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Dr Katie Finegan is Senior Lecturer in Cancer Biology and Therapy in the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry within the School of Health Sciences at the University of Manchester. She is a cellular signalling expert with over 15 years of experience working in translational research. Her research interest centres on the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), which are signalling proteins that regulate all aspects of cell biology, with particular focus on ERK5 and its contribution to cancer development and fibrotic disease. She has an outstanding track record in MAPK/ERK5-based research, and her work was the first to reveal a role for ERK5 in cancer inflammation. These findings have underpinned the ongoing development of ERK5-targeted agents for the treatment of cancer.
There are two complementary strands to her research: one advances knowledge of MEK5-ERK5-driven biology, and the other develops new compounds to target this pathway. Ongoing projects include creating novel ERK5 inhibitors for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, understanding how ERK5 prevents metastatic spread of osteosarcoma, evaluating the role of ERK5 in adamantinoma, exploring the utility of ERK5 and MEK5-targeted agents to treat pulmonary fibrosis, and understanding how ERK5 acts as an essential conduit for inflammatory responses in mesothelioma. Her research contributes to the Cancer Research Beacon and the Lydia Becker Institute at the University of Manchester.
Explore UKRI's funding for snail-inspired tiny robots targeting bowel cancer at University of Manchester, alongside Leeds and Nottingham innovations revolutionising detection and therapy.
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