Robb Hollis Research Group

Research in a Nutshell

Ovarian cancer is an umbrella term for a collection of at least six different diseases. A huge body of work over the last 30 years has substantially advanced our understanding of ovarian cancers at the molecular level. This has led to new therapies becoming available for ovarian cancer, many of which are designed to target the fundamental biological defects driving this disease. These treatments are now directly improving the lives of patients.

However, the majority of research so far has focussed on the most common form of ovarian cancer, with far less progress being made in the less common forms of the disease. My research focusses on identifying and characterising molecular defects across different ovarian cancers types. This includes molecular characterisation of samples from patients through genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and other molecular profiling technologies. The aim of this work is to identify additional opportunities for molecular therapies to improve the outcomes of people diagnosed with ovarian cancer, including those with the rarer forms of the disease. 

We also use laboratory ovarian cancer models, such as cells grown in the lab, to investigate the consequences of specific molecular defects in greater detail. This helps us identify drugs that may be of interest for treating specific groups of patients. As part of this work, we derive new laboratory models from samples donated by patients treated here in Edinburgh. This helps expand the number of models that are available for studying ovarian cancer.

• Professor David Gershenson, MD Anderson Cancer Centre
• Professor Charlie Gourley, The University of Edinburgh
• Professor Patricia Roxburgh, University of Glasgow
• Professor C Simon Herrington, The University of Edinburgh
• Professor Ahmed Ahmed, University of Oxford
• Dr Agathe Subtil, Institut Pasteur, Paris
• Dr Neil Ryan, University of Edinburgh
• International Consortium for Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
• Dr Mike Rimmer, NHS Lothian
• Professor Neil Carragher, University of Edinburgh

• Cancer Research UK
• Tenovus Scotland
• Target Ovarian Cancer
• The Nicola Murray Centre for Ovarian Cancer Research
• Wellbeing of Women
• British Gynaecological Cancer Society
• Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Initiative