Research
Professor Bennett is the Director of the Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute at St George's, with research interests in cell senescence and genetics of melanoma and skin conditions.
Her research group is focused on the genetics of pigmentary disorders, especially melanoma (pigmented skin cancer), a common, rapidly progressing and highly malignant cancer. They have a particular interest in cell senescence as an anti-cancer defence, and how cancer cells escape from this through common genetic changes.
Normal cells become senescent after dividing for a limited number of times. Senescent cells are permanently non-dividing, but still alive: for example the cells in moles on the skin. Cancers grow only when cells mutate and escape from this senescence. The commonest gene that is mutated in familial melanoma, CDKN2A, normally acts in cell senescence.
Professor Bennett has contributed to a collaboration searching for compounds that re-induce senescence in cancer cells. Compounds have been identified and are ready to be developed as potential therapies for drug-resistant cancers like melanoma.
Another project is investigating whether novel and known markers of melanocyte senescence can help distinguish melanomas from moles. (In previous work, Professor Bennett and her group showed the cells of skin moles to be senescent). Such markers might also help predict who will develop two or more melanomas.
Professor Bennett and colleagues are also interested in the role of cell senescence in ageing, and the potential of this understanding to inform the development of new treatments for symptoms and diseases of ageing.
Age UK funded a recent project aiming to inhibit the proteins produced by CDKN2A, to suppress cell senescence temporarily, to treat chronic wounds in older people.
Professor Bennett runs a joint research group with Dr Elena V Sviderskaya. The group also investigates the genetics and molecular biology of melanocytes, and of pigmentary disorders like vitiligo.
The group maintains the Wellcome Trust Functional Genomics Cell Bank, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The Bank holds more than 250 immortal lines of mammalian cells, especially melanocytes with pigmentary mutations.
The Bank provides cells to institutions around the world, helping the understanding of many inherited disorders of pigmentation such as albinism and Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.
Biography
Professor Bennett is Professor of Cell Biology since 1999 and was Head of the Cell Biology and Genetics Research Centre from 2014-2016. She entered St George’s in 1983, originally as a full-time researcher and group leader funded by the Cancer Research Campaign, joining the academic staff in 1987.
Before that she held an Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) postdoctoral fellowship with JA Smith at the London ICRF Laboratories on cell differentiation and the cell cycle, and a Damon Runyon Fellowship with Professor R Dulbecco at the Salk Institute, California on mammary stem cells.
She graduated with an MA (Natural Sciences) from King’s College, Cambridge, and a PhD (1975) from
the London ICRF Laboratories/King’s College London.
Professor Bennett is Past President and founder of the International Cell Senescence Association (ICSA), a Board member and former President of the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR) and a member of the European Vitiligo Task Force. She is a former President of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies.
She is the author of over 150 scientific publications, including senior authorship of a book, “The Colors of Mice, a Model Genetic Network” (Wiley, 2010). She is a member of the International Expert Panel for the French Government’s National Research Agency (ANR) and INSERM (since 2006), and a member of the International Scientific Board of ARIV Onlus, the Italian Vitiligo Association (since 2007).
Recent honours include: Fellowship of the Academic of Medical Sciences (FMedSci), the Fritz Anders Memorial Lecture and Medal (2015), and the Estela Medrano Memorial Award (2013).
Recent publications
2017
Kohli, JS, E Tolomio, S Frigerio, A Maurichi, M Rodolfo & DC Bennett. Common delayed senescence of melanocytes from multiple primary melanoma patients. J. Inv. Dermatol. 2017; 137, 766-768.
Cairney CJ, LS Godwin, AE Bilsland, S Burns, KH Stevenson, L McGarry, J Revie, JD Moore, CM Wiggins, RS Collinson, C Mudd, E Tsonou, M Sadaie, DC Bennett, M Narita, CJ Torrance & WN Keith. A 'synthetic-sickness' screen for senescence re-engagement targets in mutant cancer backgrounds. PLOS Genet. 2017; 13:e1006942.
Marathe HG, DE Watkins-Chow, M Weider, A Hoffmann, G Mehta, A Trivedi, S Aras, T Basuroy, A Mehrotra, DC Bennett, M Wegner, WJ Pavan & IL de la Serna. BRG1 interacts with SOX10 to establish the melanocyte lineage and to promote differentiation. Nucl. Acids Res. 2017; 45, 6442-6458.
2016
Jin Y, G Andersen, D Yorgov, TM Ferrara, S Ben, KM Brownson, PJ Holland, SA Birlea, J Siebert, A Hartmann, A Lienert, RM Luiten, A Wolkerstorfer, JP Wietze van der Veen, N van Geel, J Lambert, DC Bennett... & RA Spritz. Enhanced genome-wide association studies of autoimmune vitiligo identify 23 novel loci and highlight key pathobiological pathways and causal regulatory variation. Nature Genet. 2016; 48, 1418-1424.
Dennis MK, C Delevoye, A Acosta-Ruiz, I Hurbain, M Romao, G G Hesketh, PS Goff, EV Sviderskaya, DC Bennett, JP Luzio, T Galli, DJ Owen, G Raposo & MS Marks. BLOC-1 and BLOC-3 regulate VAMP7 cycling to and from melanosomes via distinct tubular transport carriers. J. Cell Biol. 2016; 214, 293-308.
2015
M Sadaie, C Dillon, Mahito Narita, ARJ Young, CJ Cairney, LS Godwin, CJ Torrance, DC Bennett, WN Keith, M Narita. Cell-based screen for altered nuclear phenotypes reveals senescence progression in polyploid cells after Aurora kinase B inhibition. Mol Biol Cell. 2015; 26, 2971-2985.
Favourites
DC Bennett, PJ Cooper, IR Hart. A line of non-tumorigenic mouse melanocytes, syngeneic with the B16 melanoma and requiring a tumour promoter for growth. Int J Cancer, 1987, March 15; 39(3): 414-418.
VC Gray-Schopfer, SC Cheong, H Chong, J Chow, A Moss, ZA Abdel-Malek, R Marais, D Wynford-Thomas, DC Bennett. Cellular senescence in naevi and immortalisation in melanoma: a role for p16? Br J Cancer, 2006, Aug 21; 95(4): 496-505.
Y Jin, CM Mailloux, K Gowan, SL Riccardi, G LaBerge, DC Bennett, PR Fain, RA Spritz. NALP1 in vitiligo-associated multiple autoimmune disease. New Engl J Med, 2007, Mar 22; 356(12), 1216-1225
View Professor Bennett's ResearchGate page
Research Group
Professor Bennett runs a joint research group with Dr Elena V Sviderskaya.
Members include:
Joanna Castle (PhD student) – Reversible inhibition of p16-mediated cellular senescence to alleviate ageing symptoms;
Philip Goff (PhD Student and Wellcome Trust Cell Bank Manager)
Samar Elorbany (Clinical Research Fellow)
Collaborations
Professor Bennett collaborates with:
Drs Andrea Maurichi and Monica Rodolfo, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy
Dr Masashi Narita, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, University of Cambridge
Professor Richard Spritz , University of Colorado, Denver, USA
Professor Nicol Keith, professor of molecular oncology (experimental therapeutics), Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
Dr Tanya Shaw, King's College, London
At St George's, Professor Bennett works collaboratively with senior lecturer Dr Soo-Hyun Kim (IMBE) and consultant dermatologist Dr Victoria Akhras (SGH Trust).
Funding
The Functional Genomics Cell Bank at St George’s
Awarded to DC Bennett (co-investigator) with EV Sviderskaya (SGUL) (PI)
Wellcome Trust, five-year programme grant
2015 to 2020
Validation of non-nucleolar TERT as a melanoma prognostic marker
Awarded to DC Bennett (PI) with V Akhras (SGH Trust) (co-investigator)
SGUL Impact and Innovation Awards
2015 to 2016
Reversible inhibition of p16-mediated cellular senescence to alleviate ageing symptoms
Awarded to DC Bennett (PI) with TJ Shaw (co-supervisor)
Age UK: PhD studentship
2013 to 2015
Melanocyte senescence and biology of progression in multiple melanoma patients
Awarded to DC Bennett (PI) with A Maurichi (National Cancer Institute, Milan) (Co-investigator)
Emme Rouge Foundation, Italy: Mara Nahum Scholarship
2012 to 2015
Multiple melanoma, prognostic markers and cell senescence
Awarded to DC Bennett (PI), with SH Kim (co-supervisor) in collaboaration with A Maurichi (Milan)
SGUL Graduate School/Wellcome Trust: doctoral training grant
2012 to 2015
Senectus: exploitation of a cell senescence drug discovery program
Awarded to DC Bennett (co-investigator), N Keith (PI) and other consortium members
Cancer Research UK
2010 to 2013
Gene expression and mechanisms of dysregulation in melanoma development
Awarded to DC Bennett (PI) with EV Sviderskaya
Medical Research Council: doctorial training grant
2008 to 2012
Congenic cell bank for pigmentary mutations
Awarded to DC Bennett jointly with EV Sviderskaya
Wellcome Trust five-year programme grant
2006 to 2011
Teaching
Professor Bennett supervises PhD and MRes students and year 3 BSc research projects.
She lectures to undergraduates and Masters students on topics in cell and molecular biology, cancer and cell senescence.
She co-organizes a 3rd-year BSc research project module.
