The Cancer Biology Lab
Nick Leslie
Nick studied for a first degree in Genetics at Cambridge University and a PhD at Glasgow University with David Sherratt. After PostDoctoral research with Paul Harrison at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, he moved to Dundee to work with Peter Downes and Philip Cohen at the inception of their pharmaceutical collaboration, the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy. Nick was appointed as an Independent Investigator in 2002 and moved his group to Heriot Watt at the start of 2013, joining the new Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengeneering, where he was appiointed as a Professor in 2017.
Helen Wise
Helen started her PostDoc in the lab in August 2015 having studied influenva virology in Edinburgh and Cambridge. Her project is to study the role of PTEN in prostate cancer.
Virginia Alvarez Garcia
Virginia joined the lab in September 2015 as a postdoc, having completed her PhD studying the roles of melatonin in Breast Cancer in the University of Cantabria. Her project is to develop new methods to detect and study tumour DNA in the circultion of cancer patients in collaboration with Maiwenn Kersaudy Kerhoas' microfluidic bioengineering group as well as the clinicians Olga Oikonomidou and Paul Brennan.
Dinesh Kumar
Dinesh came to Edinburgh in October 2016 as a postdoc, having completed his PhD and first postdoc in Liverpool, studying the tumour microenvironment in Oesophageal Cancer with Andrea Varro and Graham Dochray. He is contining this interest in tumour biology here, developing 3D bioprinting methods to manufacture brain tumour constructs, funded by the Brain Tumour Charity.
Yasmine Tawil
Having developed a keen interest in life and nature, Yasmine chose to build a career in biology, mastering in regenerative medicine and molecular biology at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands. She joined the Leslie lab in September 2017 as a PhD student to develop 3D bioprinting techniques for modelling GBM. An avid traveller, and lover of animals, especially dogs, she enjoys crafting and drawing in her spare time.
See also past lab members