Investigating Novel Radiation-sensitising Drugs

Radiation therapy is a common treatment modality for cancer patients that eliminates malignant cells through the delivery of high-energy photons. Despite advancements in radiation therapy technologies, factors such as the presence of tumour hypoxia or cell-intrinsic mechanisms of radioresistance limit the effectiveness of this treatment modality. This project aims to investigate the potential of novel drugs to enhance tumour radiosensitivity without causing toxicity to normal tissues. The research plan includes conducting in vitro and in vivo experiments using a broad panel of cancer cells to evaluate the radiosensitising effects of novel compounds which are currently being investigated in Geoff Higgins’ lab (Department of Oncology, University of Oxford). The radiosensiting capacity of these drugs and their mechanisms of action will be determined using a broad range of cell & molecular biology techniques, like colony formation assays, tumour growth delay assays, the analysis of DNA damage repair pathways by fluorescence microscopy and reporter assays, cell cycle determination by flow cytometry, gene silencing, cytogenetics assays, or protein biochemistry, amongst other techniques.