Research Biographies

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DR IAN OVERTON

Biomedical Systems Analysis
Senior Scientist
Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish Government Fellow co-funded by Marie Curie Actions


Dr Ian Overton

Contact Details

E-mail address: ian.overton@igmm.ed.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)131 332 2471 (extension 4022)
Fax: +44 (0)131 467 8456
Skype: ian_overton1
Address: MRC Human Genetics Unit MRC IGMM, University of Edinburgh Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU
Research Programme: Integrative Network Biology

 

Research Areas

We are applying data integration and network analyses to afford novel systems perspectives on gene function, particularly in cell invasiveness, migration and stem-like properties. The need for better diagnosis and treatment of common human diseases is a core motivator for this work.

 

Genetic control of cell behaviour is mediated through an intricate mesh of interconnected networks, not linear pathways. Many genes function in several cellular processes, and some can have seemingly opposite functions depending on context (e.g. to both promote and suppress cancer progression). Network properties can predict disease outcome, and contribute to incomplete penetrance of mutations (e.g. by thresholding stochastic fluctuations). Indeed, network biology is fundamental to understanding cell fate regulation and important for developing new clinical tools.

 

Key Publications

  • Overton, I.; Graham, S.; Gould, K.; Hinds, J.; Botting, C.; Shirran, S.; Barton, G. and *Coote, P. Global Network Analysis of Drug Tolerance, Mode of Action and Virulence in Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus. BMC Systems Biology 5(1):68 2011. PubMed Abstract
  • Overton, I.; Padovani, G.; Girolami, M. and Barton, G. ParCrys: A parzen window density estimation approach to protein crystallisation propensity prediction. Bioinformatics 24:901- 907, 2008 PubMed Abstract
  • Overton, I.; vanNiekerk, C.; Carter, L.; Dawson, A.; Martin, D.; Cameron, S.; McMahon, S.; White, M.; Hunter, W.; Naismith, J. and Barton, G. TarO: A Target Optimisation System for Structural Biology. Nucleic Acids Research 36:W190-W196, 2008 PubMed Abstract
  • Overton, I. and Barton, G. A normalised scale for structural genomics target ranking: The OB- Score. FEBS Letters 580, 4005-4009, 2006 PubMed Abstract
  • Hubbard, S.; Grafham, D.; Beattie, K.; Overton, I.; McLaren, S.; Croning, M.; Boardman, P.; Bonfield, J.K.; Burnside, J.; Davies, R.M.; Farrell, E.R.; Francis, M.D.; Griffiths-Jones, S.; Humphray, S.J.; Hyland, C.; Scott, C.E.; Tang, H.; Taylor, R.G.; Tickle, C.; Brown, W.R.; Birney, E.; Rogers, J. and Wilson, S.A. Transcriptome analysis for the chicken based on 19,626 finished cDNA sequences and 485,337 expressed sequence tags. Genome Research 15, 174-183, 2005 PubMed Abstract
  • Wong, G.K.; … Overton, I.; … and Yang, H. A genetic-variation map for chicken with 2.8 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Nature 432, 717-722, 2004 PubMed Abstract
  • Hillier, L.W.; … Overton, I.; … and Wilson, R.K. Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provides unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution. Nature 432, 695-716, 2004 PubMed Abstract