How p53 structure becomes cellular decision

The Prives Laboratory studies the molecular logic of the p53 family from protein structure and DNA recognition to transcriptional networks, metabolism and tumour behaviour. The group examines how wild-type p53 is activated and restrained by MDM2 and MDMX, how p53 chooses among arrest, repair and death programmes, and how missense mutants accumulate and gain oncogenic activities. By combining biochemistry, structural and molecular biology, functional genomics, cell and organoid systems, and genetically defined cancer models, the laboratory aims to distinguish context-dependent p53 mechanisms and expose therapeutic vulnerabilities in p53-altered tumours.