Alexis Barr

Dr. Alexis Barr is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Clinical Sciences within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London and the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (MRC-LMS). She leads the Cell Cycle Control team focused on understanding how cells make proliferation-quiescence decisions, which is vital for normal development and tissue homeostasis.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Oncology, MSci in Biochemistry, and BA in Natural Sciences, all from the University of Cambridge.

• PhD (Oncology) - University of Cambridge
• MSci (Biochemistry) - University of Cambridge
• BA (Natural Sciences) - University of Cambridge

Dr. Barr's research focuses on cell cycle entry control and how its dysregulation leads to hyperproliferative diseases including cancer and fibrosis. Her team employs quantitative single-cell imaging, molecular and cellular biology techniques, and collaborates with mathematicians to develop mechanistic understanding of cell cycle regulation. During her career, she investigated centrosome roles in mitotic spindle assembly during her PhD at CRUK Cambridge Institute, then moved to Institute of Cancer Research to study cell cycle entry control, collaborating with Prof. Bela Novak at Oxford.

Her scientific recognition includes a CRUK Career Development Fellowship awarded in 2018 to investigate quiescence in cancer, which enabled her to establish her independent research group at the Institute of Clinical Sciences.

Dr. Barr actively collaborates with other researchers, including Louise Fets, as evidenced by their joint lab retreats. Her team has expertise in quantitative single-cell imaging and molecular and cellular biology approaches, using genetically-engineered cells with fluorescent biosensors to measure protein expression relative to cell cycle entry.