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Details for Professor Paul Martin

Personal details
Name Professor Paul Martin
Job title Professor of Cell Biology
Professor of Cell Biology
Department School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience University of Bristol
School of Biochemistry University of Bristol
Contact details This expert can be contacted via the University of Bristol Public Relations Office.

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work+44 (0)117 331 8092
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Qualifications B.Sc.(Sus.), Ph.D.(Lond.)
Professional details
Keywords wound re-epithelialisation and morphogenesis in drosophilia
inflammation/fibrosis genes in mice
inflammation in zebrafish larvae
inflammation in drosophila embryos
Areas of expertise Using embryos expressing mutant forms of various small GTPases, I have tested the function of actin-based elements in both dorsal closure and the repair of laser-generated wound holes in fly embryos and showed that filopodia are essential for zippering together of epithelial sheets during both dorsal closure and wound healing, but that the actin cable operates both as a contractile purse-string and as a constrainer of cell migration, keeping the leading edge as a smooth coherent epithelial front.
I also do research that identifies and tests the function of inflammation/fibrosis genes in mice, inflammation in zebrafish larvae and inflammation in drosophilia embryos. In my work on mice, to identify a portfolio of inflammation/fibrosis genes that might be appropriate targets for modulation during repair, I have undertaken a microarray approach to compare genes expressed at a PU.1 null mouse wound versus at a wild type sib wound.