Pat Heslop-Harrison and the Molecular Cytogenetics and Plant Cell Biology Group study the biology of the cell nucleus: its spatial and dynamic organisation or architecture, the function and interactions of its components, and the nature, evolution, expression, recombination and segregation of the DNA sequences within the nucleus at interphase, mitosis and meiosis.

They look at repetitive DNA and its evolution, with a particular focus on tandemly repeated satellite sequences and retrotransposons. Key methods include molecular cytogenetics, DNA sequence analysis and systems biology approaches. Taking a comparative genomics approach, they have interlinked projects with a range of different species: a particular focus is on plant crop species (banana, cereals including wheat, rye and barley, brassicas, and cowpea), while important projects include work with Dictyostelium, Drosophila, Scallops (Pecten), and bovids.

Heslop-Harrison now is a professor of Plant Cell Biology and Molecular Cytogenetics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences, University of Leicester. Also, he is the Chief Editor of Annals of Botany.

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