Alexander Raven
Contact Information
Email Address
Alexander.Raven@glasgow.ac.ukBiography
I am a biologist specialising in cancer, stem cells and tissue regeneration. I completed my PhD at the University of Edinburgh, studying tissue regeneration and stem cell biology with Stuart Forbes. It was during this time that I became interested in how diseased tissues alter cell fate and identity. I therefore undertook a post-doctoral transition fellowship to move across Scotland and study cancer cell plasticity in the group of Owen Sansom at the CRUK Scotland Institute. It was here where I had the fantastic opportunity to join the SPECIFICANCER team and investigate Wnt pathway mutations across a range of cancers. Over the next 7 years I plan to establish my lab and investigate how chronic damage alters liver homeostasis and enables mutant clone expansion and tumour formation.
Research
Project Title
Investigating how pre-cancerous disease primes the hepatic epithelium to enable mutant-clone outgrowthProject Summary
The incidence of liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma is increasing in the UK. Hepatocellular carcinoma, like all other cancers, is associated with specific oncogenic-mutations to the genome. Remarkably, these mutations also occur in normal tissue without causing cancer. Therefore, it is clear additional factors need to be present for oncogenic-mutations to transform the cell and promote cancer. The central goal of this research fellowship is to understand why mutated-cells within the same tissue respond differently to oncogenic-mutations, with some progressing to cancer and others not. By identifying the bad-acting cells and environments that have the potential to form tumours, we as a biomedical and healthcare community can have a significant impact on early intervention in hepatocellular carcinoma, improving detection and treatment.Using complex preclinical models of disease, in vivo genetic screening and spatial transcriptomics of patient samples, this fellowship aims to characterise the precancerous diseased state that promotes mutant clone expansion and the establishment of cancerous lesions. Then using clinical and industrial collaborations, myself and my team will develop early detection and preventative therapies with the eventual goal of improving treatment and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.