The Mort Lab

Join us

We welcome enquiries about PhD and MSc by research opportunities. Contact r.mort@lancaster.ac.uk.

Funded North West Bio PhD available on Cattle Genetics – Exciting collaboration with Davina Hill (University of Glasgow) and Barbara Shih (Lancaster University). Help us develop better approaches to understand pigmentation genetics in dairy cattle and build resilience to climate change.

08 November 2026 – Apply for funding through the North West Melanoma collaborative funding scheme!

The Mort Lab

We study melanocyte development, tissue homeostasis and disease using live imaging, biosensors and quantitative genetics.

Research

Melanocytes, melanoma and development

We investigate the development of the melanocyte lineage, the behaviour of adult melanocyte populations in the skin, and their roles in melanoma progression. We also study broader developmental processes including the role of mechanical forces in cell migration and tissue patterning during embryogenesis.

Latest: Riddell et al. PLoS Biology 2023 — mechanosensitive migration drives dermal condensate recruitment. Wilkinson et al. PCMR 2022 — new Pmel-CreERT2 allele for precise melanocyte lineage tracing.

Fucci2a biosensors

In collaboration with Prof. Atsushi Miyawaki and Dr. Asako Sakaue-Sawano (RIKEN, Japan) we developed polycistronic Fucci2a probes for real-time visualisation of cell cycle dynamics. The platform has been adopted by over 54 research groups worldwide across 12 biological fields. We continue to develop new biosensor variants including Qucci, H1.0-Fucci(CA) and FuChi.

Latest: Sudderick et al. PLoS Biology 2026 – FuChi, the first cell cycle biosensor chicken; Tollit et al. Nucleic Acids Research 2026 – CIZ1 regulates G1 length and the CDK threshold for initiation of DNA replication to prevent DNA replication stress.

Pigmentation genetics

We apply quantitative genetics to pigmentation biology, including cattle coat colour in partnership with Genus plc and Livestock Improvement Corporation, integrating GWAS data with cell-type-specific interactomes. We also study the genetic basis of spotting patterns in Dalmatians and mice.

Latest: Jivanji et al. Science Advances 2026 — structural and epistatic variants cause hallmark white spotting in cattle.