Members

I am a social psychologist by background and have expertise in researching patient experience of symptoms, help-seeking, illness, and diagnosis. My research interests are in the areas of risk perception, risk communication, lived experience of disease, cancer early diagnosis, and promotion of early presentation with symptoms suggestive of cancer. I am interested in researching how patients make sense of their symptoms and seek medical help prior to receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis. I have recently worked on a project funded by the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund which has focused on developing sustainable patient and public involvement (PPI) in mesothelioma research. I am looking for research collaborations that address or include psycho-social aspects of mesothelioma, e.g. patient experience of help-seeking for symptoms later diagnosed as mesothelioma; psychological adjustment to a diagnosis of mesothelioma; facilitating patient and carer involvement in mesothelioma research.

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Our group develops image processing, visualization, and analysis techniques to address data science problems from different areas, such as Medicine, Geology, and Agriculture. The group has investigated and developed interactive machine learning methods for data annotation and design of explainable convolutional neural networks with minimum user effort. Lung cancer, particularly Mesothelioma, is a topic of high interest, in which the group has experience with abnormal lung segmentation, pleural plaque detection, and nodule detection in CT images of the thorax.

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Dr MacPherson is the lead contact for the Network and the clinical study Meso-ORIGINS, which she co-ordinates.

Professor Biankin is a surgeon-scientist and Director of the Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre at the University of Glasgow, where he established the Glasgow Precision Oncology Laboratory in 2016. Professor Biankin is also Chair of the UK-wide Precision-Panc programme of clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer. Professor Biankin is the Executive Director of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology (ICGC ARGO) project.
www.gpol.org

Meso-ORIGINS Study Site Co-investigator for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Professor Biankin is a surgeon-scientist and Director of the Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre at the University of Glasgow, where he established the Glasgow Precision Oncology Laboratory in 2016. Professor Biankin is also Chair of the UK-wide Precision-Panc programme of clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer. Professor Biankin is the Executive Director of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, Accelerating Research in Genomic Oncology (ICGC ARGO) project.
www.gpol.org

I am a social psychologist by background and have expertise in researching patient experience of symptoms, help-seeking, illness, and diagnosis. My research interests are in the areas of risk perception, risk communication, lived experience of disease, cancer early diagnosis, and promotion of early presentation with symptoms suggestive of cancer. I am interested in researching how patients make sense of their symptoms and seek medical help prior to receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis. I have recently worked on a project funded by the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund which has focused on developing sustainable patient and public involvement (PPI) in mesothelioma research. I am looking for research collaborations that address or include psycho-social aspects of mesothelioma, e.g. patient experience of help-seeking for symptoms later diagnosed as mesothelioma; psychological adjustment to a diagnosis of mesothelioma; facilitating patient and carer involvement in mesothelioma research.

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Drug discovery, kinase inhibitors, prodrug strategies

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Works as a Pleural and Lung Cancer Consultant working in a busy tertiary hospital.

We are a computational biology group based in the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh with broad interests in human disease genomics and molecular evolution. Our group performs computational analyses of large-scale genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets to shed light on the regulatory mechanisms encoded in the human genome. We also study the ways these mechanisms can be disrupted in developmental disorders and in cancers such as mesothelioma.

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David Chang is a surgeon scientist who specialises in the treatment of malignant pancreatic diseases. His research focus is on the development and implementation of novel therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer, particularly around DNA-damage response deficiency, by utilising molecular biomarkers of prognosis and therapeutic responsiveness. David co-leads Precision-Panc, a pan-UK initiative to deliver personalised cancer care for pancreatic cancer, and is the chief investigator of its Master Protocol and the first inter-related clinical trials. He is also involved in the Precision Promise initiative, a Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (USA) initiative dedicated in delivering personalized treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer, and contributes to ICGC ARGO, aiming to shape the future of the next generation cancer genomic projects to ultimately realise the goals and promises of precision medicine.

Clinically, David is an Honorary Consultant Pancreatic Surgeon at Glasgow Royal Infirmary as part of the West of Scotland Pancreatic Unit that serves as tertiary pancreatic referral centre for the West of Scotland. His research aims to shorten the distance between the bench and the clinic to ensure meaningful and seamless translation between the two.

Dr. Friedberg has published more than 100 peer reviewed articles, more than 30 book chapters, and is the inventor on multiple U.S. patents. He has over 100 national and international research presentations and has been an invited speaker and visiting professor, both nationally and internationally. He has also performed demonstration operations across the globe. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the Board of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, and the Mesothelioma Committee for the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. He has served in multiple editorial positions, including the original Thoracic Surgery Section Editor for UpToDate.

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The Le Quesne group use quantitative deep phenotyping methods to ask questions about tumour biology in intact tissues from humans and from animal models. We have particular interests in the dysregulation of mRNA translation, in the complex tumour microenvironment, in morphological biomarkers, and in the development of highly multiplexed quantitative methods using machine learning methods. Mesothelioma is an area of particular interest.

Judy is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the University of Liverpool, where she runs a research group funded by North West Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Now, Fight for Sight, EPSRC and the NC3Rs. Her research interests are in deciphering the interplay between signalling, transcriptional regulation, and the modification of proteins by reversible ubiquitylation, with the aim of translating discoveries as potential therapeutic approaches or biomarkers, in mesothelioma, uveal melanoma or breast cancer. Her lab has been working on the discovery of BAP1-dependent therapeutic sensitivities in mesothelioma and recently developed novel chick embryo CAM xenografts of mesothelioma cell lines and patient-derived tissues (PDX) for preclinical testing. Judy has established a Liverpool Chick Embryo Facility (CEF) together with the Facility Manager Dr Sarah Barnett at the University of Liverpool, which can provide collaborative support or services for internal and external projects. Judy is a member of the Mesothelioma UK Research and Audit Scientific Committee and has served on advisory boards including the Mesothelioma Research Network Steering Group. She is the Deputy Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Technology, Infrastructure and Environment in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Liverpool, and the Faculty Lead for Equality Diversity and Inclusion.

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PREDICT-Meso Collaborator WP5.1, lead for Meso-ORIGINS study exhaled breath analysis

Kevin Lamote graduated as Master in Biomedical Sciences in 2011 at Ghent University (Belgium). At the same university, he obtained his PhD in 2017 where he developed and validated a breath test to detect malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer in at risk asbestos-exposed individuals based upon the analysis of volatiles in breath by using mass spectrometry, sensor and spectroscopic techniques. Since then, he works as postdoc at the University of Antwerp where he is currently assessing the clinical utility of the breath test and extending his research to studying the volatiles in the gut and lung microbiome, and their use as diagnostic and monitoring biomarkers in non-malignant diseases in vivo as well as in vitro. He is a member of the European Respiratory Society and the international Association for breath research. He is also associate editor for Microbiota in Health and Disease and a member of the Basic Science Working Group of the Belgian Respiratory Society. He is (co-)promotor of 6 ongoing PhD’s all studying different aspects of breath analysis.

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PREDICT-Meso Network PI, Co-Lead WP1, Co-Lead WP5.1

Kevin Blyth is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at University of Glasgow, and Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC). Following completion of Internal and Respiratory Medicine training and the award of an MD in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, he was appointed as a Consultant in 2009. He splits his time between the CRUK Beatson Institute/University of Glasgow and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he leads the Glasgow Pleural Disease Unit. He founded and is Director of the Macmillan Scottish Mesothelioma Network, which coordinates clinical care and access to clinical trials for Mesothelioma patients in Scotland. He is an NHS Scotland Research (NRS) Senior Research Fellow and leads a translational research program focused on pleural disease and thoracic malignancy, and has a particular interest in Mesothelioma. He is Principal Investigator of the CRUK PREDICT-Meso International Accelerator Network, and Meso-ORIGINS study site PI for the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, NHS GGC.

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Full Bio
As a pathologist I’m daily dedicated to diagnostic histopathology and cytology of thoracic oncology together with diagnostic immunohistochemistry and molecular biology techniques applied to histo- and cytopathology. As a researcher my fields of interest are mainly focused on translational studies of histology, immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology applied to thoracic tumors: in particular, I studied the application of immunocytochemistry and molecular biology to identify new biomarkers of neoplasia and/or characterise the phenotypic and molecular profile of various human thoracic tumors, such as non-small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma and neuroendocrine tumors, establishing correlation with clinico-pathological parameters, response to therapy and prognosis.
Prof Righi’s team will provide retrospective MPM pairs and provide expertise in diagnostic histo- and cyto-pathology on MPM samples as part of WP1 .

I have been working on mesothelioma (MPM) for many years and published 113 peer reviewed papers on this tumor to date. My group is currently particularly active in setting up 3D model of MPM and Bio-banking aimed at validating novel avenues of treatment. We have developed an extended expertise in detecting novel actionable targets with particular focus in DNA repair, metabolism and markers of immune-resistance

Areas of interest: Pleural disorders and interventions, lung cancer including mesothelioma endobronchial ultrasound
Clinical lead for Pleural diseases
Clinical lead Scottish National Mesothelioma Network – Grampian

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The Cancer Epigenetics group continues the wide-ranging work on epigenetics that Manel Esteller, the group leader, has carried out during his career until now. Current research is devoted to the establishment of the epigenome and epitranscriptome maps for normal and transformed cells, the study of the interactions between epigenetic modifications and non-coding RNAs, and the development of new epigenetic drugs for cancer therapy.
The Cancer Epigenetics Group’s main research interests are:
– Epigenetic disruption of mRNA transcription, particularly in DNA methylation and histone modification patterns, and its contribution to the initiation and progression of human tumours.
– Translation of the use of epigenetic knowledge gained from research into biomarkers to predict clinical outcome and to assay new drugs to reverse the distorted epigenetic landscape.
– Development and study of new epigenetic drugs that target DNA methylation and histone modification writers, readers and erasers and could have an anti-cancer effect.
– Study of monogenic disorders affecting epigenetic genes, particularly in Rett syndrome.
Study of epigenomic profiles of common diseases such as cardiovascular alterations and Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases.
– Establishment of new epigenomic platforms to elaborate comprehensive DNA methylome maps.
In addition, the study of epitranscriptomics is a focus of intense research in the group.

PREDICT-Meso Co-Lead WP3.1, Co-Investigator WP4

My group participated in the identification of HMGB1 as an initial pathogenetic trigger in the inflammation that accompanies the development of mesothelioma and later as a pro-tumoral molecule secreted by tumour cells and macrophages in mesothelioma.
More recently, we have been developing molecules to target, mouse models of mesothelioma and organoids from human mesothelioma fragments to assess the efficacy of antitumor drugs.
We have recently developed technology to obtain organoids from human and mouse non-tumoral pleura and mesothelioma surgical fragments and will disseminate to other coinvestigators in the UK our expertise in generating and exploiting these novel patient-derived models (as part of WP3). As part of WP4, we also plan to test BoxA, our most interesting anti-mesothelioma drug lead, as an exemplar drug on human organoids and on genetically modified mesothelioma models (GEMMs) developed by other team members

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Medical Degree by the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
MSc in Investigative Pathology at UFCSPA.
PhD student in Investigative Pathology at UFCSPA.
Radiology resident at St. Lucas Hospital, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Special research interests in thoracic imaging, quantitative analysis of imaging exams, and meta-analyses.

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Mark Neilly graduated with an MBChB from the University of Dundee in 2016 and completed Internal Medicine Training in the West of Scotland in 2022.

He is currently undertaking a PhD in Cancer Sciences with the University of Glasgow.
His role is centred around the clinical elements of PREDICT-Meso, namely the coordination of recruitment to Meso-ORIGINS.

Prof Papotti’s team will provide retrospective MPM pairs and provide expertise in diagnostic histo- and cyto-pathology on MPM samples as part of WP1.

Prof. Campanella is internationally acknowledged as an expert in the field of mitochondrial cell biology and pharmacology. His scientific breakthroughs, up to date, regard hidden pathways of homeostatic mitochondrial function and their pharmacological regulation. As leader of the RVC oncology interest group he is engaged in studying Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) pathogenic signalling for which they have developed useful tools of analysis, and gained valuable observations on regulatory mechanisms of intracellular communication. The overall aim is to unveil early predictive markers as well as targets for therapeutic intervention to be achieved by pursuing comparative validation approaches.

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Providing expertise in clinical trials, translational mesothelioma work including cell lines and drug sensitivity. Meso-ORIGINS study site PI for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

Research interests: Randomised controlled clinical trials; Pleural disease & interventions; Newer treatments including immunotherapy

Nikolaos is the lead postdoctoral researcher at the laboratory of Pleural and Lung Cancer Translational Research, Nuffield Department, University of Oxford. His interests are focused on the development of faithful models of pleural disease which could be applied in translational research.

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PREDICT-Meso Co-Investigator & Co-Lead WP1

Dr Rintoul is University Reader in Thoracic Oncology in the Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician, Royal Papworth Hospital. He trained in respiratory medicine in London and Edinburgh receiving his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh for work investigating mechanisms underlying resistance to chemotherapy in small cell lung cancer. He was appointed consultant in respiratory medicine specialising in thoracic oncology at Royal Papworth Hospital in 2005 before taking up his current post in 2017. Dr Rintoul is lead clinician for cancer at Royal Papworth Hospital and Director of the Papworth Trials Unit Collaboration. He is co-lead of the CRUK Cambridge Centre Aerodigestive Programme and co-ordinates thoracic oncology research across Cambridge. From January 2021 he has been appointed chair of the clinical advisory group of the UK Lung Cancer Coalition.

Dr Rintoul’s research is focused around clinical trials, translational research and tissue banking in malignant mesothelioma and the early detection of lung cancer. He is Chief Investigator for several clinical translational studies examining biomarkers in lung cancer. In 2012 he founded MesobanK, the UK national bioresource for malignant mesothelioma (www.mesobank.com). His work is funded by the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health Research and the British Lung Foundation. He is Co-Lead for PREDICT-Meso WP1 and Meso-ORIGINS study site PI for Royal Papworth Hospital.

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