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This film was made by Joan E. M. Heaysman, C. A, Middleton, Susan M. Pegrum, and Michael Abercrombie, The Cell Group, Department of Zoology, University College, London.
Sponsored by:
The London Cell Motility Club
More than 50 years ago, the Cell Motility Club was initiated by Michael Abercrombie, the then Professor of Zoology at University College London. His pioneering work in the 1950s developed the classic model of contact inhibition of cell locomotion and also made significant contributions to other aspects of cell migration. As a consequence, during the early 1960s the Abercrombie laboratory became a Mecca for all aspiring cell biologists and it was inevitable that a meeting group of interested “London” laboratories be established at UCL. The Cell Motility Club has continued until this day. .
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This network aims to foster interactions and collaborations to promote research in cell motility, which is at the interface of developmental biology, cell biology, the cross-disciplinary mechanobiology field and require state-of-the-art computer modelling and microscopy techniques. Each mini-symposium comprises a talk of an invited speaker and many short talks by PhD students and Postdocs followed by a drinks reception.
Michael Abercrombie
LABORATORIES THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE LCMC
University College London
King's College London
Queen Mary/Barts
Simon Ameer-Beg Lab
Susan Cox Lab
Attila Csikasz-Nagy Lab
Jeremy Green Lab
Alex Ivetic Lab
Karen Liu Lab
Tanya Shaw Lab
Guillaume Charras Lab
Brunel University
Fabrice Caudron Lab
Viji Draviam Lab
Nuria Gavara Lab
Susana Godinho Lab
Thomas Iskratsch Lab
Stephanie Kermogant Lab
Tania Maffucci Lab
Isabel Palacios Lab
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Imperial College London
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Institute of Cancer Research
Chris Bakal Lab
Vicky Sanz-Moreno Lab
St Georges University
The CRICK Institute
University of Cambridge
Jenny Gallop Lab
Ewa Paluch Lab
Milka Sarris Lab
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Rob Kay Lab (MRC-LMB)
Heidi Welch Lab (Brabaham Institute)
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University of Roehampton
If your lab is interested in joining the London Cell Motility Club, please send us an e-mail with the link to your lab website and we will include your lab and the link on this web page of the London Cell Motility Club.
Please sign up to the mailing list of the London Cell Motility Club - which will be only used for announcements of talks.
https://mailman.kcl.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/londoncellmotilityclub
Upcoming Symposia
7th Symposium
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Friday, 14th of June 2024: 10:00-18:00
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Keynote talk: Pere Roca-Cusachs
IBEC, Barcelona, Spain
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https://ibecbarcelona.eu/cellmolmech
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Tentative schedule of symposium:
10:00-10:45 Keynote talk: Pere Roca-Cusachs: "Transducing - and shielding - mechanical signals from integrins to the nucleus."
10:45-11:00 Discussion
11:00-12:00 Four short talks (12 min + 3 min discussion) by PhD students and Postdocs
12:00-13:00 lunch break
13:00-14:30 Six short talks (12 min + 3 min discussion) by PhD students and Postdocs
14:30-15:15 Coffee break
15:15-16:45 Six short talks (12 min + 3 min discussion) by PhD students and Postdocs
16:45-18:00 Wine and beer happy hour
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Venue: Gordon Museum at King’s College London on the Guy’s campus at London Bridge.
As usual there will be no charge for attending and no registration will be required.
Past Symposia
6th Symposium
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Thursday, 9th of March 2023: 14:00-18:00, London time (BST).
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Keynote Lecture: Verena Ruprecht
CRG, Barcelona, Spain
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https://www.crg.eu/en/verena_ruprecht
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14:00-14:45 Keynote talk: Verena Ruprecht
Title: ’Morphodynamic cell plasticity and error correction in the early embryo’.
14:45-15:00 Discussion
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15:00-15:45 Five Flash talks (5 min + 3 min discussion) by PhD students and Postdocs
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Marie Muenkel, University of Tuebingen,“A stiff matrix favors the mechanical cell competition that leads to extrusion of bacterially-infected epithelial cells.”
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Bongwhan Yeon, Barts Cancer Institute, “Investigating the roles of centrosome amplification on organelle organization.”
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Cyril Andrieu, UCL, “Going for a swim: Dissecting the mechanisms that drive the swimming cell migration of Drosophila adipocytes.”
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Lukas Dent, ICR, “Modular control of cell migration and geometry by the PIX-GIT complex during tissue morphogenesis.”
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Matt DeVries, ICR, “3D single-cell shape analysis of cancer cells using geometric deep learning.”
15:45-16:15 Coffee break
16:15-17:00 Three short talks (12 min + 3 min discussion) by PhD students and Postdocs
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Tommy Pallett, KCL
“A regulatory paradox in cell migration: how two inhibitors of the Arp2/3 complex have completely different cell migration phenotypes.”
Ian Jones, ICR
“Derivation and Classification of Nanoscale Focal Adhesion Architectures by iPALM.”
Amrutha Patkunarajah, UCL
“Disruption of mechanoelectrical transduction modulates melanoma cell migration.”
17:00-18:00 Wine and beer happy hour
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Venue: Gordon Museum at King’s College London on the Guy’s campus at London Bridge.
as usual there will be no charge for attending and no registration will be required.
5th Symposium
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Thursday, 14th of October 2021: 14:00-17:00, London time (BST)
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Keynote Lecture: Orion Weiner,
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University of California, San Francisco
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Title: “Self-organization of cell shape and movement”
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Schedule for symposium:
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14:00-14:30 Five Flash talks by PhD students and Postdocs
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Andrew Fraser, John Hopkins University, USA, Microtubule dynamics are required for mammary epithelial cell migration and branching morphogenesis
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Raj Kumar Sadhu, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, Modeling cellular spreading and motility on curved surfaces
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Salwa Alhamad, King's College London, UK, Defining the role of B7H3 (CD276) in epithelial homeostasis and cancer progression
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Marion Baraban, CNRS, France, Mechanical interactions between neurons and the skin drive the opening of the olfactory orifice
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Giulia Pilia, University of Bristol, UK, p53 directs leader cell fate, migration and clearance during epithelial repair
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14:30-14:45 “Coffee break 1” with 5 parallel poster presentations associated with each flash talk in breakout rooms
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14:45-14:55 Short break
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14:55-15:40 Three short talks (12 min) by PhD students and Postdocs
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Marianne Best, King’s College London, UK, Targeting the Tumour Microenvironment to suppress Pancreatic Cancer progression
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Kaustav Bera, John Hopkins University, USA, Back to the Confinement: TRPM7 Helps Cells to Sense Shear Flow and Regulates Intravasation
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Irina Jahin, King’s College London, UK, Analysing Mechanical-driven Signals Controlling Cancer Cell Behaviour
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15:40-15:55 “Coffee break 2” with 3 parallel breakout rooms for discussions on these talks
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15:55-16:00 Short break
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16:00-16:45 Keynote talk: Orion Weiner, University of California, San Francisco
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16:45-17:00 Discussion of keynote talk with wine and beer happy hour - BYO
Venue: ZOOM online meeting: the link will be e-mailed out to our e-mail list which everyone can join:
https://mailman.kcl.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/londoncellmotilityclub
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Venue: virtual meeting: as usual there will be no charge for attending and no registration will be required.
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4th Mini-Symposium
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Thursday, 27th of May 2021: 14:00-17:00, London time (BST)
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Keynote Lecture: Xavier Trepat,
IBEC, Barcelona, Spain
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Title: “Collective cell migration in intestinal organoids”
https://www.ibecbarcelona.eu/integrative
Venue: ZOOM online meeting
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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86275737191?pwd=T2RVSm5qRVV5UWFUZjZ0TjZ6UmVrZz09
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Venue: virtual meeting: as usual there will be no charge for attending and no registration will be required.
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Schedule for online symposium:
14:00-14:45 Keynote talk: Xavier Trepat
14:45-15:05 Discussion over coffee
15:05-15:15 Short break
15:15-15:45 Five Flash talks (Moderator: William Barrell, KCL)
Tom Phillips King's College London, UK
Imaging stiffness-dependent cancer cell invasion.
Yanan Wang École Polytechnique, France
The WAVE shell complex, a novel molecular machine that regulates cell migration.
Claudia Owczarek King's College London, UK
Defining the role of CAR in cancer cell invasion.
Saren Tasciyan IST Austria
Anisotropic microenvironment geometry promotes cancer cell invasion and detachment.
Natalia Reglero-Real Queen Mary London,UK
Microvascular endothelial cell autophagy regulates neutrophil trafficking.
15:45-16:00 “Coffee break” with 5 parallel breakout rooms for discussions on these talks
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Discussion of flash talk 1: Moderated by: Nina Moderau, Imperial College London
Discussion of flash talk 2: Moderated by: Rachel Healy, Imperial College London
Discussion of flash talk 3: Moderated by: William Barrell, King’s College London
Discussion of flash talk 4: Moderated by: Pamela Swiatlowska, Queen Mary London
Discussion of flash talk 5: Moderated by: Emilie Marhuenda, Queen Mary London
16:00-16:45 Three short talks (12 min) by PhD students and Postdocs
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Short talk 1: Introduced by: Vicky Bousgouni, ICR London
Chiara Galloni University of Leeds, UK
Acquisition of mesenchymal-like elongated morphology through DOCK4/Rac1 signalling is required for intercalation of breast cancer cells into the endothelium during brain metastasis.
Short talk 2: Introduced by: Vicky Bousgouni, ICR London
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Jana Zarubova University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Mesenchymal stem cells carry and transport clusters of cancer cells
Short talk 3: Introduced by: Ghazala Abbasi-Rana, University of Roehampton
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Eva Pillai University of Cambridge
Mechanical control of chemical signalling in the developing brain
16:45-17:00 “Wine and beer happy hour - BYO” with 3 parallel breakout rooms for discussions on these talks
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Discussion of talk 1: Moderated by: Adam Shellard, University College London
Discussion of talk 2: Moderated by: Nina Moderau, Imperial College London
Discussion of talk 3: Moderated by: Tommy Pallett, King’s College London
3rd virtual Mini-Symposium: October 2020
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Thursday, 1st of October 2020, 14:00-17:00:
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Keynote Speaker:
Danijela Vignjevic
Institute Curie, France
Title: Cancer-associated fibroblasts use supracellular contractility to compress and shape tumors.
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Venue: virtual meeting: we will use Zoom, and as usual there will be no charge for attending.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87170671847?pwd=dFlIaVFIRmpIdmRhNW0zcitTZndMUT09
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Final schedule:
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14:00-14:45 keynote talk: Danijela Vignjevic , Institute Curie, France
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14:45-15:00 discussion
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15:00-15:30 coffee break with discussion forums on relevant topics for the cell motility field:
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We will have four breakout rooms:
Room 1: Which way to go in future cell motility studies: 2D or 3D or in vivo migration/motility?
Room 2: What are the next big questions/challenges in cell motility research?
Room 3: What are upcoming technologies/methods in cell motility research?
Room 4: Extended discussion of Danijela’s talk
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15:30-16:15 3 short talks (12 min) by PhD students and Postdocs
Ernest Iu, University of Toronto, Canada: TRPV4/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)/RhoA Calcium Signaling Axis Facilitates Cell Migration by Reinforcing Actin Network in Lamellipodia
David Brueckner, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany: Learning the dynamics of cell-cell interactions in confined cell migration
Jennifer Mitchel, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA: In primary airway epithelial cells, the unjamming transition is distinct from the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
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16:15-16:30 “coffee break” with three parallel breakout rooms for discussions on these talks
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16:30-17:00 Flash talks: 5 Flash talks each 3 slides in 5 min
Lindsey Millward, MRC LMCB, University College London, UK: Fibroblastic Reticular Cells Require MARCKS to Facilitate Acute Lymph Node Expansion
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Shamsi Emtenani, Institute of Science and Technology Austria: A coordinated cellular program to boost mitochondrial energy production powers pioneer immune cell tissue invasion
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Sumit Sinha, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA: Jammed, Super-diffusive and heterogeneous cell dynamics in a growing tutor spheroid
Samuel Barnett, National University of Singapore, Singapore: Spatiotemporal control of talin-mediated mechanotransduction by inducible dimerisation
Maureen Lamb, University of Iowa, Iowa, USA: Fascin promotes collective migration by mediating invasion, controlling protrusions, and non-autonomously modulating substrate stiffness
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2nd Mini-Symposium: October 2019
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Thursday, 17th of October 2019:
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Keynote Speaker: Erez Raz, University of Muenster, Germany.
Title: Bleb-driven cell migration in vivo - lessons from zebrafish primordial germ cells.
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Venue: Seminar room, MRC-LMCB, UCL, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT
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Schedule
14:00-15:00 talk by Erez Raz, University of Muenster, Germany including discussion
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15:00-15:30 coffee break
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15:30-15:50 Talk 1 (15 min + 5 min discussion)
Alexia Hervieu (Kermorgant lab, Barts Cancer Institute)
"Rac1 is a master regulator of oncogenic Met-dependent cell migration and anchorage-independent growth but with distinct mechanisms."
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15:50-16:10 Talk 2 (15 min + 5 min discussion)
Irene M. Aspalter (Paluch lab, LMCB, UCL)
"On the move: migration potential of embryonic stem cells"
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16:10-16:40 coffee break
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16:40-17:00 Talk 3 (15 min + 5 min discussion)
Willow Hight-Warburton (Parsons lab, KCL)
"Analysing contributions of α4 and α9 integrins to epithelial cell migration."
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17:00-17:20 Talk 4 (15 min + 5 min discussion)
Charlotte M de Winde (Acton lab, LMCB, UCL)
"Podoplanin is a molecular switch for fibroblastic reticular cell function."
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17:20-19:00 drinks reception: This drinks and food reception after the talks will provide a forum for exchange of scientific ideas, to discuss science and to initiate potential new collaborations.
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1st Mini-Symposium: May 30th, 2019
“CRISPR/Cas9-mediated dissection of WAVE Regulatory Complex (WRC) function”
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Klemens Rottner, HZI, Braunschweig, Germany
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14:00-15:00 keynote talk
15:00-15:30 coffee break
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Short talks selected by PhD student and Postdoc ambassadors:
15:30-15:50 Short talk 1:
"Notch signalling coordinates cell cycle progression and migratory behaviours leading to collective cell migration."
Alhashem, Z.M., Portillo, M.A.G., Htun, R., Bentley, K., Linker, C., King’s College London
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15:50-16:10 Short talk 2:
"WNK1 kinase regulates T cell migration."
de Boer, L., Köchl, R., Vanes, L., Melgrati, S., Tybulewicz, V. ; CRICK Institute, Imperial College London
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16:10-16:40 coffee break
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16:40-17:00 Short talk 3
"Supracellular contraction at the rear of neural crest cell groups drives collective chemotaxis."
Shellard A, Szabó A, Trepat X, Mayor R.University College London
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17:00-17:20 Short talk 4
"Contractile Myosin Rings and Cofilin-Mediated Actin Disassembly Orchestrate ECM Nanotopography Sensing."
Di Cio`, S., Connelly, J., Gautrot, J.E. Queen Mary
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17:20-19:00 drinks and light food reception sponsored by Nikon
November 22nd, 2018: Laura Machesky, Beatson, Glasgow
October 18th, 2018: Angeliki Malliry, CR-UK, Manchester
March 15th, 2018: Thomas Surrey, CRICK, London
January 18th, 2018: Sophie Acton, MRC-LMCB, UCL, London
December 7th, 2017: Oscar Marin, King's College London
October 12th, 2017: Sandrine Etienne-Manneville, Institute Pasteur, Paris, France
June 1st, 2017: Ewa Paluch, LMCB, UCL
HISTORY OF THE LONDON CELL MOTILITY CLUB
Over 50 years ago, the Cell Motility Club was initiated by the then Professor of Zoology at University College, Michael Abercrombie. His pioneering work with Joan Heaysman in the 1950s had not only developed the concept of contact inhibition of locomotion but made significant contributions to many other aspects of cell migration
The origins of the club in the early 1960s rest with Michael. He established it as a common meeting ground for informal discussions on cell behaviour at a time when there was considerable discord between Michael Stoker of ICRF and Jack Ambrose of Chester Beatty Research Institute at Fulham Road. Michael, ever the conciliator, invited both groups to his laboratory meetings on neutral ground. Along with these two influential groups, scientists with similar interests, amongst them Lewis Wolpert (Middlesex Hospital Medical School), Ruth Bellairs (Anatomy UCL) and Charles Vernon (Chemistry UCL) also came.
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Such was the success of the meetings it was decided to continue the club after Abercrombie left to become Director of the Strangeways Research Laboratory in 1970. A young lecturer at the time, the organisation of 4 meetings per year passed to the sturdy hands of Conrad King who introduced a wine and snacks reception as part of the format, along with an invitation to join the chosen speaker for dinner. These traditions happily continue to this day.
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Years passed by, with a host of contributors from the increasing number of London-based laboratories joining the club. The discoveries of the Rho proteins and their roles in migration served to enlarge the gatherings into a major meeting place for free exchange of unpublished information. The successful organisation of the club passed to a past student of Abercrombie, Gareth Jones (King’s College London), upon the retirement of Conrad in 2001 after some 30-plus years of steadfast service. During Gareth’s tenure the club was somewhat reorganised, soliciting sponsorship from Andor Technologies and the MRC (through the LMCB) and more latterly the Journal of Cell Science which for the first time allowed us to pay for speakers working outside London and the UK. After 11 fruitful years Gareth stood down as organiser in 2012 and Michael Way (CRICK, London) organised the London Cell Motility Club for the next 5 years. In February 2017 Michael handed over this role to Ferran Valderrama (St George’s, University of London) and Matthias Krause (King’s College London).
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Gareth E Jones, London, April 2017
Location of London Cell Motility Club Talks
CONTACT
The London Cell Motility Club is organised by:
Ferran Valderrama (St George's, University of London)
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fvalderr ( at ) sgul.ac.uk
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Matthias Krause (King's College London)
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Matthias.Krause ( at ) KCL.AC.UK