Visualising the transcriptional pulses of defined genes in living cells

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Activating a gene at the correct time, correct place and at the right quantity is necessary for the correct growth and development of an organism, its function throughout life, and its ability to respond to its environment. Defects in gene activation cause these processes to go wrong, resulting in a wide spectrum of human diseases, from cancer to Alzheimer?s. To understand a process, it helps greatly to be able to watch it happening in living tissue, which until recently has not been possible for gene activation. I have developed a new technique, using microscopy, allowing one to watch genes turning on and off in living cells. I will study the natural process of gene activation and how cells and their environment can control this. I will then look at how the process of gene activation goes wrong when the main controlling factors are disrupted, which is a typical cause of many different human diseases.