Dawn Alison Coverley

Professor Dawn Alison Coverley is a renowned cell biologist at the University of York, specializing in epigenetic maintenance and cancer-related research. She holds the position of Professor in the Department of Biology and serves as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Cizzle Biotechnology Limited, a spin-out company focused on early cancer detection. Her research explores the role of CIZ1 protein variants in epigenetic stability and their implications in cancer onset and therapy.

Education: BSc in Genetics (University of Leicester), PhD in Biochemistry (Cancer Research UK-funded). Postdoctoral training at Cambridge University (1992).

Research Interests: Structure/function of the mammalian cell nucleus, DNA replication, epigenetic regulation, and the interplay between epigenetic and genetic instability in cancer. Her work has led to the identification of CIZ1B as a potential biomarker for early-stage lung cancer, with applications in clinical diagnostics.

Teaching: Focuses on cancer biology, integrating experimental techniques and conceptual frameworks to foster student innovation. Supervises projects on CIZ1 variants using cell culture, microscopy, and bioinformatics.

Awards: Bioscience Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship (2004), Lister Institute Senior Research Fellowship (2002). Active in collaborative projects, including biomarker development and MRC-funded studies on epigenetic maintenance.

Labs/Teams: Principal Investigator of an academic DNA replication lab at York and leads Cizzle Biotech’s biomarker research.