I am a clinician scientist investigating better ways to treat ovarian cancer. My research focuses on a subset of ovarian cancers that have the poorest outcomes. These cancers have specific patterns of gene expression that distinguish them from other types of ovarian cancers. I aim to develop new treatments for ovarian cancers based on their genetic profile, that are more effective than the current ‘one size fits all’ approach of treating ovarian cancer.

My research uses samples of ovarian cancer tissues derived from patients to identify the most effective treatments for these cancers. My goal is to take these treatments forward into clinical trials.

Research interests

With the discovery of distinct molecular subtypes of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) as a result of gene expression profiling, comes the opportunity to develop subtype-specific therapies with a greater chance of impacting on outcome than the current “one-size fits all” treatment approach. The focus of my research is on a subset of HGSC that is associated with poor clinical outcome and increased activity of a specific oncogene (MYCN) pathway.

I am utilising well-characterised  HGSC patient-derived xenografts (PDX) in order to identify the most appropriate therapeutic agents in vivo to take forward into clinical trials. In parallel, I am analysing the consequences of over-expression of this oncogene in genetically engineered animal models in order to study pre-malignant events, which might lead to the development of this subset of HGSC and be relevant for response and resistance to therapy.