Cornelia Wilson

I am a Senior Lecturer and Academic Laboratory Director at CCCU and manage the Life Sciences Industry Liaison Lab at Discovery Park.

I have a long standing interest in understanding how cells function, the role of exosomes and what happens in human diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. My role includes managing the Life Sciences Industry Liaison Lab based at Discovery Park, in Sandwich.

I have been always passionate and dedicated to science from an early age. My passion for research began during my undergraduate studies were I undertook a 1-year research training at Boehringer Mannheim (Roche Diagnostics) at Penzberg in Bavaria. My research project was focused on human gene therapy and understanding the processes to maximize gene delivery. My studies took me to Manchester where I undertook my PhD working between academia and industry (the best of both worlds) on how proteins are made in the cell and teasing out the pathway of how proteins are degraded. A pathway often affected in many human diseases. Ironically I undertook a 6-month training period with Pfizer at Sandwich, the same place were I work today. After completing my PhD, I moved to the laboratory of Prof. Stephen High as a post-doc and continued my fascination of N-glycosylation and protein folding at the ER. During this time, I was able to train at the ZMBH in Heidelberg. My interest in human diseases developed and I took up an Assistant Professor position between the University of Limoges and Limoges Hospital. Later, I had the opportunity to lead a small team on the first chair of excellence on Lung cancer were I established the first biobank at Limoges and developed my love of all things small (EVs).

My ambition is to solve fundamental problems related to human diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and lung cancer

I teach and am a module leader on several undergraduate modules including Cell biology and Genetics, Topics in Drug discovery, Biotechnology for Drug Discovery, Major Therapeutic Areas, Work placement and Honours Research project.

In addition, I have taught on Introduction to Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry, Introduction to Drug Discovery, Molecular biology. Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery programme Year 1 Foundation of Health and Disease and Nutrition, Metabolism and Excretion modules.

Overview

My research has led me to several areas of science from basic to complex science in respect to human diseases. I have a long-standing interest within cellular biology including understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie membrane protein biosynthesis, post-translational modifications such as N-glycosylation and phosphorylation, the autophagy and proteasome-mediated degradation pathways, neurodegeneration and in recent times the environmental control of exosomes in lung cancer. This experience has given me a greater understanding of the complexities of homeostasis and cellular function which is necessary to understand the progression of cancer.

My recent research has been targeted at studying the environmental control of exosomes in lung cancer. In these studies, we have identified the neurotensin receptor-3, sortilin to play a role in exosome biogenesis and deregulation of this process may contribute to tumour aggressiveness and metastasis in both non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and uveal melanoma (UM).

Current research

Exosome biogenesis: the role of sortilin in cancer development and progression.
Molecular profiling of lung cancer exosomes for development of early diagnostic strategies.
The role of pain receptors in lung cancer.
The physiological role of venom extracellular vesicles.
Mechanisms of prion transmission via extracellular vesicles.
Autophagy and Alzheimer's disease.

My research activities feed into the teaching of modules such as second year Topics in Biochemistry, Topics in Drug Discovery and final year honours research projects. These components contribute through research-led teaching and applying scientific methods which equips students with the skills, opportunities and employability within Biosciences, Biomedical and Chemistry programmes.

Selected grant awards

My research has been generously supported by collaborative grants from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and North West Cancer Research.

Research Projects

'Study of functionalised nanoparticles for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer'. Researcher(s): Miss Jess Holder. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Emilia Bertolo-Pardo, Dr Carol Trim. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Bacterial infection in fish: An investigation of the effects of temperature and bacterial infection on endoplasmic reticulum stress in vitro fish models. Researcher(s): Miss Rebekah Huckstepp. Supervisor(s): Dr Joanna Miest-Bray, Dr Carol Trim, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Miss Charlotte Akers. Supervisor(s): Dr Carol Trim, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Muhammad Khokhar. Supervisor(s): Dr Naeem Syed, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr Callum Parker. Supervisor(s): Dr Athina Mylona, Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Kristofer Leslie. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr Chris Woodman. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Lee Byrne. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
In vitro fertilisation: improving methods for research, development, and quality control.. Researcher(s): Miss Kate Bohacz. Supervisor(s): Dr Carol Trim, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Investigating Plasma Levels of Sortilin in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma. Researcher(s): Miss Gugulethu Vundu. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Carol Trim. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
Investigating sortilin variants (SORT1A and SORT1B) and their interactions with tyrosine kinase receptors, EGFR and TrKB; determining their role in oncogenesis and tumorigenesis.. Researcher(s): Mr Aidan Curtis. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Lee Byrne. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Investigating the role of sortilin, in complex with two tyrosine receptor kinases- EGFR and TrkB, and the crosstalk with the anti-inflammatory pathway.. Researcher(s): Miss Ellie Giles. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Carol Trim. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Preliminary Investigations in the Potential Use of Dye-Ligands to Bind Biological Macromolecules. Researcher(s): Miss Stef Aprotosoaei. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Lee Byrne. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Study on osteoarthritic joint: regenerative potential and disease markers. Researcher(s): Miss Alice Tirnoveanu. Supervisor(s): Dr Athina Mylona, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
The characterization of exosome regenerative capacity. Researcher(s): Mrs ANGELA LUCAS. Supervisor(s): Dr Athina Mylona, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
The effect of animal venom in the treatment of pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Researcher(s): Dr EMILY KNIGHT. Supervisor(s): Dr Carol Trim, Dr Cornelia Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
The pivotal role of sortilin deregulation and extracellular vesicles in Non-small cell lung cancer.. Researcher(s): Miss Minnatallah Al-Yozbaki. Supervisor(s): Dr Cornelia Wilson, Dr Carol Trim. [Postgraduate Research Project]