Research

I have set up a research team devoted to cancer genetic studies and biomarker development, in particular in male urological cancers. The mission of the research team is to reduce mortality and morbidity of cancer patients by understanding cancer development and progression mechanisms and facilitating precision medicine through the development of efficient cancer detection, prognostic and treatment response prediction/monitoring biomarkers.

Our past work has been mainly focused on identification of genetic alterations and genetic mechanisms in cancer development, progression and therapeutic response. Recently, our research work moved into circulation biomarker development, including CTCs, exosome and other cells, for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and prediction/monitoring of cancer progression and therapeutic response.

There are currently two main research areas of interest:

• Biomarker discovery and clinical applications, focusing on circulating biomarkers (CTCs, exosomes and other cancer associated circulating cells) for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and prediction/monitoring of cancer progression and therapeutic response.
• Mechanisms of prostate cancer metastasis and therapeutic resistance.

Other Activities

• Senior Editor: American Journal of Cancer Research
• Editorial Board Member: The Open Breast Cancer Journal
• Editorial Board Member: Journal of Cancer Research Updates
• Scientific assessment committee member: France national cancer research programme Canceropole (2007-2014)
• Research grant reviewer for funding bodies, such as British Medical Research Council (MRC), British National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), UK Prostate Action, Prostate Cancer Research Charity, National Cancer Institute of France, International Association of Cancer Research, Hong Kong Research Grants Council
• Referee of scientific journals such as Oncogene, J Path, Gene Chromosome Cancer, Br J Cancer, International J Cancer, Carcinogenesis, PloS One, BMC Cancer, Histopathology, Clinical Cancer Research and America Journal of Pathology
• Member of prostate cancer ICGC consortium
  Member of PRACTICAL prostate cancer predisposition study international consortium
• Active Member of American Association for Cancer Research
• Honorable Professor, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
• Honorable Professor, Naning Medical University, China
• Visiting Professor, Zhengzhou University Medical College, China

Major Funding

• 2021-2026 - Prostate Cancer UK, 'Circulating tumour cells as biomarkers for treatment stratification of localised prostate cancer,' £749,527 (Co-PI)
• 2019-2020- CRUK Cancer Early Detection Primer award, 'Exploring platelet miRNA as a novel cost-effective non-invasive liquid biopsy approach to improve prostate cancer diagnosis,' £97,242
• 2017-2021- Angle Europe PLC, "The prognostic value of circulating megakaryocytes for cancer patients" £278,000
• 2015-2021- The Orchid Cancer Appeal, "Circulating tumour cell study and biomarker identification in prostate cancer" £750,000
• 2008-2011- Medical Research Council, Associated genes in prostate cancer, £303,225
  
  

Recent Publications

Polygenic hazard score is associated with prostate cancer in multi-ethnic populations Huynh-Le MP, Fan CC, Karunamuni R et al. Nature Communications (2021) 12(7)

Search for new phenomena in final states with b-jets and missing transverse momentum in s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. Journal of High Energy Physics (2021) 2021(10) 93

Erratum to: Higgs boson production cross-section measurements and their EFT interpretation in the 4 ℓ decay channel at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector (The European Physical Journal C, (2020), 80, 10, (957), 10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-8227-9) Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. European Physical Journal C (2021) 81(7)

Search for a heavy Higgs boson decaying into a Z boson and another heavy Higgs boson in the ℓℓbb and ℓℓWW final states in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. European Physical Journal C (2021) 81(7)

Erratum: Search for new non-resonant phenomena in high-mass dilepton final states with the ATLAS detector (Journal of High Energy Physics, (2020), 2020, 11, (5), 10.1007/JHEP11(2020)005) Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. Journal of High Energy Physics (2021) 2021(7)

Measurement of the CP-violating phase ϕs in Bs0→J/ψϕ decays in ATLAS at 13 TeV Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. European Physical Journal C (2021) 81(7)

Optimisation of large-radius jet reconstruction for the ATLAS detector in 13 TeV proton–proton collisions Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. European Physical Journal C (2021) 81(7)

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of Z bosons in the ℓ⁺ℓ^-ℓ^{′ +}ℓ^{′ -} and ℓ⁺ℓ^-νν¯ final states using 139 fb ^{- 1} of proton–proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. European Physical Journal C (2021) 81(7)

Search for new phenomena in events with two opposite-charge leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. Journal of High Energy Physics (2021) 2021(7)

Search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector Aad G, Abbott B, Abbott DC et al. Journal of High Energy Physics (2021) 2021(7)

Team

Postdoctoral Researchers
Xueying Mao, Elzbieta Stankiewicz

PhD Students
Tanyu Guo, Caitlin Davis, Yeuzhou Zhang

Research Technician
Edwina Burke

Biography

Education