Edinburgh Cancer Research

Research

Scientists and clinicians working together to beat cancer.

The Edinburgh Cancer Research is a part of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, however, in addition to scientists based at the IGC, our cancer research is carried out at other University of Edinburgh sites (our affiliates) or NHS Lothian locations. 

A broad spectrum of tumor types are studied by our investigators and we aspire to be world class in key themes, bringing innovation and unique twists to basic cancer science, drug development and clinical translation.  

Some areas studied by our researchers include:

  1. The state of the host: lifestyle, risk and prevention
  2. Stem cells and the cancer niche
  3. Signal transduction and biological mechanisms
  4. Phenomics Drug Discovery, incorporating advanced imaging, pathway profiling and novel informatics solutions
  5. Stratification for therapy

Clinical/translational emphasis is largely in colorectal cancer, women’s cancers (breast, ovarian and endometrial), and more recently in brain cancer, but we have also initiated new research programmes in three new cancer types; sarcoma, renal cancer and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a poorly researched cancer of unmet need.

Mark Arends

M.Arends research
Colorectal Cancer Pathology

Kathryn Ball

K.Ball research
Proteostasis and Immune Signalling in Cancer and Dementia

Nezha Benabdallah

Chromatin Regulators in Cancer

Paul Brennan

P.Brennan research
Brain Tumour Research Group

Gerry Brien

Chromatin Biochemistry and Epigenetics

Ewan Brown

NHS Lothian
Melanoma and Colorectal Cancer

Val Brunton

V.Brunton research
Signalling and the regulation of cancer growth and metastasis

David Cameron

D.Cameron research
Clinical Trials in Breast Cancer

Neil Carragher

Phenotypic discovery facility research
Drug Discovery

Sally Clive

impact and innovation CRUK EC NHS
Early Phase Clinical Trials Co-lead

Farhat Din

F.Din research
Metabolism and Energy Signalling in Colorectal Cancer

Mike Dixon

M.Dixon research
Breast Cancer Now Edinburgh Research Team

Malcolm Dunlop

M.Dunlop research
Colon Cancer Genetics

Marie Fallon

EPAS Logo
Edinburgh Palliative and Supportive Care Group (EPAS)

Susan Farrington

S.Farrington - Research Programme 2
Colorectal Cancer Genetics

Margaret Frame

M.Frame research
Adhesion networks in cancer

Noor Gammoh

N.Gammoh research
Brain Cancer Survival Pathways

Charlie Gourley

C.Gourley research
Nicola Murray Centre for Ovarian Cancer Research

Robin Grant

NHS Lothian
Causes, Treatment and Management of Glioma

Peter Hall

P.Hall research
Clinical Informatics and Health Economics in Cancer

Larry Hayward

NHS Lothian
Sarcoma and Breast Cancer

Simon Herrington

S.Herrington research
Molecular Cancer Pathology

Robb Hollis

Molecular defects in ovarian cancers

Ted Hupp

T Hupp research
Next Generation Technologies for Drug Discovery In Cancer

Ian Kunkler

I.Kunkler research
Clinical and Translational Studies of Breast Radiotherapy

Barry Laird

EPaS-Edinburgh Palliative and Supportive Care Group
Improving the Care of Patients with Cancer

Simon Langdon

Targeting ovarian and breast cancer cell signalling pathways

Kevin Myant

K.Myant research
Colorectal Stem Cell Transformation​

Olga Oikonomidou

Dr.Oikonomidou research
Clinical Translational Research in Breast Cancer

Steven Pollard

S.Pollard research
Neural Stem Cells and Brain Cancer

Bin-Zhi Qian

Extravasation-Macrophage
Tumour Microenvironment in Cancer Metastasis and Therapy Resistance

Dirk Sieger

D.Seiger research
In Vivo Studies of Microglia-glioma Interactions

Duncan Sproul

D.Sproul research
Cancer Epigenetics

Lesley Stark

L.Stark research
NF-kB - Nucleolar Signalling

Stefan Symeonides

impact and innovation CRUK EC NHS
Drug Development and Early Phase Cancer Trials 

Evropi Theodoratou

Large intestine bowel
Colorectal Cancer Epidemiology

Jeremy Thomas

NHS Lothian
Breast Cancer

Arran Turnbull

M.Dixon research
Translational Oncology Research Team – Breast & Prostate Cancer

Asier Unciti-Broceta

A.Unciti-Broceta research
Innovative Therapeutics

Alexander von Kriegsheim

Alexander von Kriegsheim research
Network Biology and Proteomics

Simon Wilkinson

S.Wilkinson research
Autophagy in Tissue Homeostasis and Cancer

Alan Serrels

Tumour Immune Environment

Tim Aitman (Affiliate)

Diagnosis of rare recessive disease by exome sequencing

Ahsan Akram (Affiliate)

Imaging in Lung Cancer for treatment stratification

Luke Boulter (Affiliate)

Signalling in Tissue Repair and Cancer

Hilary Critchley (Affiliate)

Endometrial Biology and Menstrual Related Bleeding Complaints

Andy Downes (Affiliate)

Label-free Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging

Elaine Dzierzak (Affiliate)

Laboratory for Haematological Regeneration

Sara Erridge (Affiliate)

NHS Clinical Oncologist specialising in Neuro-Oncology

Ailith Ewing (Affiliate)

Evolutionary trajectories of structural variation in cancer

Yi Feng (Affiliate)

Cancer prevention - in vivo models of tumour initiation

Jonine Figueroa (Affiliate)

Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer

Stuart Forbes (Affiliate)

Liver Regeneration and Cholangiocarcinoma

Alison Hulme (Affiliate)

Synthesis and Chemical Biology

Katrin Ottersbach (Affiliate)

Developmental Origins of Blood Stem Cells and Leukaemia

Ava Khamseh (Affiliate)

Biomedical Artificial Intelligence

Liz Patton (Affiliate)

Melanocyte Development and Melanoma

Jeffrey Pollard (Affiliate)

Cancer Research Interests

Philippa Saunders (Affiliate)

Sex Steroid Hormone Action in Reproductive Health and Disease

Gerry Thompson (Affiliate)

Neuroimaging research

Adam Waldman (Affiliate)

Imaging Biomarkers in Adult Glioma

Sarah Walmsley (Affiliate)

Hypoxic regulation of neutrophilic inflammation