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Staff Profile

Staff Profile

Dr Diana Papini

Research Associate

  • Email: diana.papini@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: 01912085475
  • Address: Newcastle University Biosciences Institute (NUBI)
    Chromosome biology and the Cell Cycle Team
    Jonathan Higgins laboratory
    Newcastle University
    Medical School
    Framlington Place
    Newcastle upon Tyne,
    NE2 4HH - United Kingdom
Background


BIOGRAPHY

I graduated from the University of Milano-Bicocca with a degree in Molecular Biology in 2008. For my final degree project, I worked on cytoskeleton remodeling with Dr Daniela Talarico in the Department of Molecular Genetics (HSRMilano). Here, I studied the role of EFA6A (Guanine Exchange Factor for Arf6) phosphorylation in neuronal cells.

I received my Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology under the supervision of Prof Bill Earnshaw in the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology at University of Edinburgh. Here, I was awarded a competitive Darwin Trust of Edinburgh Ph.D studentship. My Ph.D. project was focused on studying the role of Telophase Disk -60 kDa (TD-60) in mitosis, which led me to reveal for the first time its GEF activity and to link the Ras-related protein RalA to the Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC) during mitosis (Papini et.al 2015, Nat. Comm.). 

In late 2014, I joined the lab of Prof Jonathan Higgins in the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biosciences (today part of the Newcastle University Biosciences Institute - NUBI) at Newcastle University to work on understanding a potential new error correction mechanism for chromosome segregation in anaphase (Responsive Mode BBRSC grant: Higgins-Papini awarded in March 2017).




Publications

Papini D, Fant X, Ogawa H, Desban N, Samejima K, Feizbakhsh O, Askin B, Ly T, Earnshaw WC, Ruchaud S. Cell cycle-independent furrowing triggered by phosphomimetic mutations of the INCENP STD motif requires Plk1.

J Cell Sci. 2019 (Oct 10th 2019) doi: 10.1242/jcs.234401

Papini D, First Person.J Cell Sci. 2019 (Nov 6th2019)doi: 10.1242/jcs.240473 

Papini D, Langemeyer L, Abad MA, Kerr A, Samejima I, Eyers PA, Jeyaprakash AA, Higgins JM, Barr FA, Earnshaw WC. TD-60 links RalA GTPase function to the CPC in mitosis. Nat Commun.2015 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8678





GRANTS and AWARDS

- Ph.D fellowship : “The Darwin Trust of Edinburgh”at The University of Edinburgh (January 2010)

- Ph.D Poster Prize - School of Biological Sciences at The University of Edinburgh (September 2012)

- BBSRC Responsive Mode : 3 years grant (J.M.G. Higgins & D.Papini – Newcastle University March 2017)


Research

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

My research interests are Cell Division, mitosis, chromosome segregation, lagging chromosomes, aneuploidy and chromosome instability (CIN). 

SKILLS AND EXPERTISE:

Cell and molecular biology, live and fix high resolution microscopy, super-resolution microscopy (STED and iSIM), and mammalian cell culture including generation of stably expressing fluorescence cell lines.

Protein expression and purification for activity assay (i.e. GEF/kinases proteins) by using Baculovirus system.

Teaching

TEACHING

During my Postdoctoral I have supervised and mentored several BSc Graduate students, and summer/erasmus students.

At the moment, together with Prof Jon Higgins and Christine Harrison, I am co-supervisor of 3 years Ph.D student funded by The Andrew Walker Cancer Studentship (sponsored by JGW Patterson Foundation).

Publications