Karim Labib

Professor Karim Labib is Chair of Genome Integrity at the University of Dundee's School of Life Sciences, where he also serves as Head of Sustainability and Climate Action. Previously, he held leadership positions at the University of Manchester's Paterson Institute for Cancer Research (2001-2013). His EMBO fellowship (1993-1994) and postdoctoral work at Oxford and London institutions established his expertise in DNA replication mechanisms.

His research examines chromosome duplication through integrated approaches:

• Biochemical reconstitution of replication complexes
• Structural analysis of replisome components
• In vivo studies in C. elegans embryos
• Mammalian cell models of genome instability

This work connects fundamental replication mechanisms to cancer-associated genomic instability.

Recent publications (2020-2024) demonstrate consistent focus on:

• CMG helicase regulation during replication termination
• Ubiquitin-mediated control of replisome disassembly
• Mitotic processing of replication stress
• Conserved mechanisms from yeast to humans

Major scientific awards include:

• Wellcome Discovery Award (2024)
• CRUK Programme Awards (2023, 2016)
• Fellowship of Royal Society of Edinburgh (2016)
• EMBO Membership (2010)
• Hooke Medal (2010)

He leads a research group investigating metazoan replisome assembly and disassembly, with current projects funded until 2032. As sustainability lead, he promotes climate action initiatives and chairs EMBO's sustainability award committee.