My research interest lies in the extracellular matrix—a fascinating environment that surrounds every cell in every multicellular organism.  

I aim to understand structural and functional features of the extracellular matrix that determine cell behaviour.  

In vascular tissues, the extracellular matrix occupies about 75% of the total volume, forming an intricate network of collagen and elastic fibres. Fibrillar collagen constitutes the main structural component, providing stiffness and resistance to pressure in veins and arteries. In contrast, elastin—the primary component of elastic fibres—regulates their elasticity and compliance. The interconnected mechanical degradation of these components during ageing or disease is difficult to study and represents the main focus of my current research.

In the brain, the extracellular matrix occupies about 30% of the total volume. It is soft and malleable, allowing neuronal networks to be renewed and rearranged. Its major components are hyaluronic acid and proteoglycans, which together form a hydrated gel that provides buffering, hydration, binding of cations and chemokines, and lubrication. Our recent discovery shows that the flexibility of hyaluronic acid is a key physical property recognized by cancer cells—such as glioblastoma—when deciding whether to proliferate and invade healthy brain tissue or remain dormant.

The development of extracellular matrix-based therapeutics is another branch of my research.

This includes the discovery of allosteric inhibitors of PARP-1; minocycline—a specific inhibitor of PARP-2, currently in clinical trials at Addenbrooke’s Hospital—which has potential for treating vascular calcification; and non-toxic matrix cross-linkers that can specifically induce dormancy or death in cancer cells.

The types of proteins present in the extracellular matrix—along with their folding, crosslinking, and post-translational modifications—are species-, organ-, tissue-, disease-, and age-specific. I study these features using solid-state NMR and various types of microscopy, including Raman, fluorescence (including lifetime imaging), as well as through biochemical methods.