My research focuses on the development of radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy of cancer, and translating these to the clinic
In 2015 I was awarded a research associate position funded by Cancer Research UK to join Dr Sanz-Moreno for my postdoc, where I develop my research studying the crosstalk between the cytoskeleton and mitochondria during tumour progression and invasion.
I am involved in some projects that are focused in the stroma components of a tumour, particularly the endothelial vessels, and its potential role in some key processes including chemotherapy or metastasis.
My areas of interest are imaging biochemical processes such as metabolism/proliferation (microPET), and the use of in vivo preclinical imaging in a range of applications.
My research involves the conjugation and radiolabelling of antibodies, small proteins and peptides with radioisotopes followed by HPLC/TLC validation and in vitro radioligand binding assays.
My research in Prof Balkwill’s group focuses on imaging tumour-associated macrophages and other immune cells in live ex vivo tumour slices, in order to assess their behaviour and the impact of immunotherapies on the live tumour microenvironment.
My research will focus on studying Myosin II function during melanoma progression and its cross-talk with inflammatory and immune responses.
Our group has shown that internalised c-Met traffics through endomembranes positive for LC3B and Beclin1. Furthermore, c-Met sustains signalling from Autophagy Related Endomembranes, ARE. We hypothesised therefore that the AREs supporting c-Met trafficking and signalling belong to a novel non-canonical pathway.
My project looks at the modelling of cancer for improved therapy development. I am carrying out in vivo cancer experiments, with and without modifications of the tumour microenvironment, to examine effects of such treatments on anti-cancer therapy efficacy.