Biography and research overview

Dr Yann Jamin graduated from the University of Rennes in France with an honours degree in biochemistry. He joined the Clinical Magnetic Resonance Group at The Institute of Cancer Research to take a PhD in developing molecular imaging to monitor gene therapy for cancer, under the supervision of Professor Martin Leach and Professor Caroline Springer.

In 2008, Dr Jamin joined the ICR’s Preclinical Imaging Team led by Dr Simon Robinson, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify and validate non-invasive biomarkers of response to novel cancer-targeted therapies.

During his time as a postdoctoral training fellow, he also co-ordinated an exciting collaboration between the ICR’s Preclinical Imaging Team, the Paediatric Solid Tumour Biology and Therapeutics Team led by Professor Louis Chesler, and the Paediatric Drug Development Team led by Professor Andrew Pearson. 

He has contributed to the evaluation of more than 50 novel cancer therapies in genetically engineered mouse models of childhood neuroblastoma through his design of robust MRI-embedded preclinical trials. Dr Jamin has identified two non-invasive biomarkers of response to therapy, which are currently being evaluated in functional, imaging-driven clinical trials of new treatments for children with neuroblastoma at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. 

Through this collaboration, Dr Jamin decided to dedicate his research in functional, structural and molecular MRI to shed new light on our understanding of the biology of childhood neuroblastoma and other paediatric cancers. His aim is to improve radiological diagnosis of these cancers and accelerate the development of more effective, safer therapies for children with cancer. 

In October 2013, Dr Jamin received a Pathway to Independence Award from the Academic Dean, and in May 2014 he secured a Paul O’Gorman Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by Children with Cancer UK for five years.