Dr Paulo Ribeiro
Group Leader
Overview
Our research group is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms regulating tissue growth, invasion, metastasis and tumour heterogeneity using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a genetically tractable model organism.
Team
Research
Our group is currently focused on the following areas of research:
Role of protein post-translational modifications in the regulation of tissue growth
The growth of tissues during development and adult life is the result of a fine balancing act between cell proliferation, cell differentiation and cell death. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate tissue growth is one of the most important unanswered questions in basic biology. We aim to characterise the molecular mechanisms regulating the newly identified Hippo signalling pathway, with an emphasis on the role of phosphorylation and ubiquitylation.
Reversible ubiquitylation and tissue invasion
Metastasis is the migration or dissemination of cancer cells from one organ or tissue to another and is the main cause of cancer-related mortality. We are studying the role of ubiquitylation in the regulation of tissue invasion using several Drosophila models. In addition, we collaborate with other groups in BCI to address the importance of reversible ubiquitylation for the invasive potential of cancer cells.
Elucidating early events in cancer development
The genetic tractability of Drosophila is ideal to study how cancers arise. We are using several genetic models and systems to elucidate how specific mutations affect the ability of cells to establish tumours and to determine what are the genetic determinants of cancer development and progression.
Modelling tumour heterogeneity in vivo
One of the main reasons why cancer therapies fail is the fact that tumours are composed of cells that carry different mutations which alter cell behaviour and potentially allow a subset of tumour cells to survive upon treatment. While studying this phenomenon in vivo is challenging, we are generating genetic tools to address tumour heterogeneity using Drosophila as a model due to the multiple genetic tools available in the fly. By combining fly genetics with microscopy imaging and mathematical modelling, we aim to characterise the basic mechanisms that underlie tumour heterogeneity and to study how specific genetic mutations alter clonal dynamics of tumour cell populations.
Key Publications
The deubiquitylating enzyme Fat facets promotes Fat signalling and restricts tissue growth. Nat Commun (2025):1938. PMID: 39994229
Casein kinase 1 family proteins promote slimb-dependent expanded degradation. eLife (2019) 8:e46592. PMID: 31567070
The Spectrin cytoskeleton regulates the Hippo signalling pathway. EMBO J (2015) 34(7):940-54. PMID: 25712476
Crumbs promotes Expanded recognition and degradation by the SCFSlimb/β-TrCP ubiquitin ligase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2014) 111(19):E1980-9. PMID: 24778256
Combined functional genomic and proteomic approaches identify a PP2A complex as a negative regulator of Hippo signalling. Mol Cell (2010) 39(4):521-34. PMID: 20797625
See recent publicationsMajor Funding
- 2024-2025: Barts and The London Charity Seed Grant (G-002761); “Deciphering mechanisms of cell competition in cancer”; £54,000
- 2023-2027: Barts and The London Charity Large Project Grant; “Defining the functional role of EGFR in glioblastoma tumour heterogeneity”; £185,285
- 2023-2027: CRUK City of London Centre PhD Studentship; “Defining the Functions of EGFR Variants in Glioblastoma Heterogeneity”; £120,000
- 2023-2027: MRC-DTP iCASE PhD Studentship; “Investigating and targeting EGFR heterogeneity in glioblastoma”; £120,000
Other Activities
- Member of the European Association of Cancer Research
- Member of the British Association of Cancer Research
- Member of the Biochemical Society
- Member of the Independent Scientific Advisory Panel for the Bone Cancer Research Trust
- Member of Barts Cancer Institute Cancer Tissue Bank Tissue Access Committee
- Member of BBSRC Pool of Experts
- Review Editor for Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Biography
I completed my undergraduate studies in the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, where I studied Microbial Biology and Genetics. I spent my final year in the Faculty of Pharmacy studying cell death in neuronal cells.
I then entered the Gulbenkian PhD Programme in Biomedicine at the Gulbenkian Institute, which included one year of classes and laboratory rotation. This allowed me to undertake my doctoral research at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, supervised by Prof Pascal Meier, in the characterisation of the role of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins in the regulation of cell death and innate immunity.
In 2009, I joined Dr Nicolas Tapon’s laboratory at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, where I studied the mechanisms regulating tissue growth, namely the Hippo tumour suppressor signalling pathway.
In August 2013, I joined Barts Cancer Institute as an Early Career Researcher in the Centre for Tumour Biology, and I am currently a Reader in Cell and Developmental Biology.
