversations. my PhD.

To my positive surprise, there was also an activity programme Janine McCaughey you could sign up for, including hikes, wine-tasting, horseback

EMBO workshop on the Physics and Chemistry of Endocytosis at Multiple Scales 1–6 September 2019. Ischia

The beautiful volcanic island of Ischia was the venue for the EMBO workshop on Endocytosis. This meeting has run biannually for over thirty years and is the foremost gathering to highlight and discuss the latest developments in endocytosis.

This year the meeting focussed on the cross-disciplinary ap- organisation of rab5 fusion domains. At an organismal level, Mar- proaches which have been used so successfully to elucidate en- cos González-Gaitán (University of Geneva) and Frank Jülicher docytic mechanisms. Understanding the mechanical properties (MPI, Dresden) showed how a combination of computational (membrane tension, cell size and shape) as well as the physical and cell biology allows us to elucidate the role of endocytosis in environment of cells (location in tissues and nature of the extra- establishing morphogen gradients during development. cellular matrix) is integral to understanding endocytic mecha- The protein and lipids of endosomal membranes are key to nisms. To understand at the molecular level how such properties endocytic function. In the past, our understanding of endocytic are regulated there is a need to develop highly specific chemical proteins has far outstripped our understanding of lipid biology. probes which allow membrane dynamics to be followed in living Several presentations demonstrated how, through the develop- cells using advanced microscopy. Advances in the field have aris- ment of new experimental approaches, we have really entered en because cross-disciplinary approaches have been embraced a golden age of analysing how the dynamics of lipids contrib- and the workshop focussed on showcasing these advances as ute to endocytic function. This was exemplified in talks from well as providing a platform to consider the next key questions. the Höglinger (University of Heidelberg) and Nadler (MPI-CBG, We can only cross the barriers between disciplines when we Dresden) labs on functionalised lipid probes to understand lipid learn to speak a common language and a novel element of the dynamics in organelles while Yamuna Krishnan (University of conference was the inclusion of ‘double act’ presentations. These Chicago) described how her lab has used DNA nanotechnology to provided compelling accounts of how long-standing cross-disci- accurately measure ion concentrations in endocytic organelles. plinary collaborations have enabled quantum leaps in our under- Jay Groves (Berkeley, California) demonstrated how protein con- standing of endocytic processes. Ludger Johannes and Patricia densation phase transitions of signalling molecules at the plas- Bassereau (Institut Curie, Paris) described how their complemen- ma membrane of T-cells increases the dwell time of signalling tary expertise in biology and physics have revealed mechanisms molecules and thus provides a highly sensitive kinetic proof-read- underpinning clathrin-independent endocytosis, while Marino ing of Ras activation. The organisation of proteins and lipids Zerial and Stephan Grill (MPI-CBG, Dresden) described how they is important not only at the cellular level but also at the tissue had collaborated to understand the mechanisms underpinning scale, as discussed by Guillaume Charras and Buzz Baum (UCL).

29 the behaviour of actin in clath- rin coated pit invagination can be understood using a combi- nation of atomic force micros- copy with conventional confocal microscopy (Yoshimura, Kyoto University, Japan).

Sessions at the workshop were organised to broadly represent the different scales, molecular, cellular and tissue, with which we need to under- stand endocytic mechanisms in order to understand many aspects of cellular physiology. Because of its underpinning role in many biological process- es, not surprisingly defects on the endocytic pathway can con- tribute to disease. Pier-Paolo di Fiore (European Institute of Oncology, Milan) explained that although endocytic proteins are rarely mutated in cancers, modulation of the endocyt- ic pathway plays key roles, especially in breast cancer, by downstream effects on gene In a joint talk they discussed the control of protein polarisation expression. Sara Sigismund (European Institute of Oncology, in cells and what effect mechanistic stress has in individual cells Milan) described her findings showing how membrane contact and on epithelial monolayers. sites affect the fate of activated epidermal growth factor receptor The impact of the biophysical properties of the membrane with consequent effects on its signaling. was addressed in several presentations around the theme of The workshop was organised to maximise opportunities for mechanobiology. We heard how mutations in CAV3, the major scientific dialogue and the poster sessions were particularly lively structural component of caveolae in muscle cells, lead to myopa- with a high level of noisy discourse! We have tried to provide a thies because the muscle cells are unable to respond to mechani- flavour of this very exciting workshop although, due to space cal stress due to uncoupling to the IL6/STAT3 signalling pathway restraints, we are unable to describe all of the presentations (Christophe Lamaze, Curie Institut, Paris). Miguel Angel del Pozo and apologise to those whose work we have not mentioned. (CNIC, Madrid) described how deposition of the extracellular The excellent organisation and content of the workshop was matrix, which defines the mechanical environment of cells, is due to Aurelien Roux from the University of Geneva and the late dependent on caveolin-dependent regulation of exosome release. Suzanne Eaton from MPI in Dresden. It was widely acknowledged There were also presentations on multidisciplinary approaches that much of the special atmosphere of the meeting, which so to understand the forces generated by actin during endocytosis effectively promoted interdisciplinary discussions, was due to the (Dmitrieff lab, Institut Jacob Monod, Paris and Drubin lab, Berke- vision of Suzanne Eaton whose loss was deeply felt by all of the ley, California). participants. Moving eulogies were delivered by Marino Zerial and Visualisation of biological processes has traditionally allowed Buzz Baum, paying tribute to her scientific stature as well as her us to test our models of how molecules and cells behave. The curiosity-driven and inclusive attitude to science. It is appropriate plenary talk given by Tom Kirchhausen (Harvard) showcased the that the field will continue to exploit the multidisciplinary and power of lattice light sheet microscopy to understand the behav- quantitative approaches which she pioneered. iour of molecules within cells in the context of tissues and whole organisms. His presentation demonstrated how the increased spatial and temporal resolution of the lattice light sheet micro- scope has revolutionised our ability, not just to validate models Patrick Shire and Professor Elizabeth Smythe, Centre for Mem- based on molecular cell biology assays, but to use microscopy to brane Interactions and Dynamics, University of Sheffield. generate new hypotheses. Other presentations also illustrated the power of state-of-the-art microscopy, for example showing how

30 SUMMER STUDENTS Summer studentships

Exploring kinetics of the polarity proteins via single particle tracking

As a third year MSci Cell Biology student at UCL, this year I molecule imaging of PAR-2 tagged with GFP and Halo separate- found myself at a crossroads yet again. Even though I had been ly and found that their diffusion and off-rates matched well in leaning towards pursuing a PhD, I was still uncertain about the both cases. This gave us the green light to proceed with further exact field. In my course I decided to focus on developmental experiments to look at how the dynamic behaviour of PAR-2 was biology, but throughout I retained my interest in cell biology as affected by different perturbations. well as programming and maths. Therefore, I decided to look for In what was certainly a learning experience for me, I promptly summer project in a lab that would integrate all these areas. This ran into technical issues that limited my ability to measure the is how I found Dr Nathan Goehring at the Institute membrane binding dynamics of PAR-2 when I began looking at who was so kind to offer me a project in his lab. how PAR-2 dynamics were affected when other polarity proteins The Goehring Lab uses advanced imaging techniques to study were depleted by RNAi. I spent several weeks trying to solve this, the kinetics of a group of cell polarity proteins known as the testing different ideas, repeating experiments and discussing PAR proteins with the goal of understanding how the behaviours issues with the lab, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to solve of these molecules collectively give rise to polarized patterns of the issue before time ran out. proteins on the plasma membrane of animal cells. They use the I had more success with a second project to look for in vivo C. elegans one cell embryo as a model. Here two sets of PAR evidence of oligomerization. Here we generated a worm line that proteins segregate into opposite ends of the fertilised oocyte – contained two PAR-2 alleles, one labelled with GFP and another one set determines the anterior and the other the posterior. By labelled with Halo. The idea was then to tether the PAR-2::GFP to segregating into opposite halves of the cell, the PAR proteins the membrane using a membrane-anchored GFP-binding protein allow the two daughter cells that arise following the first division (GBP). Our hypothesis was that if PAR-2 oligomerises, the ki- to acquire distinct identities. netics of PAR-2::HaloTag would also change as it would bind the My project was to study one of these polarity proteins, PAR- membrane-bound PAR-2::GFP. By comparing the mean step size 2, which segregates into the posterior. The lab had already of PAR-2::HaloTag in this line to PAR-2 in the line that contains developed tools to look at PAR proteins, but these had not yet only PAR-2::HaloTag, we obtained interesting results showing a been applied to PAR-2. One of the less-characterized proteins, clear difference in diffusion of PAR-2::Halo when PAR-2::GFP was previous reports suggested that it was able to oligomerize and tethered to the membrane, consistent with oligomerisation. alter its behaviour depending on the presence of other polarity Through this project I have seen that it is possible to syn- proteins. The aim of my project was to use single particle track- thesize my interests in developmental and cell biology, phys- ing to measure changes in the dynamic behaviour of PAR-2 that ics, math and computer science, which is something I aim to would support these previous reports and provide parameters to continue in the next step in my career. Learning hands on how inform mathematical models being developed in the lab. to perform TIRF microscopy and particle tracking was one of the Briefly, my project took advantage of TIRF microscopy which most valuable experiences I have gained and it was quite satis- involves illuminating fluorescently labelled molecules at the plas- fying to generate beautiful movies. However, I also encountered ma membrane. The advantage of this technique is that it allows numerous unexpected obstacles which gave me a real insight of detection and tracking of single protein molecules. To label PAR- what it truly means to do research and taught me that patience 2, I used a “HaloTag,” a small enzyme that is fused to the protein and persistence are two qualities that every research scientist of interest. When a suitable fluorescent Halo ligand is introduced must possess. into worms, the Halo enzyme will covalently attach the ligand In conclusion, I would like to thank my supervisors in lab, to itself, labelling the fusion protein, in this case PAR-2. This Rukshala and Tom, for guiding me along the way, as well as the strategy has been reported to have a better signal, signal-to-noise rest of the lab for their affability. I would like to sincerely thank ratio and slower bleaching rate than GFP. Moreover, by varying Dr. Nathan Goehring for not only giving me the opportunity to the amount of Halo ligand, I could change the fraction of labelled work in his lab but also for his support during my stay and in the molecules so that they were not too crowded for tracking. After process of applying for the studentship. I will be forever grateful imaging, I used my experience in Python to run programs to for the profound experience and knowledge I gained in those 9 identify and track molecules to extract key parameters of their weeks that I worked in the , which would dynamics, including diffusion and membrane binding rates. not have been possible without the generous support from BSCB The first part of my project was to compare results obtained for which I am deeply thankful. with HaloTag to data generated with a PAR-2::GFP fusion that the lab has so far been using to study PAR-2 and ensure that the Ana Raffaelli tag by itself did not alter PAR-2 behavior. I performed single Supervisor: Dr Nathan Goehring

31 Expression of Human Clathrin Heavy chains in a Plant model T. Benthamiana

SUMMER STUDENTS I am currently studying Biomedical Sciences at Leeds Beckett plant vector and analyse their subcellular localisation in the University and having just finished my second year, I felt it would N. tabacum. It has previously been found that be an incredible learning opportunity to apply for a summer clathrin heavy chain isoforms 22 and 17 play an essential role project in hope that I could understand what it truly means to in protein trafficking in eukaryotic cells. Despite sharing 85% of complete a research project. Alongside this I felt it would be vital protein identity, they are functionally different. CHC22 has been to broaden my current knowledge of techniques in the labora- reported to accumulate in muscle Glut4 cells of insulin-resistant tory and gain more confidence in my skills as I prepare to move type-2 patients. The model mostly used in these reports are mice into the third year in which I am undertaking a lab project. I was as they express homologues of CHC17, but none of CHC22. incredibly fortunate to receive an invitation from Dr Carine De The objective of my project was to show a proof of concept Marcos Lousa for the BSCB summer studentship in collaboration for the successful expression of human CHC17 and CHC22 in with Prof. Brodsky of UCL which I would later find to enhance my plant models as this expression would open new pathways for current academic understanding greatly. Prior to the summer investigation of CHC22 and CHC17 and their roles in intracellu- project, I have had a few lab experiences in my first and second lar transport. Indeed, plant models are excellent tools to study year academic modules such as Molecular Biology and Medicine cell trafficking via confocal microscopy for 3 main reasons: i) or Biochemistry, but this would be my first experience outside of Plant and mammalian secretory pathway share common protein a timetabled session. This studentship has not only allowed me motifs and organisers such as Rabs and adaptor complexes, ii) to seek out the first-hand laboratory experience I desired, but has plant organelles from the secretory pathway are independent and given me the answer to the question I have always struggled to not clustered around the nucleus as in mammalian cells, which answer which is “what do you want to do after your degree”; that allows detailed statistical analysis and more reliable dissection research in biochemistry, cell and molecular biology is the path I of trafficking pathways and iii) the infiltration method allows vis- want to take. ualisation in 2 days post-infiltration without the need for recombi- For this reason, I was very enthusiastic to start this summer nant plants which means results can be acquired relatively fast. project on human clathrin heavy chain expressed in plants. The My first week was an introduction, by Dr. Carine De Marcos, to aim of the project was to clone human CHC22 and CHC17 into all the new techniques and methods I would need to use through- out the experiment. These included how to carry out successful transformations, home-made and kit minipreps, preculturing, restriction digests, ligations and even making my own agarose gels. I also had the chance to practice techniques I was familiar with such as PCR, gel electrophoresis, and working in a sterile environment. The strategy for CHC22 involved all of the techniques I was taught in the first week, however the difficulty came when we needed to sub-clone amplified human CHC into plant vectors. CHC genes are large and already contain many restriction sites that were needed to subclone into the plant vector. This meant we had to design a cloning strategy that was quite complex, including partial digest and filling up with polymerase to create blunt ends on 5’ and keep directional cloning. Entering this project, I felt very overwhelmed by the vast amount of new techniques which I had to learn in a short amount of time, and the precision needed in every one to ensure success in the next step. I was oblivious to the amount of work that was needed to simply prepare for the next day such as the amount of agar plates I would need to make, the amount of agarose gel and certainly the amount of 1X TAE buffer I would get through! I will not only be taking away the amazing knowledge I have learnt in these 6 weeks, but I am left with an extreme amount of respect for the technicians who prepare every teaching practicals, and the patience they have had with me in the lab every time I asked a question. I sincerely thank Dr Carine de Marcos Lousa for supervising me through this experience, and most of all for believing in me in the first place. I hope I can continue to work alongside Dr Carine de Marcos when I reach the MSc year of my degree . I would also like to thank the BSCB for giving me this amazing opportunity to spend 6 weeks in the lab doing a research project.

Jessicca Lines

32 SUMMER STUDENTS Microtubule Organisation by Motor and Non-Motor Proteins

As an undergraduate student, it is important to comprehend the Manas Chakraborty for his world of research in order to become a successful scientist. I am inspiring guidance and all a second year Biomedical Science student at Birmingham City Straube lab members for University. I have been fortunate to be involved in exciting biomed- their support and hospi- ical research at Warwick University in the laboratory of Dr. Anne tality. Straube under the supervision of Dr. Manas Chakraborty. In this project, I have learnt about the cytoskeleton and how Samia Mohammed, it can be organised by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). Birmingham City University These include both motor and non-motor proteins. Using purified proteins, I have attempted to reconstitute microtubule organisa- tion in vitro. Microtubules (MTs) are filaments assembled from a- and b-tubulin subunits, which assemble to form hollow tubes Yaiza Arranz with distinct ends, a plus end and a minus end. Molecular motor I’m a Spanish undergraduate student who has had the proteins such as dynein (directed towards the minus end of MTs) opportunity, thanks to the BSCB Summer Studentship, to and kinesin (plus end directed MT motor) move along MTs using spend part of the summer vacation doing a project in the ATP. Many motor proteins carry cargo and membrane-enclosed laboratories at The University of York under the personal organelles such as mitochondria, Golgi stacks, or vesicles to their supervision of Dr. Paul Pryor. My project was about The locations in the cell. Another role of motor proteins is to cause role of Synaptogyrin-2 in regulating the insulin-responsive cytoskeletal filaments to slide against each other, generating forces glucose transporter GLUT4. SYNGR-2 is an endolysosomal that drive muscle contraction, cilia beating and cell division. Mo- membrane protein which, previous experiments show that, it tors are also known to work together with MAPs to organise MTs interacts with endosomal reticulum protein VAPB. The project in specific arrays. In my project, I investigated how dynein motor had two aims, firstly to generate Split-GFP constructs to ob- proteins organise MTs and how dynein motors move within the MT serve an interaction between VAPB and SYNGR2. Secondlyto networks they create. show the localisation of GLUT4 with the localisation of VAPB Using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, and SYNGR-2. During the six weeks of the project I have I analysed dynein mediated MT bundling in a gliding assay. In a been learning and putting into practice cell biology laborato- gliding assay, an imaging chamber is coated with motor proteins ry techniques (molecular biology, tissue culture, immunoflu- and MTs are then perfused into the chamber together with ATP. I orescence and confocal microscopy). The knowledge I have observed the alteration in the length and velocity of MT movement gained will be certainly useful in my last year of university by surface-anchored dynein motors. We found that the length of and for my future career in Biology. MT structures increased over time due to the formation of MT bundles. Karolina Jagielka During my project, I also investigated MT bundles formed in I am a third-year Biomedical Science student at the Universi- solution in the presence of dynein and tested whether these can ty of Hull. I was keen to discover biological concepts beyond be split by surface-immobilised kinesin or dynein motors. When taught academic material and gain insight into working in pre-formed bundles landed on a surface with kinesin motors, we a professional environment. Over the summer, I had the observed that the length of MT structures decreased and micro- opportunity to complete an eight-week research project tubule bundles were split. However, when dynein is on the surface, under the supervision of Dr Francisco Rivero and Dr Leonid the length of MT structures further increased. Nikitenko at the Faculty of Health Sciences with the support In addition to the above, I investigated how single dynein motors of a BSCB studentship. My project was focused on the neu- move along MT bundles formed by the microtubule cross-linker ropeptide calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), a potent PRC1. I found that the velocity and run length of dynein motors vasodilator implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular decreases when running on PRC1-mediated MT bundles compared disease and migraine. In the course of my project I had to to when running on dynein-mediated MT bundles. It is known that learn how to culture lymphatic endothelial cells, understand PRC1 forms antiparallel bundles, whereas unpublished results the importance of maintaining aseptic conditions within the from the Straube lab show that Dynein predominantly forms paral- tissue culture environment and how to determine optimum lel MT bundles. This suggests that dynein might not move well on cell confluence. Being part of a laboratory team has taught antiparallel MT bundles. me essential laboratory techniques which are invaluable for Throughout my degree, I have studied many topics ranging from my future research and I was frequently challenged to think molecular genetics to cellular biology, allowing me to understand in new ways during meetings, data presentations and journal the different levels of complexity in organisms. However, experi- clubs. These experiences have improved my communication encing the working environment of a lab is invaluable as it has and teamwork skills as I periodically had to present work that provided me with a detailed insight into scientific research and I have completed and collaborate with other lab members. furthered my understanding of how we can use in vitro tech- This has also advanced my ability to organise and report data niques to understand more about cellular biology. Over my 8-week findings. I am privileged and grateful to have worked in Dr placement, I have learnt a variety of techniques, in particular how Nikitenko’s lab alongside his team and under both his and Dr to use TIRF microscopy and prepare and analyse imaging-based Rivero’s supervision. I would like to thank the BSCB for this biochemical assays. I have also learnt how to search relevant liter- excellent opportunity to participate in this exciting project at ature, analyse and interpret results. Therefore, I would like to thank the forefront of endothelial cell biology. BSCB and Dr. Straube for the amazing opportunity as well as Dr.

33 The cell biology of invagination

I am a biological science student from Zhiyuan College, Shang- kinds of adhesion 6, the ability of E-cadherin adhesion junctions hai Jiaotong University, China, about to start my last year of to drive cell rearrangement (cell-on-cell migration) in lieu of undergraduate studies. After various courses, experimental focal adhesion (cell-on-matrix migration) has not been proved or

SUMMER STUDENTS training and my last internship in Prof. Goujun Sheng’s lab in defined so far. Japan, cell biology has hugely aroused my interest. This summer, Therefore, my project was to begin to investigate whether cad- thanks to the BSCB, Prof. Jeremy Green and Dr. Barbara Vacca, herin junctions could be involved in actively cell rearrangement I got a chance to have another meaningful and fruitful research during invagination using the mouse molar model. experience in King’s College London, which aims to investigate a Since this was the first time I focused on an in vivo model potential new mechanism of morphogenetic cell rearrangement. instead of in vitro cultured cell lines, it took me about a month Shaping epithelia through folding and bending, especially to get a good command of the whole process of dissecting the invagination, is a critical way in which individual cells to work to- mouse embryos at the appropriate stage, fixing and embedding gether and grow into organs. However, the understanding of the the tissue of interest, cryosection the tissue, immuno-staining cellular mechanisms behind those processes is still limited.1 The for the proteins of interest, performing confocal imaging and development of ectodermal appendages, such as hair follicles, analyzing the resulting images. The techniques became easy with mammary glands, salivary glands, and teeth, serves as a good practice, but problems occurred to me one after another while I set of model systems for organogenesis that shares common, as was trying to obtain the best possible results. well as divergent, development processes. Ectodermal appendag- The first difficulty was how to find the tooth germs in the es all begin with a slight local epithelial thickening called a placo- embryo. As for early developing mouse molars, they were thick de. The invagination of placodes leads to the form of dimples or epithelial patches at embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5), little buds pits, after which the different organs diverge into their character- at E12.5, big buds at E13.5 and a cap-shaped bud at E14.5, istic structures.2 Due to its relatively large size, easily access and seemingly obvious structures. However, for me, it was easy to the solid bud structure, the mouse tooth provides a good model get confused while dissecting or cryosectioning. I tried using a to investigate the development of ectodermal appendages, espe- mouse development textbook but most of the sections reported cially the mechanism of epithelium invagination.3 The previous were transverse rather than frontal, which made buds appear as works in Green lab have demonstrated that the initiation of epi- circles and so very hard to distinguish. To profoundly understand thelium invagination occurs through “vertical telescoping” (cells the anatomy of molar and its surroundings, I spent another week moving apicobasally past one another) 4, and further invagination to learn how to wax-embed and then section a whole head fron- is driven by cell intercalation among suprabasal cells2. In both tally so that the morphology of whole mouse head was obtained. processes, the absence of fibronectin and the presence of foci of Doing this myself, rather than relying on the textbook, helped me E-cadherin during molar development aroused our attention. a lot in the following dissections and cryo-sections In general, there are several kinds of cell adhesion mole- Another difficulty came with the immunostaining. Commer- cules linking the cell microenvironment to the cell cytoskeleton. cially purchased antibodies with a suitable protocol should Integrins adhere to fibronectin and other extracellular matrix guarantee beautiful and reliable immunostaining results, but this molecules to form focal adhesions, and these act like feet to was not always the case! Little tips I learned from my failures enable cell migration and a number of known developmental cell included: before staining, read the data sheet carefully and follow rearrangements 5. E-cadherin, on the other hand, forms adherens the recommended protocol in perfect detail; when dealing with junctions, which are cell-cell adhesions not usually involved in cell the uneven fluorescence, move the sample around to distinguish migration 6. Although some actin-regulating molecular compo- whether it was due to uneven staining or uneven illumination; nents, including Elmo2 and Dock1, are common in both two always do a no-primary-antibody control to identify auto-fluo- rescence and non-specific secondary antibody binding. Also, if there is, making a strong known positive control according to the antibody product description or previous papers can help a lot. These are obvious things to do – when you know how! After fixing the problems, the most exciting part was having an elegant result. Firstly, I confirmed the known result which was the co-localization of foci of E-cadherin and b-catenin in the suprabasal tissue canopy and there are no fibronectin signals. For the laminin and integrin b1, they were only present in the basal outline of the bud (figure a-f) while vinculin was present in the whole bud. Previous work in Green lab suggested a possibility that E-cad- herin could be the focal adhesion-equivalent during cell-on-cell intercalation-mediated invagination. This time, it was further supported by the absence of laminin and integrin b1 and the presence of vinculin. There were also papers suggesting that vin- culin could also be triggered to conformation change by signals from E-cadherins. Further work could be divided into two parts, testing more focal adhesion components, i.e. focal adhesion kinase, paxillin and integrin a6, and using inhibitors to test func- tional similarities and differences between cell-on-cell and cell-on- matrix migration and identify a potential new functional role for E-cadherin in the invagination process. Although eight weeks were not a long time, I had a good train-

34 References SUMMER STUDENTS ing for my experimental skills and improvement in my critical 1.Pearl EJ, Li J, Green JBA. 2017 Cellular systems for epithelial invagination. thinking. It was a good chance for me to experience the research- Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 372: 20150526. ers’ life and test whether I am happy doing science. The answer 2. Panousopoulou E, Green JBA (2016) Invagination of Ectodermal Placodes is, definitely, yes. Is Driven by Cell Intercalation-Mediated Contraction of the Supraba- Here I would like to express my strong gratitude towards BSCB, sal Tissue Canopy. PLoS Biol 14(3): e1002405. doi:10.1371/journal. Prof. Jeremy Green, Dr. Barbara Vacca and other members of the pbio.1002405 group and department who have helped me, Jack, Yushi, Ewa, 3.Kim R, Green JBA, Klein OD. From snapshots to movies: Understanding Jamie and Alasdair. early tooth development in four dimensions. Dev Dyn. 2017;246(6):442– After eight weeks, now it is the end of summer as well as a 450. doi:10.1002/dvdy.24501 start for me to carry on my research life. 4.Epithelial invagination by vertical telescoping. Jingjing Li, Andrew D. Econ- omou, Jeremy B A Green. bioRxiv 515981 Yangye Zhang Supervisors: Dr. Barbara Vacca, Prof. Jeremy 5.Giancotti, F. G., & Ruoslahti, E. (1999). Integrin signaling. Science, 285(5430), 1028-1033. Green 6.Takeichi, Masatoshi. (2014). Dynamic contacts: Rearranging adherens junctions to drive epithelial remodelling. Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology. 15. 10.1038/nrm3802.

Rachel Finday Krytyna Sadzkowska I am a UCL student, about to start my fourth year of an inte- I just finished my first year of undergraduate medical degree at grated Masters degree. This will involve working on an extended the University of Cambridge. This summer I got an amazing op- research project so I was keen to get some lab experience. portunity to gain research experience in Professor Ewa Paluch’s The Acton lab is a stromal immunology lab in the MRC LMCB. lab in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuro- In particular, they focus on communication between immune science at the University of Cambridge, where I spent 8 weeks cells and stromal cells in the lymph node (LN). The aim of this investigating actin networks in mouse embryonic stem cells. summer project was to investigate the interaction of T cell In this study, we investigated changes in actin cytoskeletal zone macrophages (TZMs) with another population of resident networks during a fate transition using mouse embryonic stem macrophages in the LN with the FRC network. We first aimed to (mES) cells as a model system. Together, my findings illuminat- stain LN sections for MERTK and PDPN and CD3 to allow us to ed how actin organization changes as mES cells undergo shape distinguish between T cells and TZMs. and fate transitions. I learned a lot of useful lab techniques During my placement, I learned several new techniques, from such as stem cell culture, electron and confocal microscopy, tissue sectioning and staining to microscopy and analysis for Western blot and immunostaining. I also have learnt how to imaging and flow cytometry results. Not everything went to write a scientific paper and I made a poster summarizing my plan, with the MERTK antibody for tissue section staining not results, which I hope to present at an undergraduate conference working well, followed by a delay while a different MERTK anti- in the coming academic year. I want to thank Professor Ewa body that had worked previously was delivered. However, with Paluch, all the members of Paluch lab and BSCB for giving the new antibody we managed to take some good images and me this amazing opportunity. I had a great summer in a very observe some macrophages. friendly lab and I gained a lot of invaluable experience that I will Overall, I had a great 8 weeks in the lab, learning lots of new be able to use further in my career. techniques, gaining a greater understanding of the scientific basis behind what the lab studies and insight into working in Liza Zhabina a lab. I would like to thank Dr Sophie Acton for allowing me to I am doing a degree in Natural Sciences, specialising in Bio- spend time in the lab over the summer, Dr Spiros Makris for his chemistry, at Cambridge University. Over the summer, I spent 8 guidance and supervision throughout and the BSCB for provid- weeks in Simon Cook’s lab characterising the regulatory mecha- ing me with funding for this project. nisms of ERK5 in naïve and primed ES cells. In order to investigate the role of ERK5 signalling, I learned Riya Verkaria to culture mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in conditions I am about to start my third year at Kings College London. Over promoting naïve or primed differentiation states. I used Western my summer 6-week internship in Dr Elisabeth Ehler’s lab, I had Blotting and Immunopreciptiation to investigate protein expres- the privilege to carry out techniques such as immunohisto- sion and interactions of ERK5. My time spent at the Cook Lab chemistry, SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. One of the aims of was an invaluable experience for me both academically and my project was to investigate the expression levels and subcellu- personally. From becoming more confident and independent lar distribution of desmosomal proteins in heart samples from doing lab work, learning a variety of techniques, and talking human end stage dilated cardiomyopathy. Imaging, viewing and with the other scientists in the lab, I now have a far better idea analysing the results felt rewarding and full filling as I eventually of what a scientific career entails. I learned that independent carried out each individual experimental stage by myself to get lab work is far different from the tutored lab sessions that I have to the results. previously experienced during my degree so far; having experi- I loved working on this project and enhancing my knowledge enced the initial stages of planning an experiment, through to on tremendous amount of lab skills. I am sincerely grateful to problem-solving any difficulties I encountered, and persevering Dr Elisabeth Ehler for providing me with such an educational in the face of failure. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges I and rewarding experience. I would also like to thank the BSCB faced during the project, and the feeling of accomplishment in summer studentship bursary for enabling me to receive such producing data and sharing it with other scientists. As such, I a realistic insight in the field of research. I hope to be able to am now more confident in pursuing a future career in science. use the skills I have learnt from this experience in the future as I I would particularly like to thank Dr Pamela Lochhead for her aspire to apply for a PhD position. support and guidance through my project.

35 Society

SOCIETY BUSINESS Business

BSCB funding to support members throughout their careers We welcome two joint officers who will be supporting the BSCBs company of Biologists’ support funds for members conference travel and career development. Folma Buss and Sharon Tooze came on board in summer 2019. The BSCB Honor Fell and Support Grants schemes continue to be popular and we ask that applications are uploaded at least 6 weeks ahead of time to allow for assessment and transfer of funds to successful appli- cants. We expect all successful applicants to acknowledge BSCB funding using our logos found on our website. We have recently updated our process for applying for all BSCB Travel awards to use an online portal which is part of the BSCB Members area. All funding applications from July 2019 should be uploaded in PDFf format to the application portal found at bscb.org/mem- bers-login/

Honor Fell Travel Awards Sponsored by the Company of Biolo- gists provide financial support for BSCB members at the begin- ning of their research careers to attend meetings and courses. Applications are considered for any meeting or course relevant to cell biology. The amount of the award depends on the location of the meeting or course. Awards will be up to £400 for travel within the UK (except for BSCB Spring Meeting for which the full regis- tration and accommodation costs will be made), up to £500 for travel within European and up to £750 for meetings and courses in the rest of the world. The application form and more information about the scheme are available here: https://bscb.org/competitions-awardsgrants/ travel-bursaries/honor-fell-company-of-biologists-travel-awards/

Company of Biologists Support Grants are available for inde- pendent group leaders/PIs with no current funds for travel to attend meetings, conferences, workshops, practical courses, PI laboratory management courses and courses to re-train. For more information and to apply please see here: https://bscb. org/competitions-awardsgrants/cob-support-grants/

Childcare Award: The BSCB now accepts applications to provide financial help with childcare or care for dependents when the ap- plicant is presenting at a scientific meeting. All claims will require approval with appropriate receipts. You will be notified within 2–3 weeks of the outcome. For example, these claims can be for:

• Home-based childcare/dependent care expenses incurred because of meeting attendance (funds may not be applied to normal ongoing expenses). • Travel of a relative or other care provider to your home to care for your child(ren) or dependent while attending a meeting. • Travel of a care provider to the meeting with you to care for your child(ren)

For more information and to apply please see: https://bscb.org/ competitions-awardsgrants/travel-bursaries/childcare-award/

36 SOCIETY BUSINESS The British Society for Cell Biology Statement of Financial Activities for the Year to 31 December 2018

Unrestricted Restricted Total 2018 Unrestricted Restricted Total 2017 Funds Funds Funds Funds

Income from: £ £ £ £ £ £ Grants 35,000 62,500 97,500 35,000 62,500 97,500 Investments 8,932 – 8,932 8,861 – 8,861

Charitable activities Meetings – – - – - – Subscriptions 33,425 – 33,425 32,802 – 32,802

Total income 77,357 62,500 139,857 76,663 62,500 139,163

Expenditure on:

Charitable activities

Grants payable: CoB – 68,274 68,274 – 57,352 57,352 Other grants 3,099 - 3,099 900 3,000 3,900

Studentships 17,100 – 17,100 16,012 – 16,012 Costs of meetings 10,808 – 10,808 18,859 – 18,859 Website expenses 2,429 – 2,429 465 – 465 Newsletter costs - – - 3,675 – 3,675 Membership fulfilment services 16,365 – 16,365 22,267 – 22,267 Executive Committee expenses 3,352 – 3,352 2,345 – 2,345 Examiner’s remuneration 2,644 – 2,644 2,524 – 2,524 Miscellaneous 915 – 915 1,056 – 1,056 Subscriptions 2,299 – 2,299 1,279 – 1,279 Insurance 1,114 – 1,114 1,095 – 1,095

Total expenditure 60,125 68,274 128,399 70,477 60,352 130,829

Net (expenditure)/income 17,232 (5,774) 11,458 6,186 2,148 8,334

Transfer between funds – – – – – –

Net movement in funds 17,232 (5,774) 11,458 6,186 2,148 8,334

Funds brought forward at 204,383 31,072 235,455 198,197 28,924 227,121 1 January 2018

Funds carried forward at 221,615 25,298 246,913 204,383 31,072 235,455 31 December 2018

37 BSCB Committee 2020 COMMITTEE

The Society is run by a Committee of un- Membership Secretary: Dr Andrew Carter Schools Liaison Officer: Mr David F. paid volunteers elected by the Members. MRC Lab of Molecular Biology Archer The Officers of the Society, who are all Francis Crick Ave, Cambridge CB2 0QH British Society for Cell Biology members of the Committee, are directly [email protected] 43 Lindsay Gardens elected by the Members. The BSCB com- St Andrews, Fife KY16 8XD mittee is comprised of eight office-holders Meetings Secretary: Dr Anne Straube [email protected] (President, Secretary, Treasurer, Meet- Warwick Medical School ings Secretary, Membership Secretary, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry CV4 7AL Postdoc Representative: Dr Gautam Dey Magazine Editor and Web Co-ordinator) [email protected] MRC Lab for Molecular Cell Biology and up to 12 other ordinary members, University College London including one PhD student representative, Honor Fell/COB Coordinators: Dr Sharon Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT one postdoc representative and a schools Tooze & Dr Folma Buss [email protected] liaison officer which are coopted onto the Dr Sharon Tooze committee. The Francis Crick Institute PhD Student Representative: Joyce Yu 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT The Francis Crick Institute The committee is always interested in [email protected] 1 Midland Road hearing from cell biologists who wish London NW1 1AT to contribute to the society’s activities. Dr Folma Buss [email protected] Members of the society are encouraged to University of Cambridge, nominate candidates for the committee or Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Dr Susana Godinho officers positions at any time. Formal nom- Cambridge Biomedical Campus Hills Barts Cancer Institute – CRUK Centre inations should be seconded by another Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK Queen Mary University of London member of the society. The committee is [email protected] Charterhouse Square also happy to receive un-seconded infor- EC1M 6BQ, London mal nominations. Nominations should be Sponsorship Secretary: Dr Chris Bakal [email protected] sent to the BSCB secretary. Chester Beatty Laboratories Institute of Cancer Research Dr Stephen Robinson The committee generally meets twice a 237 Fulham Road, London SW3 6JB School of Biological Sciences year, at the spring meeting and in the [email protected] BMRC 01.02, University of East Anglia, autumn in London. Additional meetings Norwich Research Park, are arranged from time to time. Items for Magazine Editor: Dr Ann Wheeler Norwich, NR4 7TJ consideration by the committee should Institute of Genetics and Molecular [email protected] be submitted to the secretary prior to the Medicine (IGMM) meetings. , Dr Carine De Marcos Lousa Edinburgh EH4 2XU School of Clinical and Applied Sciences The BSCB has charitable status (regis- [email protected] Leeds Beckett University, PD611 tered charity no. 265816). The BSCB AGM City Campus, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK is held every year at the Spring Meeting. Web, Social Media and Public Engage- [email protected] ment Officer: Dr Judith Sleeman President: Professor Anne Ridley FRS School of Biology, BSRC Complex Dr Jason King FRSB FMedSci FRMS University of St Andrews School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine North Haugh University of Sheffield, Biomedical Sciences Building St Andrews, Fife KY16 9ST Firth Court, Western Bank, University Walk [email protected] Sheffield,S10 2TN Bristol BS8 1TD [email protected] London SE1 1UL Summer studentship Coordinator: Pro- [email protected] fessor Maria S. Balda Dr Julie Welburn Department of Cell Biology Centre for Cell Biology Secretary: Dr Vas Ponnambalam UCL Institute of Ophthalmology University of Edinburgh School of Molecular & Cellular Biology University College London Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JR University of Leeds 11-43 Bath Street [email protected] Leeds LS2 9JT London EC1V 9EL [email protected] [email protected] Professor Ciaran Morrison Centre for Chromosome Biology, Treasurer: Professor David Elliott Science Advocacy Officer: Dr Jennifer School of Natural Sciences, Institute of Human Genetics Rohn National University of Ireland Galway, The International Centre for Life Centre for Nephrology Biomedical Sciences building, Central Parkway Division of Medicine Dangan, Galway H91 W2TY University of Newcastle Upon Tyne University College London Ireland. Newcastle NE1 3BZ London WC1E 6BT [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

38 AMBASSADORS BSCB Ambassadors 2020

The BSCB Ambassadors are the society’s advocates in the UK Anyone who wishes to volunteer to become a BSCB ambassador cell biology community. They should be your first point of call at any Institutes not represented in the list below please contact for information about what the society can do for you and also the BSCB. how you can get involved. They should also be the people readily available to ask about sponsoring you for membership.

Aberdeen Anne Donaldson [email protected] Aberystwyth University John Doonan [email protected] Anglia Ruskin University Richard Jones [email protected] Aston university Martin Griffin [email protected] Bath Paul Whitley [email protected] Belfast - The Queen’s University William Allen [email protected] Birmingham Jonathan Heath [email protected] Bournemouth Paul Hartley [email protected] Bradford Michael Fessing [email protected] Bradford Kirsten Riches [email protected] Bristol Harry Mellor [email protected] Bristol Kate Nobes [email protected] Brunel Joanna Bridger [email protected] Cambridge Catherine Lindon [email protected] Cambridge - Babraham Simon Cook [email protected] Cambridge - CIMR Folma Buss [email protected] Cambridge - Gurdon Meri Huch [email protected] Cambridge - Hutchinson Anna Philpott [email protected] Cambridge - LMB Andrew Carter [email protected] Cambridge - Pathology Heike Laman [email protected] Cambridge - Zoology Isabel Palacios [email protected] Canterbury Dan Mulvihill [email protected] Cardiff Adrian Harwood [email protected] Cardiff University Catherine Hogan [email protected] Chester Univerity Eustace Johnson [email protected] CRICK Simon Boulton [email protected] CRICK JP Vincent [email protected] Dublin - Trinity College James Murray [email protected] Dundee Vicky Cowling [email protected] Dundee Angus Lamond [email protected] Dundee Inke Nathke [email protected] Durham Roy Quinlan [email protected] Edinburgh Luke Boulter [email protected] Edinburgh Ian Chambers [email protected] Edinburgh Margarete Heck [email protected] Edinburgh -WTCB Hiro Ohkura [email protected] Exeter James Wakefield [email protected] Glasgow Lilach Sheiner [email protected] Glasgow - Beatson Kristina Kirschner [email protected] Huddersfield Dr Nik Georgopoulos [email protected] Hull Justin Sturge [email protected] ICR Clare Isacke [email protected] ICR Jon Pines [email protected] Imperial Vania Braga [email protected] Imperial Mandy Fisher [email protected] Keele University Stuart Jenkins [email protected] Kings College London Anatoliy Markiv [email protected] Kings College London Vicky Sanz Moreno [email protected] Kings College London - Denmark Hill Alex Ivetic [email protected] Kings College London / Guys Simon Hughes [email protected] Lancaster Nikki Copeland [email protected] Leeds Michelle Peckham [email protected] Leeds Beckett University Carine De Marcos Lousa [email protected] Leicester Andrew Fry [email protected]

39 Liverpool Daimark Bennett [email protected] Liverpool Sylvie Urbe [email protected] Manchester Nancy Papalopulu [email protected] Manchester CRUK Paterson Iain Hagan [email protected] Manchester WTCCMR Sarah Woolner [email protected] Newcastle Prof Jonathan Higgins [email protected]

AMBASSADORS Nottingham Alistair Hume [email protected] Nottingham Bill Wickstead [email protected] Nottingham Trent University Mark Turner [email protected] Oxford - Biochemistry Alison Woollard [email protected] Oxford - Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Yoshi Itoh [email protected] Oxford - Pathology Jordan Raff [email protected] Oxford - Pathology Rosemary Wilson [email protected] Oxford Brookes Chris Hawes [email protected] Plymouth David Parkinson [email protected] Plymouth University Claudia Barros [email protected] Queen Mary University of London (BCI) Susana Godhino [email protected] Queen Mary University of London (Blizard Institute) Ana O’Loghlen [email protected] Queen Mary University of London (Mile End Campus) Viji Draviam-Sastry [email protected] Queen Mary University of London (WHRI) Tom Nightingale [email protected] Reading Jonathan Gibbins [email protected] Roehampton Yolanda Calle-Patino [email protected] RVC Steve Allen [email protected] Sanger Matthew Garnett [email protected] Sheffield Andy Grierson [email protected] Sheffield Liz Smythe [email protected] Southampton Jane Collins [email protected] Southampton David Tumbarello [email protected] St Andrews Judith Sleeman [email protected] St Georges Ferran Valderrama [email protected] Stirling Tim Whalley [email protected] Strathclyde Luke Chamberlain [email protected] Sussex Alison Sinclair [email protected] Swansea University Venkateswarlu Kanamarlapudi [email protected] UCL Giampietro Schiavo [email protected] UCL LMCB Sophie Acton [email protected] UEA Stephen Robinson [email protected] UEA Grant Wheeler [email protected] UEA / John Innes Center Janneke Balk [email protected] Warwick Anne Straube [email protected] York Nia Bryant [email protected] York Dawn Coverley [email protected]

40 The BSCB Magazine is published once a year in winter in hard Invoices copy. News is updated frequently through our website and BSCB Send to: Twitter feed. Follow us at @Official_BSCB Professor David Elliot Institute of Human Genetics Submission The International Centre for Life If you have an idea for an article please e-mail the editor a brief Central Parkway outline first.I t is preferable to send all articles, reports and imag- University of Newcastle Upon Tyne es by e-mail (though alternatives can be arranged after contact- NE1 3BZ ing the editor). Tel: +44 (0) 191 241 8694 Email: [email protected] Attachments for text can be in txt, rtf or doc format. Please send images as 300dpi JPEG, TIFF or PSD files. Journals BSCB members are entitled to a range of discounts from journal Submission of articles and images should be made to and book publishers. These are correct at the time of going to press but members should check www.bscb.org for the latest Dr Ann Wheeler information. Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine University of Edinburgh Offers include a 25% discount from the individual subscription Crewe Road South rate to all journals published by the Company of Biologists, and Edinburgh EH4 2XU other discounts from other publishers. To take advantage of this Tel: +44 (0) 131 651 8665 offer, quote your BSCB membership number when ordering your Email: [email protected] subscription.

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