Cancer Innovations

I am a post-doctoral research scientist working in the Cancer Epigenetics Lab and I am fascinated by all types of gene expression regulation! Our DNA contains around twenty thousand genes that code for over one hundred thousand different proteins, with each protein carrying out its own function to keep cells alive. This is possible because inside our cells our RNA splicing mechanisms snip up the RNA into smaller pieces and fasten it back together leaving some parts out, this creates a few different variants of the protein that came from one gene. Cancer cells rely on RNA splicing to get the right versions of the proteins that they need to grow uncontrollably. My research focuses on finding innovative new treatments for childhood cancer and my job is to find out how drugs that target RNA splicing work inside cells and the knock-on effects the drugs have on cells.

No two cancer cells are exactly alike, which makes treating the disease one of the greatest unresolved medical challenges. But what if we could pair the perfect warriors to take them down? Just like a winning team needs the right players, the most effective cancer treatments often come from combining the right drugs. In this talk, we'll explore the art of drug matchmaking — how researchers identify powerful combinations to outsmart cancer. We'll demystify the science behind combination therapies and offer a glimpse into the future of personalised cancer treatments.

Blood clots are a common complication of cancer. This talk will explore how cancer hijacks the blood's clotting system, why this causes problems for patients and what researchers are trying to do about it. I'll discuss how we are analysing DNA and data to understand which patients with cancer are likely to develop a clot and the challenges involved in using our genes to predict future risks.