Researchers from the Willis and Thaventhiran labs have discovered that misreading of therapeutic mRNAs by the cell’s decoding machinery can cause an unintended immune response in the body. They have identified the sequence within the mRNA that causes this to occur and found a way to prevent ‘off-target’ immune responses to...

You might imagine the cells in your body as quite static. In reality, they are hives of activity and contain cocktails of different molecules. Just like us, these different molecules in our cells all have a job. Just like us, those jobs span a wide range of roles and take place in designated spaces – instead of offices or...

We are delighted to share the news that Prof Anne Willis and Dr Ritwick Sawarkar are a part of a consortium that has been awarded £8 million by the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator (NATA) to enhance the UK's nucleic acid therapeutics delivery platforms. The consortium, led by Professor Matthew Wood at the University of...

The 1st episode of the British Toxicology Society's 'Flying the NEST' podcast features Unit Director Prof Anne Willis. In this episode, Anne discusses her career path so far, what she wishes she had known at the start of her career and insights in the Unit's research. Listen online now . The British Toxicology Society (BTS...