Biology Research @ UC

Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics Research

Knowing the composition of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all of the biological sciences.

Cell biology investigates the cell, from physiological properties and structure to their interactions with the environment.

Molecular genetics goes one step deeper and examining the structure and function of genes at a molecular level, researching areas such as mutation and reproduction.

An area of focus at UC is the growth, development and function of plant cells. This research includes the roles of plant hormones in growth and development, as well as the interaction between the environment, physiology and the molecular biology of cells. The confocal microscope is used heavily in this research.

Animal cells are also studied, particularly in areas of cell communication such as the signalling pathways regulating mammalian pituitary hormone release.

Examples of research include:

The organisation and function of the cortical endoplasmic reticulum in plant cells.
The organisation of the plant cell wall during cell expansion, and how this is controlled by the asymmetric distributions of different proteins and carbohydrates
molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of pituitary cell responsiveness.

Research in cell biology and molecular genetics is closely related to animal physiology and biochemistry.