The Vannini Group aims to understand how deregulation of a protein known as RNA polymerase III can cause cancer. Professor Alessandro Vannini left the ICR in July 2022, his team remains open under Professor Laurence Pearl.
Professor Pearl seeks to understand the structural basis for assembly, specificity and regulation of the multi-protein complexes involved in the recognition, repair and signalling of DNA damage, and in the chaperone-mediated stabilisation and activation of cellular signalling pathways. These basic studies provide the means for discovery and development of novel small-molecule inhibitors with application as drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.