- Cancer Mechanisms and Biomarkers
- Research Centre for Optimal Health
About me
I am Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Westminster, where I lead the Cancer Mechanisms and Biomarkers Research Group. I also hold an Adjunct Professorship at Oklahoma State University in the USA. My research focuses on the molecular mechanisms driving cancer progression, metastatic behaviour and therapy resistance, particularly in pancreatic and hormone-related cancers.
My group investigates non-coding RNAs, epigenetic regulation, Wnt signalling, hypoxia-driven signalling and tumour microenvironmental stress as regulators of cancer cell plasticity, alongside circulating RNA and molecular profiling approaches for translational biomarker discovery. A major focus is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, where we study microRNA-mediated regulation, cancer stemness, environmental exposure–associated molecular changes, and circulating biomarkers for early detection and disease progression.
I completed my PhD at the Centre for Hepatology, UCL, and Marmara University, before working as a postdoctoral research fellow at Imperial College London, focusing on metastatic cancer biology, voltage-gated sodium channels, Wnt signalling. I joined the University of Westminster in 2015, progressing through Senior Lecturer and Reader to Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology. Alongside my research, I teach on undergraduate and postgraduate modules and supervise PhD and MSc research projects, and I have been a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) since 2018.
Teaching
My teaching focuses on molecular biology, cancer biology, genomics, molecular diagnostics and translational biomedical science at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I teach across core areas of cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on linking fundamental mechanisms to disease biology, diagnostic practice and precision medicine.
I am the Module Leader for the postgraduate modules Precision Medicine and Molecular Science, and Diagnostics. I also contribute to teaching on Advanced Cancer Biology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, Cell Signalling and Genetics, Postgraduate Project, Medical Genetics in Practice, Research Methods, and Undergraduate Project.
My teaching is closely aligned with my research expertise in cancer mechanisms, biomarkers, non-coding RNAs, epigenetics and precision oncology, and I supervise undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral research projects in molecular cancer biology and translational oncology.
Research
My research aims to understand how cancer cells acquire aggressive, metastatic and therapy-resistant phenotypes, and how these molecular changes can be translated into clinically useful biomarkers.
Current research themes include:
Pancreatic cancer biology and early detection: We investigate molecular mechanisms and circulating biomarkers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, with particular focus on microRNAs, cancer stemness, tumour progression, perineural invasion and early detection.
Non-coding RNAs and epigenetic regulation: Our work explores how microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and epigenetic mechanisms regulate cancer signalling, cell plasticity, invasion and treatment response.
Hypoxia, extracellular vesicles and tumour microenvironmental stress:We study how hypoxia and microenvironmental stress alter extracellular vesicle cargo, signalling pathways and metastatic behaviour, including Wnt and EMT-associated mechanisms.
Environmental exposure and cancer mechanisms:Our research also examines how environmental exposures, including cadmium and other trace elements, influence molecular reprogramming, non-coding RNA expression and cancer-associated phenotypes.
Liquid biopsy and translational biomarkers:We use circulating RNA and molecular profiling approaches to identify candidate biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, disease monitoring and treatment stratification.
Publications
For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.