Dr Martin Turner
Dr Martin Turner
Lymphocyte development and function
Email: martin.turner@babraham.ac.uk
Affiliation: Babraham Institute
Biography
After graduating in Biochemistry from UCL Martin Turner completed a PhD with Marc Feldmann studying the regulation of cytokine gene expression where he contributed to the basic science studies that led to the identification of TNF as a target in rheumatoid arthritis. He worked with Victor Tybulewicz at the MRC-NIMR where he identified elements of signal transduction necessary for the development of lymphocytes. He joined the Babraham Institute in 1997 where he continued research into signal transduction identifying roles for PI3K in lymphocyte development and activation. Some of this work underpinned the rationale for the use of inhiitors of PI3K delta in human malignancy. Recent work by his group seeks to understand how RNA-processing mechanisms control the development and function of B and T lymphocytes. He is interested in RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs and how these function within signal transduction networks to control cell differentiation and immunity.
Research
The rapid changes in gene expression that accompany developmental transitions, stress responses and proliferation are controlled by signal-mediated co-ordination of transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes. My lab seeks an understanding of these mechanisms in the context of lymphocyte development and activation. We have made significant progress recently by identifying RNA binding proteins that play important roles in lymphocytes.