Dr Jenny Nobes

Hi, I’m Jenny and I’m originally from Australia, grew up in England and have now lived in Scotland for well over 10 years. I have recently made the shift from my NHS Tayside role as a Specialty Registrar in Clinical Biochemistry to being a Clinical PhD Fellow with the Ninewells Cancer Campaign’s Fraser Fellowship Doctoral Training Programme.

My PhD is focussed on developing and validating a new test for colorectal (bowel) cancer under the supervision of gastroenterologist Dr Craig Mowat and geneticist Dr David Baty. We hope to make a new ‘liquid biopsy’ – a blood test which can detect small amounts of circulating genetic material from the cancer, along with other changes to blood cells and proteins. We hope this might streamline the investigation and diagnosis of colorectal cancer in the future for patients who are shown to have blood in their faeces by the well-established faecal immunochemical test (FIT).

I was very pleased to be able to extend my time in Dundee, especially given that this is the home of the Scottish Bowel Screening Laboratory and has a strong output of high-quality colorectal cancer research. I am very grateful to the Ninewells Cancer Campaign for making this possible, and I look forward to developing my independent research skills and knowledge of cutting-edge diagnostic techniques which will stand me in good stead for the rest of my career.