A diverse team of researchers at PGJCCR is tackling the challenges of treating blood cancers. Their focus is on how DNA mutations cause these cancers by altering blood cell development, with the aim of developing targeted therapies. One lab has created a new method to detect chromosomal abnormalities and mutations in lymphoid diseases, potentially improving diagnosis and monitoring. The team is also exploring whether existing drugs, proven safe for conditions like diabetes and heart disease, can be repurposed for treating blood cancers, particularly AML.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Ken Mills ; Dr Lisa Crawford

Prostate Cancer is the most common for men in the UK; in Northern Ireland this translates into an approximately 1000 diagnosis per year. The facts and figures shown below are the driving force for the work developed by the Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence at Queen’s University Belfast.

We have a large, multidisciplinary and dynamic team of basic biologists, translational scientists, epidemiologists, pathologists, radiologists and clinicians who work in partnership to understand the basic mechanisms of disease biology, interrogate novel treatment modalities and combination therapies and translate these findings into clinical trials, to ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Professor Joe O’Sullivan ; Professor Suneil Jain ; Dr Melissa LaBonte Wilson ; Professor Richard Kennedy

Our research groups are focused on breast cancer in several areas. One key effort is understanding the processes behind breast cancer metastasis and identifying factors that increase the risk of secondary breast cancer, aiming to improve prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies.

Research is also being conducted on Triple-Negative breast cancers, particularly those unresponsive to chemotherapy, with the goal of developing blood tests for early detection. In collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome, researchers are investigating the genetic traits underlying male breast cancer, a condition affecting hundreds of men annually in the UK.

Additionally, the Mullan team works on circulating tumor DNA extraction and methylation analysis, particularly in breast cancer, to identify new blood markers for minimally invasive diagnostics.

Research in cancer genomics and bioinformatics integrates large data sets from genome-wide studies (GWAS) with epidemiological data to explore how mutations in non-coding regions influence cancer development. Additionally, our researchers use molecular pathology to improve prognosis in cancer population studies.

A new consortium is undertaking research, funded by the National Cancer Institute in the US, involving DNA analysis from 5,000 men with male breast cancer, aiming to uncover new genetic risk factors. Additionally, prostate cancer epidemiology research at Queen’s combines experimental and computational methods to understand what drives cancer aggressiveness, improving diagnostics and treatments.

LEAD RESEARCHERS: Dr Sarah Maguire ; Dr Stephanie Craig ; Dr Emma Allott