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Catharine West

Catharine West, PhD

Prof

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-3449

Personal profile

Biography

Catharine West is a Professor of Radiation Biology at the University of Manchester. She studied biology at York University and radiobiology at the Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton.  After postdoctoral work at the University of Rochester Cancer Centre in upstate New York, she moved to Manchester in 1986. In 2002, she joined the Institute (now Division) of Cancer Sciences at the University of Manchester and established the Translational Radiobiology Group.  Her research focuses on trying to predict how cancer patients respond to radiotherapy with a particular interest in measuring radiosensitivity and hypoxia.  She was instrumental in setting up an international Radiogenomics Consortium, which is identifying the genetic determinants of radiotherapy toxicity.  She is a chief investigator (RAPPER, REQUITE) or translational lead (TORPEdO, NIMRAD, VORTEX, CIRCCa) for national/international studies.  Current/recent committee work includes CTRad, COMARE, the LH Gray Memorial Trust, NCRI Sarcoma CSG, NCRI Head & Neck CSG, Prostate Cancer UK Grant Advisory Group, EURAMED and the editorial boards of Radiation Research, Physics in Medicine & Biology and Clinical Oncology. She has published over 200 papers, and is an honorary member of the Royal College of Radiologists and an honorary fellow of the British Institute of Radiology. She was awarded the Weiss medal by the Association for Radiation Research in 2016 and the Bacq and Alexander award by the European Radiation Research Society in 2017. In 2018 she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists.

Research interests

The challenge for radiotherapy-related research is to find ways of giving as much radiation as possible to kill cancer cells while minimising the doses received by surrounding healthy tissue. The expansion of our knowledge through the Human Genome Project has been accompanied by the development of new high-throughput techniques, which provide extensive capabilities for the analysis of a large number of genes or the whole genome. There is a belief that this genomic revolution, i.e. sequencing of the human genome and developments in high throughput technology, heralds a future of personalised medicine. For radiotherapy, this progress should increase the possibility of predicting individual patient response to radiotherapy. The Translational Radiobiology Group, therefore, is interested in the characterisation of molecular profiles that reflect relevant biological phenotypes and predict tumour and normal tissue response to radiation.

Teaching

  • Postgraduate Director and Research Committee member, Institute of Cancer Sciences (past)
  • MRes Oncology Programme Director and Committee member (past)
  • Unit Leader (Lecture Series), MRes Oncology (past)
  • Supervisor for medical student projects
  • Supervision for MRes student projects
  • Supervison of PhD and MD students
  • Internal and external PhD/MD examiner
  • Christie School of Oncology FRCR Part I radiobiology course
  • MSc Radiobiology (Oxford University)
  • MSc Oncology (Nottingham University)
  • MSc Medical Physics (Liverpool)
  • Kolkata FRCR Part I radiobiology course
  • Malaysian FRCR Part I radiobiology course

Memberships of committees and professional bodies

  • Association for Radiation Research
  • European Association for Cancer Research
  • British Institute of Radiology
  • European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
  • Royal College of Radiology (Honorary)
  • Radiation Research Society (USA)
  • Fellow of the British Institute of Radiology (Honorary)
  • NCRI CTRad (2009-2017)
  • LH Gray Cancer Memorial Trust (2006-2016)
  • Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (2013-2016)
  • Prostate Cancer UK Research Advisory Committee (2014-current)
  • Scientific Advisory Board of SIRIC Montpellier (2016-current)
  • EURAMED (2017-current)
  • Editorial Board Member of Clinical Oncology (2012-current)
  • NCRI Sarcoma CSG (2010-2013)
  • Editorial Advisory Board of Physics in Biology & Medicine (2009-2015)
  • Editorial Board of Radiation Research (2006-2019)
  • NCRI Head & Neck CSG (2006-2013)
  • Cancer Research UK TRICC/BIDD (2004-2009)

Qualifications

  • BA (York)
  • PhD (London)

Social responsibility

Involved in or past member of several national  committees including:

  • Past chair, LH Gray Memorial Trust set up to futher the public the knowledge and understanding of all aspects and all applications of radiation sciences.
  • Past member of COMARE (Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment) set up to advises the government on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation, both ionising and non-ionising.
  • Past member of the CTRad (Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group) set up by the National Cancer Research Institute in 2009 to focus on clinical and translational issues relating to radiotherapy and radiobiology, as well as developing a portfolio of practice-changing trials. CTRad has also been tasked with actively promoting translation of new discoveries into practice.
  • Current represnetative for ESTRO on EURAMED established in 2017 to lead European research activities in medical radiation protection and to assume an umbrella function for the harmonisation of practice to advance the European radiation protection safety culture in medicine.
  • Current member of a sub-committee of the International Committee for Radiation Protection producing  a report on individual radiosensitivity. 

My group

Rebecca Elliott, Senior Project Manager
Dr Laura Forker, Academic Clinical Lecturer
Joely Irlam, Research Associate
Mairah Khan, PhD Student
Dr Darren Roberts, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr Holly Summersgill, Project Manager
Dr Niluja Thiruthaneeswaran, Clinical PhD Student
Dr James Price, Clinical PhD Student
Becky Morris, PhD Student
Helen Valentine, Research Associate
Dr Brian Lane
Dr Tim Smith
Conrado Guerrero Quiles, PhD Student
Dr Elisabet More

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Philosophy, The effect of cytotoxic drugs and radiation on mammalian cells and multicellular spheroid in vitro, The Institute of Cancer Research (University of London)

1 Oct 1979 → 31 Mar 1983

Award Date: 10 Apr 1983

Bachelor of Arts, University of York

1 Oct 1975 → 30 Jun 1978

Award Date: 1 Sept 1978

Areas of expertise

  • RZ Other systems of medicine

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Digital Futures
  • Institute for Data Science and AI

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
  2. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  3. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  4. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  5. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  6. SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
    SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  7. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • Radiogenomics in the Era of Advanced Radiotherapy

    Brothwell, M. R. S., West, C. M., Dunning, A. M., Burnet, N. G. & Barnett, G. C., 1 May 2019, In: Clinical Oncology. 31, 5, p. 319-325 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Shared heritability and functional enrichment across six solid cancers

    Jiang, X., Finucane, H. K., Schumacher, F. R., Schmit, S. L., Tyrer, J. P., Han, Y., Michailidou, K., Lesseur, C., Kuchenbaecker, K. B., Dennis, J., Conti, D. V., Casey, G., Gaudet, M. M., Huyghe, J. R., Albanes, D., Aldrich, M. C., Andrew, A. S., Andrulis, I. L., Anton-Culver, H. & Antoniou, A. C. & 313 others, Antonenkova, N. N., Arnold, S. M., Aronson, K. J., Arun, B. K., Bandera, E. V., Barkardottir, R. B., Barnes, D. R., Batra, J., Beckmann, M. W., Benitez, J., Benlloch, S., Berchuck, A., Berndt, S. I., Bickeböller, H., Bien, S. A., Blomqvist, C., Boccia, S., Bogdanova, N. V., Bojesen, S. E., Bolla, M. K., Brauch, H., Brenner, H., Brenton, J. D., Brook, M. N., Brunet, J., Brunnström, H., Buchanan, D. D., Burwinkel, B., Butzow, R., Cadoni, G., Caldés, T., Caligo, M. A., Campbell, I., Campbell, P. T., Cancel-Tassin, G., Cannon-Albright, L., Campa, D., Caporaso, N., Carvalho, A. L., Chan, A. T., Chang-Claude, J., Chanock, S. J., Chen, C., Christiani, D. C., Claes, K. B. M., Claessens, F., Clements, J., Collée, J. M., Correa, M. C., Couch, F. J., Cox, A., Cunningham, J. M., Cybulski, C., Czene, K., Daly, M. B., deFazio, A., Devilee, P., Diez, O., Gago-Dominguez, M., Donovan, J. L., Dörk, T., Duell, E. J., Dunning, A. M., Dwek, M., Eccles, D. M., Edlund, C. K., Edwards, D. R. V., Ellberg, C., Evans, D. G., Fasching, P. A., Ferris, R. L., Liloglou, T., Figueiredo, J. C., Fletcher, O., Fortner, R. T., Fostira, F., Franceschi, S., Friedman, E., Gallinger, S. J., Ganz, P. A., Garber, J., García-Sáenz, J. A., Gayther, S. A., Giles, G. G., Godwin, A. K., Goldberg, M. S., Goldgar, D. E., Goode, E. L., Goodman, M. T., Goodman, G., Grankvist, K., Greene, M. H., Gronberg, H., Gronwald, J., Guénel, P., Håkansson, N., Hall, P., Hamann, U., Hamdy, F. C., Hamilton, R. J., Hampe, J., Haugen, A., Heitz, F., Herrero, R., Hillemanns, P., Hoffmeister, M., Høgdall, E., Hong, Y.-C., Hopper, J. L., Houlston, R., Hulick, P. J., Hunter, D. J., Huntsman, D. G., Idos, G., Imyanitov, E. N., Ingles, S. A., Isaacs, C., Jakubowska, A., James, P., Jenkins, M. A., Johansson, M., Johansson, M., John, E. M., Joshi, A. D., Kaneva, R., Karlan, B. Y., Kelemen, L. E., Kühl, T., Khaw, K.-T., Khusnutdinova, E., Kibel, A. S., Kiemeney, L. A., Kim, J., Kjaer, S. K., Knight, J. A., Kogevinas, M., Kote-Jarai, Z., Koutros, S., Kristensen, V. N., Kupryjanczyk, J., Lacko, M., Lam, S., Lambrechts, D., Landi, M. T., Lazarus, P., Le, N. D., Lee, E., Lejbkowicz, F., Lenz, H.-J., Leslie, G., Lessel, D., Lester, J., Levine, D. A., Li, L., Li, C. I., Lindblom, A., Lindor, N. M., Liu, G., Loupakis, F., Lubiński, J., Maehle, L., Maier, C., Mannermaa, A., Marchand, L. L., Margolin, S., May, T., McGuffog, L., Meindl, A., Middha, P., Miller, A., Milne, R. L., MacInnis, R. J., Modugno, F., Montagna, M., Moreno, V., Moysich, K. B., Mucci, L., Muir, K., Mulligan, A. M., Nathanson, K. L., Neal, D. E., Ness, A. R., Neuhausen, S. L., Nevanlinna, H., Newcomb, P. A., Newcomb, L. F., Nielsen, F. C., Nikitina-Zake, L., Nordestgaard, B. G., Nussbaum, R. L., Offit, K., Olah, E., Olama, A. A. A., Olopade, O. I., Olshan, A. F., Olsson, H., Osorio, A., Pandha, H., Park, J. Y., Pashayan, N., Parsons, M. T., Pejovic, T., Penney, K. L., Peters, W. H. M., Phelan, C. M., Phipps, A. I., Plaseska-Karanfilska, D., Pring, M., Prokofyeva, D., Radice, P., Stefansson, K., Ramus, S. J., Raskin, L., Rennert, G., Rennert, H. S., van Rensburg, E. J., Riggan, M. J., Risch, H. A., Risch, A., Roobol, M. J., Rosenstein, B. S., Rossing, M. A., De Ruyck, K., Saloustros, E., Sandler, D. P., Sawyer, E. J., Schabath, M. B., Schleutker, J., Schmidt, M. K., Setiawan, V. W., Shen, H., Siegel, E. M., Sieh, W., Singer, C. F., Slattery, M. L., Sorensen, K. D., Southey, M. C., Spurdle, A. B., Stanford, J. L., Stevens, V. L., Stintzing, S., Stone, J., Sundfeldt, K., Sutphen, R., Swerdlow, A. J., Tajara, E. H., Tangen, C. M., Tardon, A., Taylor, J. A., Teare, M. D., Teixeira, M. R., Terry, M. B., Terry, K. L., Thibodeau, S. N., Thomassen, M., Bjørge, L., Tischkowitz, M., Toland, A. E., Torres, D., Townsend, P. A., Travis, R. C., Tung, N., Tworoger, S. S., Ulrich, C. M., Usmani, N., Vachon, C. M., Van Nieuwenhuysen, E., Vega, A., Aguado-Barrera, M. E., Wang, Q., Webb, P. M., Weinberg, C. R., Weinstein, S., Weissler, M. C., Weitzel, J. N., West, C. M. L., White, E., Whittemore, A. S., Wichmann, H.-E., Wiklund, F., Winqvist, R., Wolk, A., Woll, P., Woods, M., Wu, A. H., Wu, X., Yannoukakos, D., Zheng, W., Zienolddiny, S., Ziogas, A., Zorn, K. K., Lane, J. M., Saxena, R., Thomas, D., Hung, R. J., Diergaarde, B., McKay, J., Peters, U., Hsu, L., García-Closas, M., Eeles, R. A., Chenevix-Trench, G., Brennan, P. J., Haiman, C. A., Simard, J., Easton, D. F., Gruber, S. B., Pharoah, P. D. P., Price, A. L., Pasaniuc, B., Amos, C. I., Kraft, P. & Lindström, S., 25 Jan 2019, In: Nature Communications. 10, 1, p. 431

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access
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  • Circulating Metabolic Biomarkers of Screen-Detected Prostate Cancer in the ProtecT Study

    PRACTICAL Consortium, Jan 2019, In: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 28, 1, p. 208-216 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • MRE11 as a Predictive Biomarker of Outcome After Radiation Therapy in Bladder Cancer

    Walker, A. K., Karaszi, K., Valentine, H., Strauss, V. Y., Choudhury, A., McGill, S., Wen, K., Brown, M. D., Ramani, V., Bhattarai, S., Teo, M. T., Yang, L., Myers, K. A., Deshmukh, N., Denley, H., Browning, L., Love, S. B., Iyer, G., Clarke, N. W. & Hall, E. & 5 others, Huddart, R., James, N. D., Hoskin, P. J., West, C. M. & Kiltie, A. E., 15 Mar 2019, In: International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics. 104, 4, p. 809-818

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Statin-induced metabolic reprogramming in head and neck cancer: a biomarker for targeting monocarboxylate transporters

    Mehibel, M., Ortiz-martinez, F., Voelxen, N., Boyers, A., Chadwick, A., Telfer, B. A., Mueller-klieser, W., West, C. M., Critchlow, S. E., Williams, K. J. & Stratford, I. J., 1 Dec 2018, In: Scientific Reports. 8, 1, 16804.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access
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