Dr Isabel Pires

• Cancer biology (especially metastasis and therapy resistance)

• Tumour microenvironment

• Cancer therapy, including radiotherapy and targeted therapy

• Modelling the tumour microenvironment

Member of the University of Hull-HYMS Joint Centre for Cancer Studies

Member of the cross-faculty Biomicrofluidics group

External collaborators:

• Prof Ester Hammond (University of Oxford)

• Dr Stephen Maher (Trinity College Dublin)

• Dr Jerry Thomas/David Ashford (University of York)

• Dr Amanda Coutts (Nottingham Trent University)

• Dr Amanda Harvey (Brunel University)

• Dr Marie Kveiborg (BRIC, Copenhagen. Denmark)

• Dr Célia Cabral (Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal)

• Dr Marco Lemos (GIRM, Peniche, Portugal)

Poujade FA, Mannion A, Brittain N, Theodosi A, Beeby E, Leszczynska K, Hammond E M, Greenman J, Cawthorne C, Pires IM. (2018) WSB-1 regulates the metastatic potential of hormone receptor negative breast cancer.British Journal of Cancer, doi: 10.1038/s41416-018-0056-3. [Epub ahead of print]

Pires I M*, Blokland N J, Broos A W, Poujade F A, Senra J M, Eccles S A, Span P N, Harvey A J*, Hammond E M (2014), 'Hypoxia-induced Rapid PTK6 Stabilisation is Associated with Increased Motility and Invasion', Cancer Biology and Therapy, 15(10):1350-7. * Co-corresponding author

Pefani D E, Latusek R, Pires I, Grawenda A M, Yee K S, Hamilton G, van der Weyden L, Esashi F, Hammond E M, O'Neill E (2014), 'RASSF1A-LATS1 Signalling Stabilises Replication Forks by Restricting CDK2-mediated Phosphorylation of BRCA2', Nature Cell Biology, 16 (10), 962-971.

Scrace S, O’Neill E, Hammond E M and Pires I M (2013), 'Use of the xCELLigence System for Real Time Analysis of Changes in Cellular Motility and Adhesion in Physiological Conditions', Adhesion Protein Protocols,Methods in Molecular Biology, 1046: 295-306.

Olcina M M, Foskolou I P, Anbalagan S, Senra J M, Pires I M, Jiang J, Ryan A J, Hammond E M (2013), 'Replication Stress and Chromatin Context Link ATM Activation to a Role in DNA Replication', Molecular Cell, 52(5):758-66.

Full list

MSc

• Cellular and Molecular Biology of Cancer (module coordinator)

• Tumour Immunology and Microenvironment (module coordinator)

• Organ-specific Cancers

• Research Skills

• Current Topics in Biomedical Science

• Research Project and Dissertation

BSc

• Skills for Biomedical Science

• Biological Basis of Disease

• Cancer Biology

• Research Project and Dissertation

Please contact Dr Pires directly if you are interested in joining her group. She welcomes applications/expressions of interest in the following: 

• Novel players in the biology of the tumour microenvironment (particular focus on metastasis)

• Targeting the tumour microenvironment

• Cancer biology, especially breast, colorectal, lung, and oesophageal cancer

• Cancer therapy, especially radiotherapy and targeted therapies

• Modelling the tumour microenviromnment, including 3D models of cancer and lab-on-a-chip 

Completed PhDs

• Flore-Anne Poujade (2013-2016) - as primary supervisor

• Anna Todd (2013-2016) - as primary supervisor

Current PhD supervisions 

• Thomas Collins (2015-2018) - as primary supervisor

• Sarah Argyle (2015-2018) - as primary supervisor 

Current MSc-Res supervisions 

• Merce Gomez-Merchan (2017-2018) - as primary supervisor

• HEA Fellowship

• PCAP (University of Hull)

• HEA Associate Fellowship

• 2007 - Ph.D. Pharmacology, University of Manchester, UK

• 2002 - Licenciatura (Biology), Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

• Chair of the British Association for Cancer Research Media subcommittee (2017 - present)

• External Examiner for the MRes Cancer Sciences Programme, University of Birmingham (2016 – present)

• Biochemical Society Training Theme Panel (2016 - present)

• British Association for Cancer Research meetings and training subcommittee (2015 - present)

• Member of the British Association for Cancer Research executive committee (2015 - present)

• PARSUK Xpand Opportunities award (as supervisor) (2017)

• Biochemical Society Local Ambassador at UoH (2016 - present)

• PARSUK Xperience award (as supervisor) (2014, 2016)

• Staff Excellence Award for Science Communication (2015)

• Breast Cancer Campaign Pilot Grant (2014 - 2015)

• Royal Society Research Grant (2013 - 2014)

• BACR Meeting Bursary to attend the 28th IABCR/Breakthrough Conference, Manchester, UK (2012)

• Talk 1st prize at the 3rd EU-IP DNA Repair Workshop for Young Scientists, Taormina, Italy (2009)

• Bursary to attend the Sixth ESH-UT MD Anderson Cancer Centre International Conference on Mechanisms of Cell Death and Disease, Cascais, Portugal (2006)

• PhD studentship (Foundation for Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Portugal) (2003-2007)

• Bursary to attend the Gordon Research Conference - Genetic Toxicology, Oxford, UK (2003)

• Visiting Scientist Bursary PRODEP III (2001-2002)

• TEDx Hull speaker (2017)

• Author of a chapter on the hallmarks of cancer in 'The Secret Science of Superheroes' (2017)

• Soapbox Science Hull main organiser (2016 - present)

• Co-coordinator of Cafe Scientifique Beverley event (2016 to present)

• Speaker at Pint of Science Hull (2016)

• 'I'm A Scientist Get Me out of Here' outreach event participant (2015)

• Speaker at Soapbox Science London (2014)