Department of Oncology

 

Information about Research Group Leaders in Oncology

Dr. Alison Dunning


Departmental title: Research Group Leader.

University Department(s): Oncology and Department of Public Health and Primary Care.

Other Affiliation(s): Strangeways Research Laboratory.

Department of Oncology position(s) held: Research Group Leader at the Strangeways Research Laboratory.

Other position(s) held: None.

Contact:

Other relevant links:



Prospective Students

Applicants for graduate courses (PhD and MPhil):

  • Please contact me to discuss whether I am able to offer you a project BEFORE you submit your online GRADSAF application form for admission to the University. 
  • If I am able to offer you a position, you should then make your online GRADSAF application to the Department of Oncology and state my name in section A(12) of the form.


Research

Title: Genome Wide Association Studies, Confirmation and Fine-Scale Mapping of discovered Loci.

Overview & further information:

Our research projects are centred around the high-throughput genotyping facility at the Strangeways Research Laboratories. Currently our main activities involve the identification of new genetic loci for cancer susceptibility and cancer related traits. Typical examples of our projects are – identifying breast cancer susceptibility loci within the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC); studying variation in normal tissue response to radiotherapy within the RAPPER study; and searching for the determinants and implications of differences in mean telomere length in white blood cells.

Our team specialise in the receipt, storage and handling of blood, DNA and RNA samples for large epidemiological studies. We have robotics and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) capable of routinely handling tens of thousands of samples. We carry out high-throughput SNP genotyping using both TaqmanTM or FluidigmTM systems.

Future directions are likely to involve clonal sequencing technologies for human genome re-sequencing and the application of our high-throughput expertise to develop various assays for molecular epidemiology and genetics research.

Areas:


Funding bodies

  • CR-UK
  • EU FP7

Key publications

  • Spurdle AB, Thompson DJ, Ahmed S, Ferguson K, Healey CS, O'Mara T, Walker LC, Montgomery SB, Dermitzakis ET; The Australian National Endometrial Cancer Study Group, Fahey P, Montgomery GW, Webb PM, Fasching PA, Beckmann MW, Ekici AB, Hein A, Lambrechts D, Coenegrachts L, Vergote I, Amant F, Salvesen HB, Trovik J, Njolstad TS, Helland H, Scott RJ, Ashton K, Proietto T, Otton G; National Study of Endometrial Cancer Genetics Group, Tomlinson I, Gorman M, Howarth K, Hodgson S, Garcia-Closas M, Wentzensen N, Yang H, Chanock S, Hall P, Czene K, Liu J, Li J, Shu XO, Zheng W, Long J, Xiang YB, Shah M, Morrison J, Michailidou K, Pharoah PD, Dunning AM, Easton DF. Genome-wide association study identifies a common variant associated with risk of endometrial cancer. Nat Genet.; 43, 451-4. 2011 [Epub 17 Apr 2011].
  • Turnbull C, Ahmed S, Morrison J, Pernet D, Renwick A, Maranian M, Seal S, Ghoussaini M, Hines S, Healey CS, Hughes D, Warren-Perry M, Tapper W, Eccles D, Evans DG; Breast Cancer Susceptibility Collaboration (UK), Hooning M, Schutte M, van den Ouweland A, Houlston R, Ross G, Langford C, Pharoah PD, Stratton MR, Dunning AM, Rahman N, Easton DF. Genome-wide association study identifies five new breast cancer susceptibility loci. Nat Genet.; 42, 504-7. [Epub 9 May 2010].
  • Pooley KA, Sandhu MS, Tyrer J, Shah M, Driver KE, Luben RN, Bingham SA, Ponder BA, Pharoah PD, Khaw KT, Easton DF, Dunning AM. Telomere length in prospective and retrospective cancer case-control studies. Cancer Res.; 70, 3170-6. 2010.
  • Ahmed S, et al. Newly discovered breast cancer susceptibility loci on 3p24 and 17q23.2., Nat Genet.; 41(5): 585-90; 2009. [Epub 29 Mar 2009].
  • Barnett GC, West CM, Dunning AM, Elliott RM, Coles CE, Pharoah PD, Burnet NG. Normal tissue reactions to radiotherapy: towards tailoring treatment dose by genotype. Nat Rev Cancer; 9: 134-42; 2009.
  • Dunning AM, et al.. Association of ESR1 gene tagging SNPs with breast cancer risk. Hum Mol Genet.; 18(6): 1131-9; 2009. [Epub 6 Jan 2009].
  • Ghoussaini M, Song H, Koessler T, Al Olama AA, Kote-Jarai Z, Driver KE, Pooley KA, Ramus SJ, Kjaer SK, Hogdall E, DiCioccio RA, Whittemore AS, Gayther SA, Giles GG, Guy M, Edwards SM, Morrison J, Donovan JL, Hamdy FC, Dearnaley DP, Ardern-Jones AT, Hall AL, O'Brien LT, Gehr-Swain BN, Wilkinson RA, Brown PM, Hopper JL, Neal DE, Pharoah PD, Ponder BA, Eeles RA, Easton DF, Dunning AM for UK Genetic Prostate Cancer Study Collaborators/ British Association of Urological Surgeons' Section of Oncology; UK ProtecT Study Collaborators. Multiple loci with different cancer specificities within the 8q24 gene desert. J Natl Cancer Inst.; 100: 962-6; 2008.
  • Easton DF, et al. Genome-wide association study identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci. Nature; 447 (7148): 1087-93; 2007.

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