7 October 2004
Cell Signalling gets £1.87 million for Disease Research
University of Dundee Professor, Peter Downes, who earlier this year received an OBE in the Queen's
Birthday Honours, for services to life sciences, has been given another boost with the award of £1.87
million from the Medical Research Council to develop his research on cell signalling.
Professor Downes and his team at the School of Life Sciences are studying the mechanisms through which
hormones like insulin control the behaviour of our cells and tissues.
Insulin stimulates an enzyme called PI3K located on the inside surface of muscle and fat cells, which
triggers the production of a chemical signal called PIP3 which coordinates cellular responses to the
presence of insulin in the bloodstream. PIP3 is the master switch responsible for the absorption of
sugar from the bloodstream after a meal. Remarkably, the same signal regulates cell growth and movement
and is also triggered by reactive forms of oxygen that are thought to be important in ageing and
cardiovascular disease.
Faults in the PI3K signalling machinery can therefore contribute to diseases as diverse as diabetes,
cancer and rheumatoid arthritis and the need to develop drugs that target PI3K is a priority that is
being pursued in Dundee in collaboration with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies.
The Division of Signal Transduction Therapy (DSTT) in the School of Life Sciences, co-directed by
Professor Downes and his colleague, Sir Philip Cohen, provides pharmaceutical companies with reagents,
antibodies and DNA constructs that could lead to new drug developments. The success of this collaboration
has led to renewed funding of £15 million over five years to the DSTT from Astrazeneca, Boehringer
Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithkline, Merck and Co., Merck KGAa and Pfizer.
Commenting on this latest success Professor Downes said, "This confirms the University's reputation as a
world centre for cell signalling research". He paid tribute to his team whose achievements in recent years
had convinced the Medical Research Council to increase its investment in his research on PI3K and its
medical implications.
In 2005 Professor Downes' team will move to custom built space in the Centre for Interdisciplinary
Research (CIR) that is currently under construction and will be fully integrated with the Wellcome Trust
Biocentre. The CIR aims to apply basic research in the School of Life Sciences to the development of new
treatments for major diseases focussing on diabetes and tropical diseases of the third world. The
fundraising campaign to raise £4m to complete the furbishment of the CIR is underway with just over £1m
still be to be raised.
Professor Downes is Dean of the Faculty and Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of
Dundee.
Note to Editors
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is
medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The
research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the
pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has
led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the
MRC’s expenditure of £430 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half
goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and
medical schools. Web site at: www.mrc.ac.uk
For further information please contact the Professor Downes on 01382 345156
By Angela Durcan, Press Officer 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, a.durcan@dundee.ac.uk | 
