Dr Carlos Martínez-Pérez (BSc, MSc, PhD)

Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Edinburgh Breast Cancer Now Research Team & Translational Oncology Research Group
  • Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre
  • MRC Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC)

Contact details

Address

Street

Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre
Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine
The University of Edinburgh
Western General Hospital
Crewe Road South

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH4 2XU

Background

Following an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, I moved to the UK to study an MSc in Molecular Medicine in Cranfield University, followed by a PhD in Molecular and Clinical Medicine (Pathology) in the University of Edinburgh, working on a SULSA BioSkape industrial collaboration project focused on pre-clinical drug development in breast and ovarian cancers.

Upon completion of my PhD, I joined the Breast Cancer Now Edinburgh and Translational Oncology Research groups, at the Edinburgh Cancer Research UK Centre within the MRC Institute of Genetics and Cancer. As a postdoctoral researcher, my work focuses on translational studies in breast cancer, including the projects on ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) and the study of genomic aberrations linked to the development of resistance to treatment.

Qualifications

  • PhD Molecular and Clinical Medicine (Pathology)

       Division of Pathology Laboratories, IGMM, University of Edinburgh – Awarded in March 2017

  • MSc(Res) Molecular Medicine

       Cranfield University (2011) - Awarded best student prize

  • BSc (Hons) Biotechnology

       Polytechnic University of Valencia (2010)

Responsibilities & affiliations

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) – Member 

British Association for Cancer Research (BACR) – Member 

European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) – Member 

Biochemical Society – Member 

Royal Society of Biology (RBS) – Associate Member 

Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK - Member

Association of Biotechnologists of Valencia (ABiVa) – Founding Member 

Research summary

Carlos is currently interested in translational breast cancer research. This approach integrates the work that goes on in the clinic and the laboratory, to try to bridge the gap between both. By focusing on researching the molecular cancer mechanisms linked to specific issues patients and doctors encounter daily, translational research can take results “from lab bench to beside”, directly addressing current and urgent clinical needs. Particularly, Carlos is interested and currenly focuses on the development of novel predictive and diagnostic clinical tools.

Current research interests

Carlos's current role as postdoctoral research associate in the Breast Cancer Now Edinburgh Research Team includes investigating local recurrence prediction in patients treated for breast carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS). The project aims to use modelling analysis to identify novel biomarkers with prognostic power and develop predictive tools integrating these with clinical or histopathological parameters for robust risk stratification of DCIS lesions. He is also involved in a project concerned with in-depth genomic analysis of ER+ breast cancers presenting multidrug endocrine therapy resistance, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina. Specifically, he is in charge of developing an application for the detection of mutations linked to impaired response to standard-of-care therapies. Other research includes the NEO project, a study of factors predicting response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients, in collaboration with Dr Olga Oikonomidou. 

Past research interests

Carlos's previous research has included the pre-clinical development of novel cancer drug candidates. He worked on this during his PhD, in collaboration with the Aberdeen-based pharma company Antoxis Ltd.

View all 33 publications on Research Explorer

Conference details

International Conferences

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) 2019 - 6 posters

ESMO Breast Cancer Congress 2019 - poster

SABCS 2018 - 8 posters

SABCS 2017 - 4 posters

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2016 - poster

SABCS 2015 - 3 posters

SABCS 2014 - 2 posters and oral communication

National Conferences

Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium (EBCSS) 2021 - Member of the organising committee

EBCSS 2020 - Member of the organising committee & 7 posters

UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium (UK-IBCS) 2020 - 4 posters

BACR Special Conference 'New developments in Breast Cancer research' - 2 posters & 1 oral presentation

UK-IBCS 2018 - poster

Scottish Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Conference 2015 - poster and oral communication - awarded best poster prize

Beatson Institute Visualising Cancer Conference 2014 - oral communication

Biochemical Society Focused Meeting: Redox Regulation in Health & Disease 2014 - poster and oral communication

Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliances (SULSA) annual symposium 2014 - 2 posters - awarded best overall poster prize

SULSA annual symposium 2013 - poster

Organiser

Edinburgh Breast Cancer Special Symposium (EBCSS) - Member of the organising committee in 2020 and 2021

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for the management of Breast Cancer - Clinical Training Day (2021) - Member of the organising committee

Endocrine Therapy for the management of Breast Cancer - Clinical Training Day (2020) - Member of the organising committee

Published abstracts

  • Abstract P1-18-07: Can some ER+/HER2+ patients be safely spared from treatment with chemotherapy plus herceptin? Turnbull AK, Webber V, McStay D, Arthur LM, Martinez-Perez C, Meehan J, Gray M, Kay C, Renshaw L, Keys J, Clarke R, Sims AH, Oikonomidou O, Dixon JM. Poster presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Abstract P2-11-06: Assessment of ESR1 genomic aberrations and their role in endocrine therapy resistance in breast cancer. Martinez-Perez C, Kay C, Meehan J, Gray M, Swan R, Renshaw L, Keys J, Sims AH, Oikonomidou O, Dixon JM, Turnbull AK. Poster presented at SABCS 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Abstract P4-02-09: Factors affecting the number of sentinel lymph nodes removed in the treatment and staging of breast cancer? Dixon JM, Grewar J, Twelves D, Kay C, Martinez-Perez C, Meehan J, Gray M, Turnbull AK. Poster presented at SABCS 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Abstract P6-04-03: In-depth genomic analysis of acquired resistance to multiple sequential lines of endocrine therapy in breast cancer. Turnbull AK, Xia Y, Martinez-Perez C, Oikonomidou O, Meehan J, Gray M, Carey LA, Perou CM, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Abstract P6-10-18: Development and validation of novel biomarkers of response to radiotherapy in breast cancer. Meehan J, Gray M, Martinez-Perez C, Kay C, Dixon JM, Wills J, Ward C, Von Kriegsheim A, Quinn N, Oikonomidou O, Cameron D, Langdon SP, Argyle D, Kunkler IH, Turnbull AK. Poster presented at SABCS 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Abstract P6-16-04: IL6ST, a biomarker of endocrine therapy response, has potential in identifying a subgroup of women with ER+ DCIS who are more likely to benefit from adjuvant endocrine therapy. Martinez-Perez C, Kay C, Swan R, Ekatah GE, Arthur LM, Meehan J, Gray M, Sims AH, Oikonomidou O, Turnbull AK, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2019. Cancer Res 2020, 80 (4 Suppl)
  • Novel rationale for a more targeted use of endocrine therapy in the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS). Martínez-Pérez C, Kay C, Swan R, Ekatah GE, Arthur LM, Meehan J, Gray M, Sims AH, Turnbull AK, Dixon JM. Oral presentation at BACR Special Conference 'New developments in Breast Cancer'.
  • Identification of biomarkers of radiation responsiveness from ER+ radioresistant breast cancer cell line models. Meehan J, Gray M, Turnbull AK, Martínez-Pérez C, Kay C, Willis K, Van Kriegsheim A, Quinn N, Kunkler IH, Murray A, Argyle A. Poster presented at BACR Special Conference 'New developments in Breast Cancer'.
  • ER pathway activity score as predictive biomarker to improve stratification for neo-adjuvant endocrine therapy. Keizer DM, Inda MA, Clout D, van de Stolpe A, Fernando A, Martinez-Perez C, Dixon JM, Sims AH, Turnbull AK. Poster presented at ESMO Breast Cancer Conference 2019. Annals of Oncology 2019, 30 (suppl_3): iii1-iii26
  • Unlocking the transcriptomic potential of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded breast cancer tissues for high-throughput genomic analysis. Turnbull AK, Selli C, Martinez-Perez C, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Keys J, Figueroa JD, He X, Tanioka M, Munro A, Murphy L, Fawkes A, Clarke R, Coutts A, Perou CM, Carey LA, Dixon JM, Sims AH. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P3-06-17.
  • Predicting benefit from HER2-targeted therapies in patients with ER+/HER2+ breast cancer. Turnbull AK, Webber V, McStay D, Arthur L, Martinez-Perez C, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Keys J, Clarke R, Sims AH, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P3-10-26.
  • On-treatment biomarkers improve prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Bownes RJ, Turnbull AK, Martinez-Perez C, Sims AH, Oikonomidou O. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P3-11-09.
  • Tumor-secreted predictive biomarkers of response to radiotherapy in breast cancer. Meehan J, Gray M, Turnbull AK, Martinez-Perez C, Bonello M, Ward C, Langdon SP, McLughlin S, MacLennan M, Dixon JM, Wills J, Quinn N, Finich AJ, von Kriegsheim A, Cameron D, Kunkler IH, Murray A, Argyle D. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P3-12-24.
  • Tracking ESR1 mutation clonal evolution in breast cancer using in situ mutation detection. Martinez-Perez C, Turnbull AK, Tanioka M, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Keys J, Wheless A, Garrett A, Parker J, He X, Sims AH, Carey LA, Perou CM, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P5-04-14.
  • Investigating the incidence of ESR1 gene amplification in breast cancers resistant to multiple endocrine agents. Turnbull AK, Martinez-Perez C, Mok S, Tanioka M, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Keys J, Wheless A, Garrett A, Parker J, He X, Sims AH, Carey LA, Perou CM, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P5-04-27.
  • Measurement of on-treatment proliferation biomarkers in nodal metastasis improves prediction of endocrine therapy response using the EA2CliN test. Turnbull AK, Mok S, Martinez-Perez C, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Keys J, Sims AH, Dixon JM.. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P5-11-03.
  • A predictive model for local recurrence in patients treated for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS). Martinez-Perez C, Turnbull AK, Fernando A, Ekatah GE, Arthur LM, Cartlidge CW, Johns N, Sims AH, Thomas JS, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2018. Cancer Res 2019; P5-18-03.
  • Stratification of patients treated for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) according to risk of local recurrence. Martínez-Pérez C, Turnbull AK, Fernando A, Ekatah GE, Arthur LM, Sims AH, Thomas JS, Dixon JM. Poster presented at UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium (UK IBCS) 2018. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2018, 167: 346; P2-11.
  • Causes of endocrine therapy resistance: an in-depth genomic analysis of resistant multidrug ER+ breast cancers. Dixon JM, Tanioka M, Turnbull AK, Wheless A, Garrett A, Martínez-Pérez C, Parker J, He X, Sims AH, Thomas JS, Carey LA, Perou CM. Poster presented at SABCS 2017. Cancer Res 2018, 78 (4 Suppl); P4-03-01.
  • Predicting local recurrence in patients treated for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS). Martínez-Pérez C, Turnbull AK, Ekatah GE, Arthur LM, Sims AH, Thomas JS, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2017. Cancer Res 2018, 78 (4 Suppl); P5-11-02.
  • Characterising the effects of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy on primary cancers and nodal metastases. Dixon JM, Turnbull AK, Tanoika M, Fernando A, Wheless A, Garrett A, Martínez-Pérez C, Renshaw L, Keys J, Parker J, He X, Sims AH, Thomas JS, Carey LA, Perou CM. Poster presented at SABCS 2017. Cancer Res 2018, 78 (4 Suppl); P4-04-02.
  • Understanding the mechanisms of action underlying the role of IL6ST, a key biomarker for prediction of response to endocrine therapy. Turnbull AK, Fernando A, Martínez-Pérez C, Finch AJ, Von Kriegsheim A, Wills J, Quinn N, Selli C, Mosly D, Langdon SP, Sims AH, Dixon JM. Poster presented at SABCS 2017. Cancer Res 2018, 78 (4 Suppl); P4-08-02.
  • The EA2clin test significantly predicts response and survival in both pre and post-menopausal women with ER-positive breast cancers. Turnbull AK, Pearce DA, Arthur LM, Martinez-Perez C, Thomas JS, Fernando A, Renshaw L, Sims AH, Dixon JM. (SABCS, 2016) Cancer Res 2017, 77 (4 Suppl); P6-09-27
  • Study of the effect of novel anticancer agent Oncamex on gene expression profiles of preclinical breast cancer models. Martinez-Perez C, Turnbull AK, Ward C, Mullen P, Meehan J, Jarman EJ, Cook, G, Thomson PIT, Campbell CJ, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (ASCO, 2016) J Clin Oncol 2016, 24 (suppl; abstr e14071)
  • A test utilising diagnostic and on-treatment biomarkers for significantly improved prediction of response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer. Turnbull AK, Lee Y, Pearce D, Martinez-Perez C, Udin S, Webb H, Fernando A, Thomas J, Renshaw L, Sims AH, Dixon JM. (ASCO, 2016) J Clin Oncol 2016, 24 (suppl; abstr 555)
  • Modulation of hypoxia-inducible factors and the HIF transcriptional response to hypoxia by ERBB2 overexpression in the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Jarman E, Ward C, Meehan J, Martinez-Perez C, Turnbull AK, Langdon S. (SABCS, 2015) Cancer Res 2016, 76 (4 Suppl); P4-08-06
  • Targeting the pH regulatory mechanisms of breast cancer cells. Meehan J, Ward C, Jarman E, Martinez-Perez C, Turnbull AK, Langdon S. (SABCS, 2015) Cancer Res 2016, 76 (4 Suppl); P5-04-05
  • In-depth genomic analysis of ER+ breast cancers during development of endocrine resistance. Dixon JM, Turnbull AK, Fan C, Parker J, He X, Arthur L, Martinez-Perez C, Renshaw L, Perou CM. (SABCS, 2014) Cancer Res 2015, 75 (9 Suppl); S1-05
  • Novel flavonoid Anto-028 shows promising antitumor activity in preclinical models of breast cancer. Martinez-Perez C, Ward C, Mullen P, Cook G, McPhail D, Turnbull AK, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (SABCS, 2014) Cancer Res 2015, 75 (9 Suppl); P6-02-08

Other presentations

  • From concept to mouse: development of novel antitumoural Oncamex in pre-clinical models of breast cancer. Martinez-Perez C, Ward C, Turnbull AK, Mullen P, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (Scottish Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Conference, 2015)
  • Microscopy as a tool in the development of novel breast cancer drugs: from hypothesis validation to mechanism of action and in vivo models. Martinez-Perez C, Ward C, Turnbull AK, Mullen P, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (Beatson Institute Visualising Cancer Conference, 2014)
  • Study and characterisation of Anto-028, a novel flavonoid with promising antitumour properties. Martinez-Perez C, Ward C, Turnbull AK, Mullen P, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (SULSA, 2014)
  • Organelle-specific fluorescent microscopy as a tool for the investigation of the mechanism of action of Anto-028, a novel breast cancer drug. Martinez-Perez C, Ward C, Turnbull AK, Mullen P, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (SULSA, 2014)
  • Investigation of the role of ROS modulation in the antitumour effect of a novel breast cancer drug. Martinez-Perez C, Mullen P, Ward C, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon, SP. (Biochemical Society Focused Meeting: Redox Regulation in Health & Disease, 2014)
  • Evaluation of the antitumour activity of AO-1530-OMe and other novel flavonoids in breast cancer cell models. Martinez-Perez C, Mullen P, Ward C, Cook G, McPhail D, Harrison DJ, Langdon SP. (SULSA, 2013) 

* See ResearchGate profile for downloadable versions of these posters.