Maddy Parsons

Maddy Parsons is a British cell biologist who is a professor and Associate Dean for Impact & Innovation at King's College London. She is the Director of the Nikon Imaging Centre. Her research looks to understand the fundamental mechanisms that underpin cell adhesion and migration. She is Chair of the Medical Research Council Molecular & Cellular Medicine Board.

Early life and education Parsons completed her undergraduate training in biology at the University of Bath. She moved to University College London for her doctoral research, where she studied the impact of mechanical load on the deposition and organisation of dermal fibroblast.

Research and career Parsons joined King's College London as a Royal Society University Research Fellow in 2005. She was promoted to Reader in 2013, and Professor in 2015. Parsons investigates the fundamental mechanisms that drive cell adhesion and migration using microscopy, molecular biology and three-dimensional simulations. She uses a confocal super-resolution microscope and Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope to image dynamic events over long periods. Whilst adhesion is critical to normal cellular function (e.g. development and homeostasis), it also drives cancer and fibrosis. In particular, Parsons focuses on integrins, and their behaviour in the extracellular matrix. By comparing "normal" cells with cancer cells, Parsons identified that the likelihood of cell invasion depended on the duration and chemistry of their adhesion with the matrix. Beyond fundamental cellular processes, Parsons has studied wound healing and inflammation using skin and lung epithelial cells. The network looks to understand the signalling hierarchy of cell adhesion, the molecular cues that regulate cell behaviour and the tissue mechanics that control cell growth.

In 2017, Parsons was appointed to the executive committee of the Royal Microscopical Society. She is Editor in Chief of The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology.

In 2021, Parsons was appointed Chair of the Medical Research Council Molecular & Cellular Medicine Board.

Awards and honours 2014 Royal Microscopical Society Life Sciences Medal 2014 Fellow of Royal Society of Biology 2024 Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences

Selected publications