Dr Marina Danilenko

I am currently a Faculty Fellow in the Translational and Clinical Research Institute and a member of the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer. Following completion of my PhD focused on RNA splicing, I developed an interest in cancer genomics and completed two postdoctoral placements researching skin tumours and childhood brain malignancies.

My research fellowship is focused on exploring Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) isolated from blood of neuroblastoma patients, aiming to identify the key gene signatures required for CTC dissemination and self-seeding. Results of this work will provide a background for future studies on designing new life-saving strategies to prevent neuroblastoma metastasis and relapse.

Being appointed a Faculty Fellow has opened up new horizons for me. I am now starting to develop my independent research and build my own research group. I am already applying for grants from paediatric cancer charities as a principal investigator and look forward to recruiting new scientists to join my team.

The Faculty of Medical Sciences is an excellent place to develop my scientific niche. I am especially fascinated by the huge potential of single-cell multi-omics in cancer research as it allows researching variations among individual cancer cells within a tumour, and helps to infer the cellular origin of cancer. Newcastle’s Genomic Core Facility has a range of cutting edge resources that are vital to my research. I feel very supported by the Centre for Cancer which brings together many talented scientists. My Faculty Fellowship gives me the opportunity to explore my research question with world leading experts and build my data in preparation for a strong application for future external fellowships.