Congratulations to Dr Ben Goult, in the School of Biosciences, who has been awarded a £1 million research grant by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) as part of an international consortium.

The consortium, comprised of the universities of Kent, British Columbia (Canada), Utrecht (The Netherlands), and Singapore, is working on a three-year project entitled The control of cell migration and polarity by a mechanosensory complex linking adhesion and microtubules.

The team of scientists brings together a distinct set of expertise, including cell biology, genetic analysis, structural biology, and single-molecule biophysics. They will investigate the molecular relationship between specific adhesion molecules and the microtubule network, which determine cell movement.

Dr Goult, whose research can help in the development of therapeutics that target pathologies such as immune and vascular disorders, wound healing, and blood clotting, is head of the Protein Form and Function Group within Biosciences.

The HFSP-funded project is part of a variety of supported projects under an umbrella topic entitled Complex mechanisms of living organisms. This year’s HFSP Research Grant competition saw 871 submissions from scientists in 64 different countries around the world.