Maddy Parsons is a British cell biologist who is a professor and Associate Dean for Impact & Innovation at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. She is the Director of the

Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...

Imaging Centre. Her research looks to understand the fundamental mechanisms that underpin cell adhesion and migration. She is Chair of the Medical Research Council Molecular & Cellular Medicine Board.

Early life and education

Parsons completed her undergraduate training in biology at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

. She moved to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

for her doctoral research, where she studied the impact of mechanical load on the deposition and organisation of

dermal fibroblast Dermal fibroblasts are cells within the dermis layer of skin which are responsible for generating connective tissue and allowing the skin to recover from injury. Using organelles (particularly the rough endoplasmic reticulum), dermal fibroblasts ge ...

Research and career

Parsons joined

as a

Royal Society University Research Fellow __NOTOC__ The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) is a research fellowship awarded to outstanding early career scientists in the United Kingdom who are judged by the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society ...

in 2005. She was promoted to Reader in 2013, and Professor in 2015. Parsons investigates the fundamental mechanisms that drive cell adhesion and migration using microscopy, molecular biology and three-dimensional simulations. She uses a confocal super-resolution microscope and

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope A total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM) is a type of microscope with which a thin region of a specimen, usually less than 200 nanometers can be observed. TIRFM is an imaging modality which uses the excitation of fluorescent cel ...

to image dynamic events over long periods. Whilst adhesion is critical to normal cellular function (e.g. development and homeostasis), it also drives cancer and fibrosis. In particular, Parsons focuses on

integrin Integrins are transmembrane receptors that help cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. Upon ligand binding, integrins activate signal transduction pathways that mediate cellular signals such as regulation of the cell cycle, o ...

s, and their behaviour in the extracellular matrix. By comparing "normal" cells with cancer cells, Parsons identified that the likelihood of cell invasion depended on the duration and chemistry of their adhesion with the matrix. Beyond fundamental cellular processes, Parsons has studied wound healing and inflammation using skin and lung epithelial cells. Parsons founded UKRI Technology Touching Life Integrated Biological Imaging Network, a multi-university, multidisciplinary research effort focussed on the development of strategies to understand and combat human disease. The network looks to understand the signalling hierarchy of cell adhesion, the molecular cues that regulate cell behaviour and the tissue mechanics that control cell growth. In 2017, Parsons was appointed to the executive committee of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

. She is Editor in Chief of ''

The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology ''The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier, covering research in all areas of biochemistry and cell biology. The editor-in-chief is Geoffrey J. Laurent (Universit ...

''. In 2021, Parsons was appointed Chair of the Medical Research Council Molecular & Cellular Medicine Board.

Awards and honours

* 2014

Life Sciences Medal * 2014 Fellow of

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

* 2018 Fellow of

* 2019

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. It was founded in 1911 and acquired the existing '' Biochemical Journal'' the following year. T ...

Industry and Collaboration Award

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Maddy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British cell biologists British women biologists 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British women scientists Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of University College London Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society