Contact information
Research groups
Colleges
David Ray
Professor of Endocrinology
David trained in general internal medicine in North West England, and obtained a PhD from the University of Manchester. He was a research fellow at UCLA for two years, working on neuroendocrine-immune interaction, before returning to the UK, and obtaining a GSK fellowship to work on glucocorticoid action, and sensitivity in inflammatory disease. He was promoted to Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester in 2005, and went on to study nuclear receptor and circadian biology in inflammation, and energy metabolism. This work attracted Wellcome Investigator and MRC programme grant support.
David is a passionate advocate of research training, serving on the MRC clinical fellowship panel for seven years, three as deputy chair.
Circadian mechanisms regulate most mammalian physiology, with particular importance in the regulation of innate immunity, through the macrophage in particular, and energy metabolism, regulating liver, adipose and muscle. These circuits are also regulated by a number of nuclear receptors, which show a striking interdependency on the circadian machinery; some having ligand availability regulated by the clock, others varying in expression level through the day. We have employed a range of approaches to address the physiological importance of the circadian:nuclear receptor system, ranging from population genetics, experimental medicine studies, CRISPR engineered mice, and cell biology. These approaches have discovered how the important dimension of time regulates metabolism, and coordinates diverse tissues to deliver optimal organismal performance. Importantly, we are identifying how external stressors can decouple these systems, with deleterious effects.
Key publications
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Circadian clock component REV-ERBα controls homeostatic regulation of pulmonary inflammation.
Journal article
Pariollaud M. et al, (2018), J Clin Invest, 128, 2281 - 2296
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Genome-wide association analyses of sleep disturbance traits identify new loci and highlight shared genetics with neuropsychiatric and metabolic traits.
Journal article
Lane JM. et al, (2017), Nat Genet, 49, 274 - 281
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Glucocorticoid receptor regulates accurate chromosome segregation and is associated with malignancy.
Journal article
Matthews LC. et al, (2015), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 112, 5479 - 5484
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An epithelial circadian clock controls pulmonary inflammation and glucocorticoid action.
Journal article
Gibbs J. et al, (2014), Nat Med, 20, 919 - 926
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The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα mediates circadian regulation of innate immunity through selective regulation of inflammatory cytokines.
Journal article
Gibbs JE. et al, (2012), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 109, 582 - 587
Recent publications
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Night shift work is associated with an increased risk of asthma.
Journal article
Maidstone RJ. et al, (2020), Thorax
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Nuclear receptor REVERBα is a state-dependent regulator of liver energy metabolism.
Journal article
Hunter AL. et al, (2020), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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Adipocyte REVERBα dictates adipose tissue expansion during obesity
Journal article
Louise Hunter A. et al, (2020)
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Hypoxia regulates GR function through multiple mechanisms involving microRNAs 103 and 107.
Journal article
Yang N. et al, (2020), Mol Cell Endocrinol, 518
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Circadian asthma airway responses are gated by REV-ERBα.
Journal article
Durrington HJ. et al, (2020), Eur Respir J