Valerie Speirs | |
---|---|
Alma mater |
University of Aberdeen (BSc) University of Glasgow (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields |
Cancer biology Breast cancer Molecular pathology [1] |
Institutions |
University of Aberdeen University of Leeds University of Liverpool University of Hull The Hospital for Sick Children |
Thesis | The role of fibroblasts in the differentiation of human non-small cell lung carcinoma (1989) |
Doctoral advisor | Ian Freshney [2] |
Website |
www |
Valerie Speirs FRCPath is a Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Aberdeen. [1] Her research aims to identify biomarkers of breast cancer to inform diagnosis and treatment. [3] [4]
Speirs studied zoology at the University of Aberdeen. [5] She completed her graduate studies at the University of Glasgow. [6] [5] She worked with Ian Freshney on cell culture and became interested in how cell culture systems can be used to model disease. [2]
Speirs research investigates Cancer biology, Breast cancer and Molecular pathology. [1] [3] [4]
Speirs joined The Hospital for Sick Children.[ when?] Speirs worked at the University of Hull on the expression of oestrogen receptor mRNA. [7] [8] She looked at the role of the CGA gene in endocrine response. [9]
Speirs was a member of the Breast Cancer Campaign Scientific Advisory Board in 2008. [10] She joined the Irish Health Research Board in 2009. [10] She served as principal investigator of the Leeds Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank. [5] She oversaw the launch of the tissue bank with the cancer research community in 2012. [5] The tissue bank was a founding member of the Breast Cancer Now tissue bank. [11]
Speirs joined the University of Leeds in 2012. Since then she has been a member of the Sloane Project steering group, a five year study of 1,000 women. [12] As lead of the St James's University Hospital Institute of Cancer & Pathology, Speirs looked to transfer lab-based molecular pathology techniques into the clinic for the identification of breast carcinoma in men and women. [13] She serves on the advisory group of the National Cancer Research Institute biomarkers advisory group. [10] She studies oestrogen receptor biology and endocrine resistant breast cancer. [14] She has looked to identify the biomarkers for male breast cancer, finding that the androgen receptor biomarker had prognostic significance. [15] She found that male breast cancers over-express eukaryotic initiation factors. [16] She developed a series of resources to educate nurses in observing breast cancer. [17]
In 2016 Speirs launched the virtual resource Sharing Experimental Animal Resources: Coordinating Holdings in Breast Cancer (SEARCHBreast), a platform to share materials that are surplus to animal studies of breast cancer. [18] [19] [20] The project was part of a NC3R grant to develop smart approaches to reduce animal use in science. [21] The resources are available for the characterisation of tumour biomarkers and to investigate the effect of treatment. [22] In 2018 Speirs joined the University of Aberdeen. She holds a visiting lectureship at the University of Leeds. She is a member of the Cellular Molecular Pathology initiative of National Cancer Research Institute. [18] [11] She is working with James Boyne at the University of Bradford on miRNA using blood and breast cancer tissues from the Breast Cancer Tissue Bank. [23] They will investigate how endocrine disrupting agents modulate the activity of fibroblasts in high and low mammographic density breast tissue. [24] They use a 3D in vitro model of the human mammary gland. [24] By identifying how oestrogen mimics effect human fibroblasts from areas of different breast density it will be possible to identify how the drives breast cancer development. [24] She has published extensively on breast cancer and has a h-index of over 40. [25] She is associate editor for BMC Cancer.[ citation needed]
Speirs was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath) in 2007. [5]
Valerie Speirs | |
---|---|
Alma mater |
University of Aberdeen (BSc) University of Glasgow (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields |
Cancer biology Breast cancer Molecular pathology [1] |
Institutions |
University of Aberdeen University of Leeds University of Liverpool University of Hull The Hospital for Sick Children |
Thesis | The role of fibroblasts in the differentiation of human non-small cell lung carcinoma (1989) |
Doctoral advisor | Ian Freshney [2] |
Website |
www |
Valerie Speirs FRCPath is a Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Aberdeen. [1] Her research aims to identify biomarkers of breast cancer to inform diagnosis and treatment. [3] [4]
Speirs studied zoology at the University of Aberdeen. [5] She completed her graduate studies at the University of Glasgow. [6] [5] She worked with Ian Freshney on cell culture and became interested in how cell culture systems can be used to model disease. [2]
Speirs research investigates Cancer biology, Breast cancer and Molecular pathology. [1] [3] [4]
Speirs joined The Hospital for Sick Children.[ when?] Speirs worked at the University of Hull on the expression of oestrogen receptor mRNA. [7] [8] She looked at the role of the CGA gene in endocrine response. [9]
Speirs was a member of the Breast Cancer Campaign Scientific Advisory Board in 2008. [10] She joined the Irish Health Research Board in 2009. [10] She served as principal investigator of the Leeds Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank. [5] She oversaw the launch of the tissue bank with the cancer research community in 2012. [5] The tissue bank was a founding member of the Breast Cancer Now tissue bank. [11]
Speirs joined the University of Leeds in 2012. Since then she has been a member of the Sloane Project steering group, a five year study of 1,000 women. [12] As lead of the St James's University Hospital Institute of Cancer & Pathology, Speirs looked to transfer lab-based molecular pathology techniques into the clinic for the identification of breast carcinoma in men and women. [13] She serves on the advisory group of the National Cancer Research Institute biomarkers advisory group. [10] She studies oestrogen receptor biology and endocrine resistant breast cancer. [14] She has looked to identify the biomarkers for male breast cancer, finding that the androgen receptor biomarker had prognostic significance. [15] She found that male breast cancers over-express eukaryotic initiation factors. [16] She developed a series of resources to educate nurses in observing breast cancer. [17]
In 2016 Speirs launched the virtual resource Sharing Experimental Animal Resources: Coordinating Holdings in Breast Cancer (SEARCHBreast), a platform to share materials that are surplus to animal studies of breast cancer. [18] [19] [20] The project was part of a NC3R grant to develop smart approaches to reduce animal use in science. [21] The resources are available for the characterisation of tumour biomarkers and to investigate the effect of treatment. [22] In 2018 Speirs joined the University of Aberdeen. She holds a visiting lectureship at the University of Leeds. She is a member of the Cellular Molecular Pathology initiative of National Cancer Research Institute. [18] [11] She is working with James Boyne at the University of Bradford on miRNA using blood and breast cancer tissues from the Breast Cancer Tissue Bank. [23] They will investigate how endocrine disrupting agents modulate the activity of fibroblasts in high and low mammographic density breast tissue. [24] They use a 3D in vitro model of the human mammary gland. [24] By identifying how oestrogen mimics effect human fibroblasts from areas of different breast density it will be possible to identify how the drives breast cancer development. [24] She has published extensively on breast cancer and has a h-index of over 40. [25] She is associate editor for BMC Cancer.[ citation needed]
Speirs was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath) in 2007. [5]