Sandip Patel

Sandip Patel is Professor of Cell Signalling in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London (UCL). Since 2011 he has led a research programme exploring calcium signalling through acidic organelles, and in 2025 became Head of the Research Department of Cell & Developmental Biology. He is a member of Academia Europaea and recipient of the 2023 GL Brown Prize Lecture.

Education & Career

• 1992 – BSc Medical Biochemistry, University of Birmingham
• 1995 – PhD Pharmacology, University of Cambridge (supervisor Colin W. Taylor)
• 1996-1998 – Wellcome Trust International Prize Travel Fellow, Thomas Jefferson University & UMDNJ (USA)
• 1999-2000 – Wellcome Trust Fellow, University of Oxford (with Antony Galione)
• 2000-2001 – Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow & Hayward Junior Research Fellow, Oriel College, Oxford
• 2001-2004 – Lecturer (tenured), UCL
• 2007-2011 – Reader (Associate Professor), UCL
• 2011–present – Professor of Cell Signalling, UCL
• 2025–present – Head, Research Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, UCL

Research Interests
The Patel lab investigates how acidic Ca²⁺ stores—particularly lysosomes—shape cellular Ca²⁺ signalling in health and disease. Using interdisciplinary approaches (molecular & structural biology, electrophysiology, bioinformatics, modelling), the group has:
• Defined NAADP as a Ca²⁺ messenger acting via two-pore channels (TPC1/2).
• Identified Ca²⁺/H⁺ exchangers (CAX) in animals and their role in cell migration.
• Elucidated membrane contact sites between endolysosomes and the ER as hubs for Ca²⁺ signalling.
• Linked lysosomal Ca²⁺ dysregulation to Parkinson disease, proposing TPC inhibition as a therapeutic strategy.

Publication & Funding Trends
Since 1999 Patel has published >40 peer-reviewed articles that have shaped the field. Work spans discovery of NAADP receptors, structural/functional analysis of TPCs, in vivo roles of CAX in neural crest migration, and clinical studies in Parkinson disease patient cells. Funding (>£2.2 M since 2009) comes primarily from BBSRC, with recent awards focused on engineering ion-channel selectivity and ER-endolysosome membrane contact sites.

Scientific Awards & Prizes

• 2023 – GL Brown Prize Lecture, The Physiological Society, UK
• 2020 – Elected Member, Academia Europaea (MAE)
• 2018 – Visiting Professor, UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil
• 2013 – Fellow, Royal Society of Biology (FRSB)
• 2000 – Hayward Junior Research Fellowship, Oriel College, Oxford
• 2000 – Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship
• 1996 – Wellcome Trust International Prize Travel Fellowship

Grants & Committees
Recent BBSRC grants include £620 k (2020) for engineering TPC selectivity and £529 k (2016) for ER-endolysosome Ca²⁺ hubs. Patel serves on the MRC Non-Clinical Training & Career Development Panel (2022-) and has evaluated grants for FWO (Belgium), Parkinson’s UK, and the Cyprus Agency for Quality Assurance.

Editorial & Outreach Roles
He is Senior Editor of Contact and Associate Editor of Messenger, and sits on the boards of Cell Calcium, Biochemical Journal and Faculty of 1000. He co-organised the 17th European Calcium Society Meeting (2024) and the Physiological Society symposium “Lysophysiology” (2018).

Laboratory & Collaborations
The Patel Lab at UCL comprises post-docs, PhD students and technical staff working closely with collaborators across UCL, Oxford, Cambridge, York, and internationally (USA, Germany, Norway, Spain, Brazil, New Zealand). The group maintains active projects on channel structure, cellular migration, and lysosomal dysfunction in neurodegeneration.