'Light switch' breakthrough could help Dundee scientists tackle cancer

Picture: University of Dundee

Researchers in Dundee have secured a major £4 million funding award to investigate how human cells divide, in a project that could help improve understanding of diseases such as cancer.

The study, led by experts from the University of Dundee’s Faculty of Health and Faculty of Life Sciences, will focus on the signals that control cell division. This process is essential for how the body grows and repairs itself, but scientists are still trying to understand exactly how it works at a deeper level.

While it is already known that cells rely on signals being switched on and off to divide, researchers say one of the biggest unanswered questions is why some of these signals need to “flash” repeatedly. These rapid changes appear to influence how cells behave, and when they go wrong, they may contribute to serious health conditions including cancer.

The eight-year project, funded by Wellcome, will see Dundee scientists work alongside colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany. Together, they will study what are known as phosphorylation–dephosphorylation dynamics, a process where proteins inside cells are repeatedly activated and deactivated.

Professor Adrian Saurin, who is leading the research, explained that these chemical changes act like switches inside the body. He said scientists already understand which proteins are turned on or off, but not how quickly these changes happen over time. According to him, the speed of these signals could act like a form of biological code, helping control how cells behave.

The Dundee team has developed new tools to help decode this process for the first time. Researchers hope this will reveal how healthy cells divide correctly and what changes occur when diseases like cancer develop, potentially opening the door to improved treatments in the future.

Dr Tony Ly, a co-investigator on the project, said Dundee is already internationally recognised for its work in this field, and that the research builds on years of collaboration. He added that understanding these signalling patterns could provide new insights into cancer and how it might be treated.

The international partnership will also draw on expertise from Germany, where scientists will study how these processes work in both healthy and cancerous cells. Researchers believe this could help explain how cancer cells evolve and become resistant to treatments such as chemotherapy.