We are a collective of researchers at the University of Glasgow who use Drosophila melanogaster. We work in areas including development, cancer, physiology, ageing, obesity, nutrition and food security.
Why fly?
Many genes and processes are evolutionarily conserved: we find the same genes doing the same things in the same tissues in diverse organisms, even after millions of years of evolutionary divergence. This means that understanding the function of a conserved gene in one organism often gives us a good idea of its function in another organism.
In Drosophila, we can manipulate genetics very efficiently and effectively, for example by altering expression of a specific gene in a specific tissue at a specific time, tagging a protein to see where it goes in a cell, or by deleting parts of the genome. We can then rapidly test the effects on outputs like behaviour, survival or tumour formation.
We use this approach to manipulate and understand processes and functions including ageing, tissue-tissue communication and kidney function; and to discover novel compounds for biomedicince and agriculture.
Research Laboratory Groups
Professor Ross Cagan, Beatson Institute for Cancer Research
Dr Julia Cordero, Institute of Cancer Sciences
Professor Julian Dow & Professor Shireen Davies, Institute of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology
Dr Adam Dobson, Institute of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology
Professor Kevin O'Dell, Institute of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology
Professor Alberto Sanz Montero, Institute of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology

Cagan Group
About Cagan Group

Cordero Group

Dow & Davies Group
About Dow & Davies Group

Dobson Group
Nutritional systems biology: we are interested in optimising microbiota and diet to promote lifelong health.

About O'Dell Group

Sanz Group
About Sanz Group
