Research Interests

primary cilia, inflammation, bone, cartilage, mechanosignalling

Martin Knight’s research examines the interplay between the structure and the function of primary cilia and implications for musculoskeletal disease aetiology. This has potential impact in the development of cilia therapies which modulate cilia signalling pathways. Part of this work involves the area of mechanobiology and mechanotransduction or how living cells and tissues ‘sense and respond’ to mechanical forces. This is essential for the health and functionality of many tissues and therefore has application in various medical therapies from tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to pharmaceuticals. Our studies have examined primary cilia in a variety of tissues including articular cartilage, kidney, tendon, ovarian cancer  and mesenchymal stem cells. 

I am happy for individuals outside my research group (particularly early career researchers) to present at one of my (online) group meetings – please contact me if you are interested.

Cilia Research Projects

The following are funded research projects related to cilia research.

Organ-on-a-chip model of breast cancer bone metastases

Awarded to: Martin KNIGHT (Queen Mary University of London)
Funding source: CRUK and EPSRC  /  Value: £268,700
Dates: December 2020 - May 2023