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Target Evaluation & Molecular Therapeutics Group

Dr Olivia Rossanese’s group is investigating new targets to support the discovery of novel therapeutics to treat cancer. The group is also defining the molecular and genetic factors governing a cancer’s sensitivity to treatment with new drugs, to guide their clinical use.

Group leader

Dr Olivia Rossanese

Dr Olivia Rossanese

Dr Olivia Rossanese is Director of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery and Head of the Division of Cancer Therapeutics. She is investigating new therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer and examining the molecular consequences of their inhibition in cancer cells and tumours.

ORCID 0000-0002-1262-9522

Group members

Dr Habib Bouguenina
Dr Habib Bouguenina
Staff Scientist +44 20 3437 6310

I am a Postdoctoral Training Fellow interested in the study of the E3 ligase CUL4 CRBN and how to reprogram its function in the context of drug discovery.

Dr Michael Bright
Dr Michael Bright
Staff Scientist +44 20 3437 6276

I am a drug discovery biologist, specialising in the biology of B cell malignancies. I am working on gene regulation networks that control tumour plasticity and cell state, reprogramming cancer cells to commit to terminal differentiation or cell death using innovative compounds discovered at ICR.

Paul Eve
Paul Eve
Senior Scientific Officer +44 20 3437 6273

I have worked at the ICR for over 15 years. I have worked on a number of drug discovery projects, including performing pre-clinical biological target validation for the CHK1 and AKT programmes; both of which produced clinical candidates. In my current work I have been pioneering molecular biology techniques to use as a tool for new drug target validation.

Dr Sam Hutchinson - Cook
Dr Sam Hutchinson - Cook
Postdoctoral Training Fellow +44 20 3437 6055

I am a Postdoctoral Training Fellow investigating DNA repair mechanisms and therapy resistance in estrogen positive breast cancers. My research at ICR is focused on developing therapy resistant breast cancer models, which will allow me to use a range of molecular and gene editing techniques to assess target contributions in the development of therapy resistance.

Selina Mote
Selina Mote
Executive Assistant

I joined the ICR in 2018 as the Executive Assistant to the CCDD Director and Head of the Cancer Therapeutics Division. I am very proud to be part of the ICR and the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery. The Administrative team works very hard to provide the best support possible in an environment that encourages collaboration, the sharing of information and forward thinking. My daily aim is to provide the best support I can to the Head of Division and Unit so that they can focus on their science!

Kate Swabey
Kate Swabey
Higher Scientific Officer +44 20 3437 6290

I am an experienced cell biologist funded by the Kidani trust to translate our team’s research into ovarian cancer models.

Katie Thomas
Katie Thomas
PhD Student

Katie joined the ICR in 2021 as a PhD student. She previously obtained her Bsc at The University of Sheffield and went on to work as a medicinal chemist at Redx Pharma for a year. She is currently working on converting existing small molecule inhibitors into degraders by identifying structural features that can lead to target degradation.

Dr Aysin Akpinar
Postdoctoral Training Fellow T +44 20 3437 6704
Dr LeAnne Carmichael
Postdoctoral Training Fellow T +44 20 3437 6274
Dr Owen Conway
Higher Scientific Officer T +44 20 8722 4691
Dr Amir Faisal
Senior Staff Scientist T +44 20 3437 6256
Dr Justin Joachim
Staff Scientist T +44 20 3437 6378
Fiona Want
Higher Scientific Officer T +44 20 3437 6296