Overview

I graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2013 with the Vice Chancellor’s Prize. I was enthused by research throughout my undergraduate studies and undertook a number of funded research internships, including at Harvard University, MRC Harwell and the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester.

On graduating I secured a place on the Academic Foundation Programme tied to the University of Birmingham before moving to the University of Leeds to take up an Academic Clinical Fellowship in Clinical Oncology in 2015.

Having secured a 4ward North Clinical Research Fellowship in 2017, I now undertake research into the cellular biology of Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma.

In addition to my laboratory work, I am also involved in a number of clinical studies of oesophageal cancer and sit on both the Royal College of Radiologists Clinical Oncology Academic Committee and the NCRI Oesophagogastric Clinical Studies Group.

PhD title

Non-genetic oncogenesis in adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and gastro-oesophageal junction: characterising the stress-inducible FGFR2-GRB2-miRNA axis.

Brief summary of PhD project

I am interested in using biophysical and molecular research methods to better understand the cellular biology of oesophageal adenocarcinoma

Supervisors

• Prof John Ladbury (University of Leeds)
• Prof Andrew Sharrocks (University of Manchester)
• Prof Heike Grabsch (University of Maastricht)
• Collaborations: Prof Mien-Chie Hung, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Prof John Greenman, University of Hull

Progress so far

I have thus far undertaken a number of large screens to provide an unbiased assessment of the role of all growth factor receptors in Barrett’s oesophagus biology, including under exposure to relevant microenvironmental stressors.

The vast majority of the growth factor receptors included in this study have not previously been studied in Barrett’s.

I have also secured a new collaboration with Prof John Greenman at the University of Hull. This will provide me with an ability to validate laboratory work using a ‘tumour-on-chip’ approach.

My clinical interest in this area continues to grow, as evidenced by a number of relevant recent publications, for example, Jones CM et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2018;101(5):1202-1211. Jones CM et al. Clin Oncol 2019 In Press.

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