Pathology: University of Cambridge

The Department comprises five divisions: Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Molecular Histopathology, and Virology.

Key research areas

• Cellular and molecular pathology; Molecular histopathology
  Human molecular genetic pathology, particularly the isolation of genes involved in the pathogenesis of cancer and disease loci on chromosomes X and Y; in situ hybridisation and physical mapping of the human genome; the cellular and molecular biology of cancers, especially the role of apoptosis, angiogenesis and endothelial reactivity, the molecular pathology of human gliomas and chromosome rearrangement in common cancers; the role of human papilloma viruses in tumour progression in genital cancers; developmental biology of the mammary gland
• Immunology
  NKcells and their receptors; immunological tolerance; vascular biology and disease; angiogenesis; human trophoblast and the immunobiology of feto-maternal relationships; autoimmunity; T-cell recognition of antigen; immunogenetics of the MHC; class I and class II molecules and antigen processing; regulation of lymphocyte activation; immunoglobulin structure and function; structure and function of transcription factors; immune escape by pathogens
• Microbiology
  Toxin synthesis, maturation and secretion; function and structure of virulence and drug resistance membrane proteins; flagella biogenesis; export of Salmonella virulence proteins; subversion of mammalian cell function by invasive bacteria; surface-associated proteins of Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria
• Parasitology
  Molecular biology and immunobiology of schistosomiasis; genome analysis in Toxoplasma gondii and Trypanosoma brucei
• Virology
  Translational control of RNA viruses; molecular biology of picornaviruses, caliciviruses and influenza virus; papilloma virus pathogenesis; replication and pathogenesis of herpes viruses and pox viruses; latent infection and immune evasion.

Research collaborations

• The research laboratories of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Immunology, and Microbiology and Parasitology are situated at Tennis Court Road where they have a close association with the Wellcome CRUK Institute.
• Molecular Histopathology and Virology are at Addenbrooke's Hospital where they collaborate with the Clinical School Departments, the Clinical Laboratories, the Regional Public Health Laboratory Service Laboratories, the East Anglian Genetics Service, the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR), Hutchison/MRC Cancer Research Institute and the Strangeways Research Laboratory.

Further information:

• www.path.cam.ac.uk