I chose this project because it addresses a significant clinical challenge and offers the opportunity to directly impact patient care through collaboration with surgeons, imaging specialists, and bioengineers to develop innovative solutions.
Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide, with around 1.16 million new cases each year. In the UK, over 6,500 people are diagnosed annually, and nearly half present with advanced disease. Peritoneal metastasis is the most frequent site of spread, affecting around one in six patients at diagnosis.
The current UK standard for treating peritoneal metastases is palliative systemic chemotherapy, which has limited effectiveness due to poor drug penetration and modest survival benefits. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy offers a promising alternative, delivering higher local drug concentrations with fewer systemic side effects. However, its success relies on improved patient selection and treatment optimisation.
This iPhD aims to improve outcomes for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastases by integrating multiplex imaging and ex vivo tumour models to study the tumour microenvironment, identify predictive biomarkers, and refine Intraperitoneal chemotherapy strategies. A better understanding of tumour–immune interactions will support the development of personalised, precision therapies.
In parallel with ongoing clinical trials, this research could reshape treatment pathways, improving efficacy, patient selection, and access to curative-intent options for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastases.
I was born in Oklahoma, USA, and I enjoy playing hockey with the Imperial Ladies Medics Hockey team!
My project seeks to identify the proteins that interact with Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel implicated in the progression of various cancers, including breast, gastric, and prostate cancer. By deciphering the Piezo1 interactome, this research could uncover new “druggable”, cancer-specific targets and pave the way for a new class of therapies, which could significantly impact patients with cancers where Piezo1 is overexpressed.
I was drawn to this project as it represents a pioneering convergence of functional proteomics, mechanobiology, and advanced bioimaging. It offers a unique opportunity to gain a multidisciplinary skill set in cutting-edge techniques, from Affinity Purification-Mass Spectrometry (AP-MS) to using GenEPi, a novel biosensor for imaging Piezo1 activity in real-time.