Skin Cancer Research labs
Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in Scotland, and incidence continues to rise. Our teams work across Scotland in discovery, translation and clinical skin cancer research, with a shared goal to improve skin cancer outcomes in Scotland.
Principal Investigator: Professor Liz Patton
Our lab aims to understand how melanoma residual disease contributes to disease progression. We used advanced models of melanoma in zebrafish and in human melanoma culture systems to track cells through time following drug treatments, and to understand how the microenvironment contributes to disease progression. We work closely with the Blacklock and Stares teams to apply our discoveries to both human and veterinary melanoma patients.
Melanoma Clinical Data and Biomarkers lab
Principal Investigator: Mark Stares
Principal Investigator: Dr Ed Roberts
We are interested in how immune responses are initiated and maintained within the lymph node and how this interacts with metastasis. We have a particular interest in how dendritic cells dictate the quality and quantity of anti-melanoma T cell immunity.
Principal Investigator: Dr Pavlina Spiliopoulou
Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Beatson, West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, and a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. Her clinical research focuses on melanoma and early phase clinical trials, particularly novel immunotherapies and adoptive cellular therapies. Pavlina focuses on enhancing the portfolio of immunotherapy and melanoma-specific clinical trials at the Beatson, as well as developing translational projects in melanoma with a focus on biomarkers of immunotherapy response/resistance.
Principal Investigator: Professor Maria Libera Ascierto
A clinical immunologist leading the Translational Pharmacology and Immunology (TPI) program which is the heart of translational research and clinical biomarker discovery at University of Glasgow. Her lab focuses on melanoma and GI cancers which serve as models of immunotherapy sensitive and resistant cancer types.
Dr Valeria Pavet lab
Principal Investigator: Dr Valeria Pavet
Principal Investigator: Professor Gareth J Inman
We are deciphering the molecular landscape of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) disease progression in both sporadic and in Epidermolysis Bullosa patients. We are investigating the biology of cSCC and Head and Neck SCC initiation, metastasis and response to treatment and are developing patient relevant pre-clinical models to identify potential therapeutic vulnerabilities and biomarkers to guide their exploitation for patient benefit.
Principal Investigator: Kelly Blacklock
Our translational research focuses on mucosal melanoma, a highly aggressive cancer with poor prognosis in humans and dogs. We explore mechanisms driving tumour development and metastasis, and canine clinical trials at Edinburgh aim to uncover findings that directly inform human oncology.
Principal Investigator: Professor Srikala Raghavan
The Raghavan lab uses the mammalian skin to interrogate the metabolic underpinnings of epithelial-immune crosstalk in development and disease. These interactions are not only fundamental to understanding how tissues maintain their structure and function, but also to identifying how it goes awry in pathophysiological states including in psoriasis and cancer.
Principal Investigator: Professor Payam Gammage
My lab studies the role of mitochondrial genetic variation in tumour initiation, progression and response to therapy. In our work on melanoma we have discovered that somatic mutation of the mitochondrial genome remodels the tumour immune response, driving sensitivity to checkpoint blockade in patients.
Principal Investigator: Professor Mattias Malaguti
The Malaguti Lab seeks to decode cell-cell communication events between mutant melanocytes and healthy neighbouring cells. To achieve this, we have developed and refined engineering biology tools that allow us to unbiasedly identify, isolate and manipulate direct neighbours of mutant melanocytes in organoid models of human skin.
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