Elloise Hannah Stephenson

Our business idea is to develop a commercially available screen which analyses cancer patient samples to identify patient-specific kinase interactions associated with mechanisms of disease or resistance. Thereby identifying patient-specific therapeutic targets, for a more efficient application of cancer treatments.

About Us

Elloise Stephenson is a 3rd year PhD student, funded by the DiMeN DTP. Her PhD project focuses on the application of the novel laboratory technique, known as KiPIK, to explore kinase signaling pathways in health, disease and drug resistance. Prior to her PhD, Elloise completed an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences and a Masters in Research in Immunobiology, at Newcastle University. In her spare time, Elloise enjoys playing cricket for Newcastle Cricket Club and eventing with her horse, Reggie.Jonathan Higgins is Professor of Eukaryotic Molecular Cell Biology at Newcastle University, and also Lead of the Cells, Genes and Molecules Theme and Director of Research Career Development in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. His group focuses on kinase signalling pathways that control chromosome behaviour during cell division.

Problem

In many cancer patients, kinase signalling drives tumour development. Treatment of a key kinase with a targeted kinase inhibitor blocks the signalling pathway to effectively block tumour progression. However, bypass signaling can then emerge which reactivates the cancer-driving pathway. Identifying how a patient’s kinase signaling pathways alter in disease and treatment resistance is incredibly difficult, as they are highly context specific and not always genetically encoded. For effective application of kinase inhibitor treatments, a method is still required to identify patient-specific kinase targets.

Solution 

We aim to develop a commercial screen from the laboratory technique, KiPIK, which can identify kinases directly phosphorylating key cancer substrates, independent of mutations. The commercial screen will involve the use of a large library of kinase inhibitors, including many clinically approved drugs, to produce a kinase activity fingerprint from patient samples, to then identify suspect kinases as new treatment targets.

Market 

Health care professionals in the field of cancer treatment and medical diagnostic specialists are the intended market of our business idea, with pharmaceutical companies looking into drug development offering a potential secondary market. Through the programme, we wish to establish a comprehensive target market for our business idea.

Contact

Elloise Hannah Stephenson LinkedIn