This Centre - led by Professor Ian Hart - is concerned primarily with understanding the role that cytoadhesion plays in modulating cancer spread and has focused particularly on the involvement of members of the integrin family of adhesion receptors.

There are three laboratory teams linked to the clinic through a clinical fellowship programme and honorary consultants. Facilities in the newly refurbished laboratories include:

• Confocal and digital microscopy suites with research histopathology expertise
• Laser-assisted microdissection (PALM technology)

Research groups

• Cellular Adhesion in Invasion and Metastasis
  Prof Ian Hart, Dr John Marshall and Dr Gareth Thomas
  Aims to understand how cell adhesion affects tumour spread and to develop strategies for blocking cancer metastasis.
• Angiogenesis Group
  Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke
  Aims to understand the roles of cell adhesion in disease, particularly with respect to angiogenesis and tumour cell-endothelial cell interactions.
• Epithelial-Stromal Group
  Prof Louise Jones and Mr Hemant Kocher
  Aims to understand the pathobiology of breast cancer with a particular focus on cell adhesion and myoepithelial cells.
• Growth Factor Signalling Group
  • FGF receptors - Dr Richard Grose
    Aims to understand and delineate the functions of Fgfs and their receptors in tumourgenesis and wound repair.
  • Spatial signalling - Dr Stephanie Kermorgant
    Aims to understand how endosomal signalling of the c-Met receptor affects tumour cell metastasis.
    
• Gene Transcription Group
  Prof Helen Hurst
  Aims to understanding the molecular mechanisms that control expression of key breast tumour genes, in order to identify novel targets for cancer therapy