cells, and her group is studying their wider cellular roles. They are also studying other proteins that have cancer-specific adaptor functions because they interact with the Src/FAK pathway in adhesion-regulated complexes, or they function in invasion or metastasis. Typically, these proteins regulate a variety of processes that lie at the heart of cancer, epithelial plasticity, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), loss of tissue regulation and tissue architecture, self-renewing properties, resistance to therapy, invasion and metastasis and host-tumour interactions. Her group has shown that the FERM domain of FAK interacts with key regulators of directional migration and cancer cell polarity, and that tumour progression requires FAK in multiple epithelial cancer types. They have also demonstrated that Src inhibition suppresses metastasis in a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer, and have been able to generate extremely useful cells from cancer models that are FAK deficient, and which can be reconstituted with wild-type FAK or signalling mutants. These have allowed the group to determine the role of signalling through FAK, from integrins and from the upstream Src kinases, and via FAK’s kinase activity, in maintaining aspects of the cancer phenotype. These have led to several findings on control of E-cadherin dynamics in vitro and in vivo, and on proliferation in 3-dimensional environments. Perhaps the most striking new finding from their genetic deletion studies (in both cells and animal tissues), has been that integrin signalling through the Src/FAK axis regulates autophagy in advanced cancer cells. Margaret Frame's research group is now working with Professor Valerie Brunton, extending her research into glioblastoma to find out how these same networks are involved in this complex disease. A major part involves studying glioblastoma stem cells looking for differences in their adhesion networks, how these may play a role in the disease and how glioblastoma stem cells interact with immune cells and influence their surroundings. Through this work, they also hope to reveal new drug targets. Awards and honours Margaret Frame was awarded the Tenovus Medal in 1999 for her work on Src family kinases, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2002, an EMBO Member in 2008 and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2010. She was awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours of 2018 for services to cancer research. References External links Margaret Frame at University of Edinburgh Year of birth missing (living people) Living people