Connor Byrne

2023 - present
PhD in Immunology (MRC DTP), University of Manchester, UK

2021
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (First Class), Brunel University of London, UK

Lipid phosphatase metabolism in B cell malignancy

Recently, INPP5B has been found to be a new player in B cell receptor clustering and signalling, and its targeted depletion causes significant perturbations in normal B cell function. Further, OCRL is essential for leukaemic cell survival by controlling PIP2 dynamics at the plasma membrane in T-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL). Therefore, I am exploring the role of INPP5B (and its counterpart OCRL) in B cell malignancies such as lymphoma and in T-ALL. 

When cells in the body become damaged due to various risk factors but also a result of natural causes they turn malignant and grow uncontrollably, which causes an array of problems in the body resulting in a collection of diseases collectively known as 'cancer'. Any cell in the body can become cancerous and when immune cells such as B and T cells do this causes many problems such as autoimmunity (when the body attacks itself), increased susceptibility to infection, enlarged lymph nodes and bone pain, and can aggresively lead to death. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to elucidate the internal cellular mechanisms which causes and drives malignancy in order to design new targeted therapies to treat cancer. Our work is focussed on enzymes called INPP5B and OCRL, which both play important roles in regulating a variety of cellular processes and INPP5B significantly causes normal B cells to act differently when inhibited/depleted. Therefore, I am interested in the roles of INPP5B and OCRL in cancerous B and T cells as these molecules may be significant therapeutic targets to treat various B and T cell cancers.