The University of Manchester is home to the largest biological timing research community in Europe. Led by Professor Robert Lucas, we bring together world-leading researchers with a multidisciplinary approach to cellular timers and circadian clocks.
Biological timing is a central feature of all living things. Driven by endogenous biological clocks, the ability to track time allows organisms to adapt their biology and optimally respond to the fluctuating environment of our planet.
Critical to this is the role of internal timers in coordinating innumerable cellular and physiological processes, which drive our development and biology, from gene expression to behaviour.
Our research
Our research ranges from nocturnal and diurnal model organisms and understanding of fundamental molecular and cellular events, to clinical intervention into human diseases, including diabetes and inflammatory arthritis.
Research themes
Internal homeostasis and clock mechanisms
Disturbance of circadian rhythms impacts negatively on our health and wellbeing. This recognition provides opportunity – by understanding how the circadian clock regulates our physiology, drives disease, and the outlook for using the clock to advance new therapies?
Keywords: Metabolism, cardiovascular physiology, immunology, methylation, tissue homeostasis, mathematical modelling.
Clinical translation and multi-morbidity
Driving research in clock genes forward to address the gap in biomedical research and clinical practice.
Keywords: Fibrosis, asthma, inflammation, sleep.
Brain, behaviour and environmental response
The ability to respond to rhythmic fluctuations in the environment caused by the earth’s rotation (such as light, colour, temperature, food availability) is critical for survival for most organisms on the planet. But how do we perceive these diverse temporal pat terns and then translate them into a rhythmic biology?
Keywords: Physiological responses to light, seasonal rhythms, optogenetics.
Find out more about how some of our researchers contribute to research in biological timing.
You can view a list of our researchers who work in each of our research areas.
Clinical translation and multi-morbidity
John Blaikley
Rhythms in fibrosis.
Hannah Durrington
Biological Timing mechanisms in asthma. Translational studies.
Louise Hunter
Glucocorticoids and the circadian clock in the control of metabolism.
Gareth Kitchen
Circadian rhythms in critical care, clock control of macrophage function.
David Ray
Nuclear receptor and circadian clock biology regulation of inflammation and energy metabolism.
Martin Rutter
Sleep/chronotype and cardiometabolic disease.
Brain, behaviour and environmental response
Tim Brown (Lead)
Neural circuit mechanisms underlying circadian and light-dependent physiological responses.
Annette Allen
WT Sir Henry Dale Fellow.
Bea Bano-Otalora
Lecturer.
David Bechtold
Circadian controls of energy metabolism.
Mino Belle
Senior lecturer.
Andrew Loudon
Circadian clock mechanisms and seasonal timekeeping.
Robert Lucas
Regulation of biological timing by light.
Nina Milosavljevic
Lecturer.
Juan Quintana
Neuroimmune influences on sleep and circadian behaviour during chronic infections.
Riccardo Storchi
WT Sir Henry Dale Fellow.
Internal homeostasis and clock mechanisms
David Bechtold (Lead)
Circadian controls of behaviour, energy metabolism and cardiovascular physiology.
Tim Brown
Neural circuit mechanisms underlying circadian and light-dependent physiological responses.
Kathryn Else
Immune regulation during parasitic helminth infection.
Jean-Michel Fustin
RCUK Future Leaders Research Fellow.
Julie Gibbs
Exploring mechanisms underlying circadian control of immunity.
Matthew Hepworth
Understanding how daily rhythms in the intestinal immune system regulate responses to the microbiota and infection.
Karl Kadler
Tissue Homeostasis, collagen dynamics, and fibrosis.
Andrew Loudon
Circadian clock mechanisms and seasonal timekeeping.
Qing-Jun Meng
Circadian timing mechanisms in age-related diseases.
Magnus Rattray
Modelling and inference in biological systems.
David Ray
Nuclear receptor and circadian clock biology regulation of inflammation and energy metabolism.
Charles Streuli
Circadian clocks in breast biology.
Associated researchers
Hilary Ashe
Influence of gene expression timing and dynamics on cell fate decisions in the early embryo.
Chiara Francavilla
Molecular mechanisms underlying breast cancer progression and metastasis.
Shane Herbert
Timing, robustness and coordination of cell identity decisions underpinning tissue morphogenesis.
Judith Hoyland
Professor of Molecular Pathology.
Tracy Hussell
Professor of Inflammatory Disease.
Pawel Paszek
Inflammatory and immune cellular signalling networks.
Andrew Sharrocks
The mechanisms of signal-dependent transcriptional control.
27
Principal investigators
86
Research staff
41
PG research students
Explore a snapshot of our incredible research activity and the people behind it.
Our Centre constantly strives to be the springboard for excellent scientists interested in biological timing to continue their career.
You can read more about our research and the people behind it in our blog, or by clicking on the links below.
Professor Tim Brown
Tim talks about his lab and research into how light and the visual environment influence brain function, physiology and behaviour.
Dr Hannah Durrington
Hannah talks about her lab’s research into biological timing and asthma.
Professor Robert Lucas
Robert talks about his lab, the Lucas Group, and their research into responses to light.
Dr Jean-Michel Fustin
Jean-Michel talks about his lab and research into methyl metabolism and the biological clock.
Professor Pierluigi Cocco
Pierluigi talks about his research into occupational health, and occupational and environmental epidemiology.
Our research offers opportunities for postgraduate and early career researchers who are interested in what we do and want to further their research careers with us.
We are always happy to discuss potential projects with you. Please get in touch with us to discuss areas of interest with potential supervisors from the Centre.
Potential fellowship enquiries
Timothy Brown
Email: timothy.brown@manchester.ac.uk
PhD enquiries
Julie Gibbs
Email: julie.gibbs@manchester.ac.uk
Dr Joan Chang
Research associate
While in Karl Kadler’s lab, Joan contributed to understanding the circadian regulation of collagen fibril assembly. Her recent work demonstrated that a crucial step in this process is circadian endocytic-recycling of collagen, and she was awarded a UKRI MRC Career Development Award to continue her research in collagen trafficking control and coordination between different cell types in health and disease.
Dr Nina Milosavljevic
Early Career Research Fellow
Nina’s interests lie in understanding the mechanisms underlying light effects on mood. Her previous work has demonstrated that light can have acute effects on mood and identified the key retinal cells involved. She now wants to apply her expertise in visual neuroscience to further investigate how visual environment affects how we feel, to identify the critical visual features and the underlying biological mechanisms.
Research published by our Centre cover a wide range of disciplines from fundamental molecular biology to clinical studies.
Explore a selection of our latest publications.
If you would like to know more about our research, please get in touch.
Academic enquiries
Contact: Rob Lucas
Email: robert.lucas@manchester.ac.uk
Industrial partnerships
Contact: Bruce Humphrey
Email: bruce.humphrey@manchester.ac.uk
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Contact Us
+44 (0) 161 306 6000
