Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU)
We study how eukaryotic cell biology is shaped by protein phosphorylation and ubiquitylation. Driven by our curiosity and passion to understand living creatures, our work aims to change lives by helping to cure human disease.

The MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (PPU) is a major research centre that focuses on the understanding of the biological roles of phosphorylation and ubiquitylation and how disruption of these processes cause human diseases such as neurodegeneration, cancer, hypertension and immune disorders.
The ultimate goal of the Unit’s research programmes is to help develop new improved strategies to treat disease. The MRC-PPU operates as a focal point between life scientists, pharmaceutical companies and clinicians to ensure that we make a critical contribution to medical research, together reaching a deeper understanding of disease.
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Key contacts
Name | Role | |
---|---|---|
Alison Hart | Senior Administrator | [email protected] |
Edwin Allen | Lab Manager | [email protected] |
Renata Soares | Mass Spectrometry Facilities Manager | [email protected] |
Publications
Stories
News
Kodi Hunter received the award in recognition of her outstanding undergraduate research project undertaken in the lab of Professor Sir Philip Cohen's lab in the MRC PPU, which included an accepted publication in the journal FEBS Letters

Press release
A University of Dundee expert has been appointed to lead a new centre that will drive research to better understand the causes of Parkinson’s disease.

News
The Swamy lab from the MRC PPU has discovered how inflammation and immune responses regulate a key protein linked to both Parkinson’s and Crohn’s, offering new insight into how these distinct diseases may share common underlying mechanisms

Press release
University of Dundee scientists have discovered a new target that could herald the development of new drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease.

News
Funded through a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship awarded to Dr Ralitsa Madsen, the CyTOF XT will be the first of its kind available to all researchers across Scotland.

Press release
A project led by scientists at the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine has been selected for the 2025 SPARK NS Translational award, aimed at accelerating scientific discoveries in Parkinson’s disease to reach patients
