Lab News
Publications, software releases, and team updates from our laboratory.
Greatwall regulates leukaemia cell division through a non-canonical mechanism, now published in EMBO Reports
Our collaboration with Sandra Martin-Guerrero and Pedro Cutillas (now at the Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López-Neyra, Granada) is out in EMBO Reports. AML cells need Greatwall kinase to proliferate, but not through its classic ENSA/ARPP19–PP2A-B55 pathway. Instead, Greatwall controls cytokinesis, partly by phosphorylating MARK3, which we identify as a new direct substrate.
View publicationSeptember 30, 2026DNAgent is now open for beta testing
DNAgent is our open-source DNA design and cloning workbench. It opens SnapGene and GenBank files, draws plasmid maps, simulates digests and Gibson assemblies, and designs primers. The desktop app and command-line tool share one Rust engine, so you and an AI agent can work on the same constructs. Try it and send feedback on GitHub.
View on GitHubOctober 9, 2026Rob's new preprint: Greatwall/PP2A-B55α shapes cancer cell dependence on PKMYT1
Rob's new bioRxiv preprint shows that in cancer cells, PP2A-B55α works with PKMYT1 to keep cells from entering mitosis too early. Shifting the Greatwall/PP2A-B55α balance makes cancer cells, but not normal cells, much more sensitive to the PKMYT1 inhibitor RP-6306. This points to a new way to target PKMYT1 in therapy.
View publicationSeptember 8, 2026New bioRxiv preprint on Greatwall signalling in AML
Our collaborators Sandra Martin and Pedro Cutillas have submitted a new bioRxiv preprint showing that ENSA/ARPP phosphorylation is constitutive in AML and occurs independently of Greatwall kinase. Nevertheless, Greatwall remains essential for cytokinesis in AML and acts through regulation of MARK3, which we identify as a new direct Greatwall substrate.
View publicationMarch 24, 2026Our paper on Greatwall kinase inhibition and dependency prediction has been published
Our latest research on Greatwall kinase regulation during mitosis has been published in Nature Communications. This work reveals new insights into why some cells are more sensitive to Greatwall kinase inhibitors.
View publicationJuly 18, 2025New PhD Student Joining the Lab
We're excited to welcome Sam Jones to our team. Sam will be working on the activation mechanism of Greatwall kinase in mitosis.
July 15, 2025