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Department of Oncology

 
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List of talks used to build talks listing on CRUK CI website
Updated: 24 min 44 sec ago

Wed 01 Apr 09:30: Title to be confirmed

Wed, 01/04/2026 - 13:47
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Wed 01 Apr 09:30: Title to be confirmed

Wed, 01/04/2026 - 13:47
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Thu 11 Jun 09:30: Early cancer clinical trials

Wed, 01/04/2026 - 12:13
Early cancer clinical trials

Abstract not available

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Thu 11 Jun 09:30: Early cancer clinical trials

Wed, 01/04/2026 - 12:13
Early cancer clinical trials

Abstract not available

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Thu 16 Apr 09:30: Mutational signatures: From bytes to bedside

Wed, 01/04/2026 - 12:07
Mutational signatures: From bytes to bedside

Abstract not available

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Mon 18 May 12:30: TBC

Thu, 26/03/2026 - 11:22
TBC

TBC

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Mon 27 Apr 12:30:  Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Thu, 26/03/2026 - 11:20
 Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Talk Title: Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR : the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response

Abstract: Many cellular functions are considered “life essential”, but why are they actually essential? Why does a cell die, for instance, when transcription or translation are inhibited, and can we improve cancer therapies by developing a more complete understanding of how cellular life/death decisions are made? To answer these questions, we developed a suite of new tools for studying all forms of cell death. Using these tools, we discovered a previously uncharacterized signaling pathway that we named the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response (PDAR). Activation of PDAR drives the lethality of transcriptional inhibition, and in the absence of PDAR , cells will survive in the absence of transcription. This seminar will focus on how we discovered the PDAR pathway, the contribution of PDAR to cancer therapies, and how this discovery changes our understanding of essentiality and what is (and isn’t) intrinsically stressful to cells.

Current Research/bio: Mike Lee is a Professor of Systems Biology at the UMass Chan Medical School. His research program is focused on Systems Pharmacology of anti-cancer therapies, with an emphasis on understanding the signaling and regulatory mechanisms controlling drug-induced cell death. He is originally from Seattle, Washington, and received his academic training at the University of Washington (BS, Statistics/Cell Biology), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhD, Pharmacology), and MIT (postdoctoral fellowship with Mike Yaffe). 

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Mon 27 Apr 12:30:  Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Wed, 25/03/2026 - 15:55
 Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Talk Title: Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR : the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response

Abstract: Many cellular functions are considered “life essential”, but why are they actually essential? Why does a cell die, for instance, when transcription or translation are inhibited, and can we improve cancer therapies by developing a more complete understanding of how cellular life/death decisions are made? To answer these questions, we developed a suite of new tools for studying all forms of cell death. Using these tools, we discovered a previously uncharacterized signaling pathway that we named the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response (PDAR). Activation of PDAR drives the lethality of transcriptional inhibition, and in the absence of PDAR , cells will survive in the absence of transcription. This seminar will focus on how we discovered the PDAR pathway, the contribution of PDAR to cancer therapies, and how this discovery changes our understanding of essentiality and what is (and isn’t) intrinsically stressful to cells.

Current Research/bio: Mike Lee is a Professor of Systems Biology at the UMass Chan Medical School. His research program is focused on Systems Pharmacology of anti-cancer therapies, with an emphasis on understanding the signaling and regulatory mechanisms controlling drug-induced cell death. He is originally from Seattle, Washington, and received his academic training at the University of Washington (BS, Statistics/Cell Biology), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhD, Pharmacology), and MIT (postdoctoral fellowship with Mike Yaffe). 

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Mon 27 Apr 12:30:  Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Wed, 25/03/2026 - 15:54
 Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR: the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response 

Talk Title: Life, death, and the discovery of PDAR : the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response

Abstract: Many cellular functions are considered “life essential”, but why are they actually essential? Why does a cell die, for instance, when transcription or translation are inhibited, and can we improve cancer therapies by developing a more complete understanding of how cellular life/death decisions are made? To answer these questions, we developed a suite of new tools for studying all forms of cell death. Using these tools, we discovered a previously uncharacterized signaling pathway that we named the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response (PDAR). Activation of PDAR drives the lethality of transcriptional inhibition, and in the absence of PDAR , cells will survive in the absence of transcription. This seminar will focus on how we discovered the PDAR pathway, the contribution of PDAR to cancer therapies, and how this discovery changes our understanding of essentiality and what is (and isn’t) intrinsically stressful to cells.

Current Research/bio: Mike Lee is a Professor of Systems Biology at the UMass Chan Medical School. His research program is focused on Systems Pharmacology of anti-cancer therapies, with an emphasis on understanding the signaling and regulatory mechanisms controlling drug-induced cell death. He is originally from Seattle, Washington, and received his academic training at the University of Washington (BS, Statistics/Cell Biology), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhD, Pharmacology), and MIT (postdoctoral fellowship with Mike Yaffe). 

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Thu 04 Jun 09:30: Using Light for Cancer Detection

Thu, 12/03/2026 - 15:53
Using Light for Cancer Detection

Abstract not available

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Mon 23 Mar 12:30: How life finds a way: resilience in mammalian embryogenesis

Mon, 16/02/2026 - 11:45
How life finds a way: resilience in mammalian embryogenesis

Speaker: Sarah Bowling, Ph.D. Assistant Professor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine​

Title: “How life finds a way: resilience in mammalian embryogenesis​”

Abstract: TBC

Short bio: Dr. Sarah Bowling is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her laboratory focuses on understanding the mechanisms governing resilience in mammalian embryogenesis – i.e. determining how embryos withstand and recover from diverse genetic and environmental perturbations. Sarah carried out her PhD at Imperial College London, where her work focused on understanding the mechanisms and roles of cell competition during early mammalian development. For her postdoctoral research at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology she co-developed new lineage tracing mouse models that enable the simultaneous tracing of millions of cells in vivo with unique, transcribed cellular barcodes. Her laboratory uses a combination of classical embryological approaches combined with next-generation tools to understand cell behavior during embryogenesis.

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