{"id":2,"date":"2019-11-09T08:50:01","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T08:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-08-01T12:19:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:19:21","slug":"sample-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the home of the Mort Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

We study melanocyte development, tissue homeostasis and disease using live imaging, biosensors and quantitative genetics.<\/p>\n

\n

Research<\/h2>\n

Melanocytes, melanoma and development<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Latest:<\/strong> Riddell et al. PLoS Biology<\/em> 2023<\/a> \u2014 mechanosensitive migration drives dermal condensate recruitment. Wilkinson et al. PCMR<\/em> 2022<\/a> \u2014 new Pmel-CreERT2 allele for precise melanocyte lineage tracing.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Mouse\"
\n\"Holstein
\n\"Dalmatian\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Fucci2a biosensors<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Latest:<\/strong> Sudderick et al. PLoS Biology<\/em> in revision<\/a> \u2014 FuChi, the first cell cycle biosensor chicken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Pigmentation genetics<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Latest:<\/strong> Jivanji et al. Science Advances<\/em> 2026<\/a> \u2014 structural and epistatic variants cause hallmark white spotting in cattle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Team<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Mort<\/strong>
\nSenior Lecturer<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Pooley<\/strong>
\nPostdoc<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Leah<\/p>\n

Leah Pomfret<\/strong>
\nPostdoc<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Marcus<\/p>\n

Marcus Preedy<\/strong>
\nPostdoc<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Aro<\/p>\n

Aro Nugawela<\/strong>
\nPostdoc<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Melissa<\/p>\n

Melissa Wright<\/strong>
\nPhD Student<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Join us<\/h2>\n

We welcome enquiries about PhD and MSc by research opportunities. Contact r.mort@lancaster.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We study melanocyte development, tissue homeostasis and disease using live imaging, biosensors and quantitative genetics. Research Melanocytes, melanoma and development […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/mortlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}