Currently my time is split between my own research projects, teaching at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and performing surgery for other research groups at the Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility (LARIF). Within my surgical roles at the LARIF I am largely involved with the development of large animal surgical translational models. These studies have included a porcine intestinal anastomosis project, a porcine acute kidney ischaemic and reperfusion injury model, a bovine lymphatic model and an ovine lung tumour model.                                                                                                                     

My own reserach includes the development and validation of novel biomarkers of response to radiotherapy in breast and other cancers. Radiotherapy remains an important treatment modality in nearly two thirds of all cancers, including the primary curative or palliative treatment of breast cancer. Unfortunately, largely due to tumour heterogeneity, radiotherapy response rates can vary significantly, even between patients diagnosed with the same tumour type. Biomarkers that provide prognostic or predictive information regarding a tumour’s intrinsic radiosensitivity or its response to treatment could prove valuable in helping to personalise radiation dosing; enabling clinicians to make decisions between different treatment options whilst avoiding radiation-induced toxicity in patients unlikely to gain therapeutic benefit. Working within the Comparative Oncology and Stem Cell Research Group we are aiming to identify cancer biomarkers that can lead to the tailoring of medical treatments to the individual characteristics of each patient.

Tranalstional large animal models

Predictive and prognostic biomarkers of radiotherpy response