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David Heery

Professor of Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, Faculty of Science

Contact

  • workRoom C54 Centre for Biomolecular Sciences
    University Park
    Nottingham
    NG7 2RD
    UK
  • work0115 9515087
  • fax0115 8468877

Biography

In 1990, I was awarded a PhD by the National University of Ireland, Galway, for work on transcriptional regulation of the trp operon in industrial coryneform strains. From there I joined Pierre Chambon's group in Strasbourg, studying transcription by nuclear hormone receptors and their coactivators, supported by a long term EMBO Fellowship, and subsequently Fellowships from the Association pour la Recherche sur la Cancer, and the University Louis Pasteur. This included development of yeast two hybrid screens for retinoic acid receptor binding proteins, and yeast genetic screens to identify mammalian transcriptional coactivators (Heery et al., PNAS, 1993; Heery et al., NAR 1994). In 1995, following the award of a Marie Curie fellowship I moved to Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, where I identified the LXXLL motif that mediates interactions between nuclear receptors and coactivators (Heery et al., Nature 1997; Heery et al., JBC 2001; Coulthard et al, JBC 2003). I was subsequently awarded a Wellcome Senior Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leicester (1998-2005) to continue studies on structure/ functional and interactions of transcriptional coactivators, in particular the histone acetyltransferases CBP, p300, SRC1, TIF2 and MOZ (Sheppard et al., MCB 2001; Matsuda et al, JBC 2004; Waters et al., JBC 2006; Ryan Cell Cycle 2006; Heery & Fischer, Drug Discovery Today 2007). More recently the group has made significant progress in understanding the role of aberrant histone acetylation in the development of acute myeloid leukemia induced by MOZ-TIF2 and MOZ-CBP fusion proteins (Kindle et al., MCB 2005; Collins et al., JBC 2006). In February 2005, I founded the Gene Regulation Group at the School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, where I am currently Head of the Division of Molecular & Cellular Sciences.

Research Summary

Current areas of investigation include:

  • Transcription factor function- AML1, p53.
  • Nuclear hormone receptors and LXXLL-containing proteins.
  • Coactivators and chromatin modification.
  • Histone acetyltransferases- CBP, p300, MOZ.
  • BCL11A transcriptional repressor.
  • SUMO-mediated protein interactions

Collaborative projects

  • Histone acetyltransferases in AML
  • Histone modifications in breast cancer

Funding for our research has been provided by grants from the Wellcome Trust, Leukemia Research, AICR and Cancer Research UK.

We have also been supported through PhD studentships from MRC, BBSRC, Leukemia Research (Gordon Piller Studentship) and Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Prize Studentship)

Publications from the group: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pharmacy/TR_Lab/publdmh.htm

Link to CBS:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/cbs/

Link to Cancer Research Nottingham:

http://www.cancerresearch.nottingham.ac.uk/

Teaching

Lectures B32A02 Gene Transcription Lectures B32CO2 Pharmaceutical Microbiology Practical B33E07 Laboratory Studies in Pharmacology/ Pharmaceutical Sciences Projects G07, H07 MPharm IV Library and Laboratory Projects PG Training Introduction to Gene Regulation

Selected Publications

School of Pharmacy

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5100
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 5102
email: pharmacy-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk