
Professor James Wakefield
Head of Department - Biosciences
Biosciences
University of Exeter
Living Systems Institute
Stocker Road
Exeter EX4 4QD
I am an internationally recognized scientist; a leader in the field of fundamental cell division research, and with a growing reputation as a pioneer of developing technologies in the rodent-replacement model organism, Galleria mellonella
My research interest has always been that of mitosis and cell division, stimulated by the fundamental beauty of the process as viewed using a fluorescence microscope, and its key role in diseases such as cancer. Every living thing renews itself by a process of cell division. In order to produce two new identical cells from one existing cell, the genetic material, the chromosomes, must first be replicated and the volume of the cell must increase. During the process defined as cell division itself, these duplicated chromosomes align in the centre of the cell before one copy of each chromosome is moved to opposite sides of the cell. Finally, the cell physically cleaves in two, usually at the centre of the cell, producing two daughter cells, each identical to themselves and to the original cell.
All cells use protein fibres termed microtubules (MTs) order to faithfully divide. These fibres are made up of repeating units of a protein called tubulin that can be added or taken away from the ends of existing MTs, allowing them to grow and shrink. Other proteins in the cell, called MT associated proteins (MAPs) are able to alter the properties of the MTs, causing them to grow or shrink more quickly, to link existing MTs to each other, or to link the ends of the MTs to chromosomes or other structures in the cell. In this way, MTs can be organised into dynamic structures, capable of doing different things. During cell division, two main MT structures are important - the spindle apparatus, which makes sure the chromosomes line up and are moved apart correctly, and the central spindle, that allows the cell to cleave precisely in two. We want to understand how these systems organise themselves, and what governs the similarities and differences between them in diverse types of cell, at different stages of development, and during disease. We use the model organism, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In order to learn as much as possible, we take a multi-disciplinary approach, combining proteomics, bioinformatics and quantitative image analysis with qualitative, descriptive cell and developmental biology, and genetics.
More recently, I have been adapting the tools and technologies used in Drosophila to the emerging insect model organism, the wax moth, Galleria Mellonella. Galleria has the potential to transform how we use animals to study human infection and genetic disease. Mice and rats are the traditional host models, but the ethical implications and the cost associated with using such animals in research makes it vital to find and optimise alternative approaches. While in vitro and cell culture systems can be used for fundamental investigations, they cannot model the complexity of humans in relation to their genetics, environment, and pathogens. The waxmoth has all the advantages of other insect models but, crucially, can be maintained healthily at human body temperature, 37oC. Their larvae are also much larger than Drosophila, allowing them to be precisely dosed with pathogens and/or drugs. As such, they can be used to investigate the dynamics of infection and response to pharmacological treatments in a way not possible with other non-mammalian model systems. We have set up the Galleria Mellonella Research Centre - maintaining a colony of genetically homogeneous Galleria, providing a standardised population of organisms for research. We have developed the capability to engineer the Galleria genome, stably introducing new and mutated genes, or removing gene function, through both transgenesis and CRISPR technologies. We have optimised techniques from Drosophila to study Galleria at the cellular and tissue levels, opening up the possibility of using the waxmoth to understand human biology relating to other diverse research fields including genetics and inheritance, organ regeneration, cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, heart disease and diabetes.
I am open to email enquires from students with their own funding interested in pursuing an MSc by Research or PhD. I am also open to supporting students who would like to apply for PhD funding shcemes, working with them to generate the highest quality applications. Similarly, I would like to support researchers with aligned interests, looking to submit EMBO, HFSP, and other Fellowship applications.
Qualifications:
1999 PhD Wellcome/CRUK Institute for Cancer Research and Developmental Biology, University of Cambridge, UK
1995 BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry, University of Bristol
Career:
2018-current Professor of Integrative Cellular Biology and Head of Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter
2013-2018 Associate Professor if Integrative Cellular Biology, University of Exeter
2010-2013 Senior Lecturer in Cell Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter
2007-2009 Director, Life Sciences Interface Doctoral Training Centre, University of Oxford
2004-2007 Lecturer in Biology (Deputy Director) Life Sciences Interface Doctoral Training Centre, University of Oxford
2003–2004 Departmental Lecturer in Biology / Co-ordinator, MSc in Integrative Biosciences, University of Oxford
2000-2002 MRC Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Bristol
1999-2000 EU TMR Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dipartmento di Genetica e Biologie Molecolare, University of Rome, Italy