Rate My Professor Janet Deane

Professor Janet Deane is Professor of Membrane Biology and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, based at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. As Principal Investigator, her laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms by which altered sphingolipid metabolism results in devastating neurological disease. Her research centers on glycosphingolipids, an important class of lipids enriched at the cell surface whose imbalances underlie severe disorders from neurodegeneration to cancer and diabetes. She employs a range of experimental approaches, including genetic modification of iPSCs to generate neuronal disease models, quantitative proteomics, and high-resolution molecular structures, to study rare genetic neuropathologies such as Krabbe disease caused by defects in the lysosomal enzyme galactosylceramidase and GM2 gangliosidoses. These efforts align with strategic themes of membrane trafficking, rare genetic disease, and neurological disease. Deane established her independent research career at CIMR as a Royal Society University Research Fellow, building on prior contributions to structural biology of bacterial type III secretion systems and host-pathogen interactions before focusing on lipid biology.

Deane's publications elucidate fundamental aspects of lipid-processing complexes and plasma membrane remodelling driving synaptic dysfunction and demyelination. Key works include 'Altered plasma membrane abundance of the sulfatide-binding protein NF155 links glycosphingolipid imbalances to demyelination' (PNAS, 2023), 'Conformational dynamics and membrane insertion mechanism of B4GALNT1 in ganglioside synthesis' (Nature Communications, 2025), 'Plasma Membrane Remodelling in GM2 Gangliosidoses Drives Synaptic Dysfunction' (PLoS Biology, 2025), and earlier highly cited papers such as 'Neisseria meningitidis recruits factor H using protein mimicry of host carbohydrates' (Nature, 2009) and 'Architecture of the major component of the type III secretion system export apparatus' (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2013). Funded by the Wellcome Trust, her research provides insights into therapeutic opportunities for neurodegenerative conditions. In 2024, she was promoted to Professor and received the Inclusive Practice award from the Cambridge Students' Union Student-Led Teaching Awards. She supervises PhD students, promotes widening participation, and contributes to equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.