My name is Morven Shuttleworth. I first came to the University of Dundee from the far north of Scotland to study Biomedical Sciences in 2010, before specialising in Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences. I then graduated with Distinction from the MRes Cancer Biology programme at the University of Dundee in 2015. This is where I first became interested in improving treatment options for cancer patients during my research project, where I worked on novel therapies to treat melanoma in Professor Gareth Inman’s lab.
After completion of the MRes course, I was offered a PhD studentship funded by the Ninewells Cancer Campaign in Professor Russell Petty’s Medical Oncology group. The focus of my PhD project was to try and understand why some patients respond better than others to chemotherapy in a type of oesophageal cancer. I tried to identify molecular biomarkers of chemotherapy response, which could be targeted with other drugs in combination with chemotherapy to try and improve treatment outcomes.
The funding that the Ninewells Cancer Campaign provided for my PhD project meant that I was able to stay in Dundee, which has now become home for me and my family. I was able to continue research in a subject area I was extremely passionate about, surrounded by leading scientists in their respective fields, with plenty of opportunity for public engagement activities in the local community. I am very grateful for the support of the Ninewells Cancer Campaign in the development of my research career. I feel so fortunate that I was funded by a local charity which kept in regular contact throughout my studies.
Since my PhD, I have continued to work in Dundee as a postdoctoral researcher trying to identify novel treatments for disease. To help with this, I managed an international biobank of patient samples for use in research. My current projects are focused on understanding the effect of genetic mutations on disease as well as testing novel therapeutics. I am currently managing the laboratory work for an international multi-centre clinical trial and have contributed to multiple high-impact scientific publications. My career in science wouldn’t be what it is today without the help of the Ninewells Cancer Campaign in funding my PhD project.
