Staff listing for the Biomolecular Science and Medicinal Chemistry Division
Laura Kilpatrick
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science
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Biography
I am a recently appointed University of Nottingham Anne McLaren Research Fellow based in the School of Pharmacy (June 2020). I obtained a BSc in Biology from the University of York in 2005 specialising in Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology. In 2007, I undertook an MSc in Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Nottingham in the Molecular Medicines Unit, investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of cancer development and the identification of novel tumor targets. In October 2012, I was awarded an AJ Clark studentship from the British Pharmacological Society to undertake doctoral studies at the Cell Signalling Research Group (CSRG) at the University of Nottingham int he School of Life Sciences. The primary aim of my PhD was to use bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) to constrain G protein coupled receptors as precise complexes, in order to probe the functional consequences of dimerisation. I was awarded my PhD in November 2014 and immediately took up a postdoctoral position at the CSRG funded by a BBSRC Link Grant with Promega Corporation to use bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) in conjunction with advance imaging techniques to quantify the molecular pharmacology of a key anti cancer therapeutic target - the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 (VEGFR2). VEGFR2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is a key regulator of blood vessel development physiologically and pathophysiologically. In January 2020 I was awarded an Anne McLaren Research Fellowship funded by the University of Nottingham and moved my research to the School of Pharmacy. My current research interests during my Fellowship will focus on using BRET in conjunction with CRISPR/Cas9 and advanced fluorescence imaging techniques such as super resolution microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to characterise the interaction of VEGFR2 with other membrane receptors with physiological relevance such as the VEGFR coreceptor neuropilin-1 and Class A GPCRs.
Expertise Summary
I am primarily interested in characterising the molecular pharmacology of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and the interaction of RTKs with other classes of membrane proteins such as G protein coupled receptors. I am currently using fluorescence and luminescence techniques to do this, incorporating advanced microscopy (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, superresolution (specifically structured illumination microscopy)), plate reader based assays and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of model cell lines and primary cells.
Research Summary
I am currently primarily interested in characterising the molecular pharmacology of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and the interaction of RTKs with other classes of membrane proteins such as G… read more
Current Research
I am currently primarily interested in characterising the molecular pharmacology of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and the interaction of RTKs with other classes of membrane proteins such as G protein coupled receptors. I am currently using fluorescence and luminescence techniques to do this, incorporating advanced microscopy (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, superresolution), plate reader based assays and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of model cell lines and primary cells.