Alan Ashworth, BSc, PhD, FRS

Many breast tumors require the female sex hormone estrogen to survive, and drugs such as tamoxifen that limit the effects of estrogen have revolutionized the treatment of this disease. However, despite the proven effectiveness of tamoxifen, some women do not respond as well to this drug as others. At present it is not clear exactly why this is.

Dr. Ashworth and colleagues will identify the genes and proteins that control the response of tumor cells to tamoxifen. To achieve this they will use a technique known as RNA interference screening. This approach will enable the scientists to rapidly identify those genes and proteins that may be modified in patients where tamoxifen treatment has failed to be effective. This work will allow them to better understand what controls the response of tumor cells to tamoxifen, with the ultimate aim of using this drug more effectively in the clinic.

Mid-year Progress Report:
With funding from The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Dr. Ashworth and colleagues have proposed to use a technique known as RNA interference screening for some insight into why some women with breast cancer respond well to treatment and some do not. In the first few months of this project, they have been optimising the techniques they will use and will now progress to setting up large screens that will screen all of the 20,000 genes that are present in human cells.

Bio:
Professor Alan Ashworth FRS, is Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of The Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The Centre contains around 120 scientists and researchers working on aspects of breast cancer ranging from basic molecular and cellular biology through to translational research and clinical trials.

Ashworth contributed to the discovery of the BRCA2 gene in 1995 and ten years later, Prof. Ashworth’s team identified the synthetic lethality between BRCA mutations and PARP inhibitors. The exquisite sensitivity of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutant cells to PARP inhibitors forms the rationale behind clinical trials that are now assessing the potential of these agents. Ashworth’s other research interests are wide ranging and include high-throughput genomic and functional approaches to the study of cancer.

As well as directing the Breakthrough Research Centre, Professor Ashworth is on the Scientific Advisory Board for a variety of other research organisations including Breast Cancer Haven, Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen’s University, Belfast and a number of companies, including Almac Diagnostics and London Genetics.

Ashworth is an elected member of EMBO and the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2008, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his major contributions to mammalian genetics and the developments of new therapeutic approaches for cancer.