Top
Skip to Content
LOGO(small) - Queen's University Belfast
  • Our x-twitter
  • Our facebook
LOGO(large) - Queen's University Belfast

The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research

  • Home
  • Our Research
    • Blood Cancer
    • Gastro-intestinal Cancers
    • Prostate Cancer
    • Radiotherapy
    • Breast Cancer & Ovarian Cancer
    • Cancer Epidemiology
  • Centres of Excellence
    • Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence
    • Advanced Radiotherapy Group
    • Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence
  • Education
    • Clinical Academic Training
    • PhD
    • Masters Courses
    • Summer Research Programme
  • Careers
    • Academic Posts
    • PhD Opportunities
  • Academic Staff
  • News
    • Out in the World
  • Donate
  • Home
  • Our Research
    • Blood Cancer
    • Gastro-intestinal Cancers
    • Prostate Cancer
    • Radiotherapy
    • Breast Cancer & Ovarian Cancer
    • Cancer Epidemiology
  • Centres of Excellence
    • Prostate Cancer Centre of Excellence
    • Advanced Radiotherapy Group
    • Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence
  • Education
    • Clinical Academic Training
    • PhD
    • Masters Courses
    • Summer Research Programme
  • Careers
    • Academic Posts
    • PhD Opportunities
  • Academic Staff
  • News
    • Out in the World
  • Donate
  • Our x-twitter
  • Our facebook
In This Section
  • Out in the World

  • Home
  • The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research
  • News

News

PGJCCR Post Doc Natalie Fisher Wins Coveted Roche Prize

2 August, 2024

Postdoctoral Research fellow Dr Natalie Fisher has been awarded the prestigious Roche Researcher of the Year Award.

The Roche Prize, which seeks to highlight and support excellence in life science research across the island of Ireland, was awarded to Dr Fisher on the strength of two published papers and a cover letter exploring the tangible impact of her research.

The first of these studies involved working alongside a pathologist to explore the assessment of a pathological feature called tumour budding, which is a high-risk biomarker used to inform patient care, and developing a digital method to improve its detection. The second paper involved working through a frequently observed problem in cancer research: that the complexity and variety of cell types in patient tumour samples often make it difficult to directly apply findings from the wet-lab into tumour samples.

“Despite both papers having different focuses,” Dr Fisher said, “they both ensure we have the tools to accurately understand the biology of aggressive tumours, ultimately enabling better clinical management and the development of potential treatments to improve patient outcomes.”

The application process for the award involved Dr Fisher drafting a summary of her work that explained its impact.

“This was a really useful way to think of how I define the success of a paper,” Dr Fisher explained. “For me, it’s important that other people have understood the work and can apply it to their own studies. I hope that others are encouraged to also shape their work into a story which will be useful for the wider scientific community.”

Dr Fisher completed her PhD in 2022 and now works in PGJCCR’s Dunne lab. Dr Philip Dunne was a previous recipient of the Roche Prize, taking the award in 2013 for his presentation AXL is a Key Regulator of Inherent and Chemotherapy Induced Invasion and Predicts a Poor Clinical Outcome in Early Stage Colon Cancer.

Dr Fisher’s papers are available to read at the links below:

Development of a semi-automated method for tumour budding assessment in colorectal cancer and comparison with manual methods  

Biological Misinterpretation of Transcriptional Signatures in Tumor Samples Can Unknowingly Undermine Mechanistic Understanding and Faithful Alignment with Preclinical Data

Share
Latest News
  • Queen’s Team Part of World-Leading £5.5m Research Project to Transform Bowel Cancer Care
    31 March, 2025
  • QUB Cancer Researchers at IACR Conference
    20 March, 2025
  • Public Help Choose the 2025 Patrick Johnston Award Winner
    28 February, 2025
  • New Study Now Recruiting Patients with Bowel Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy
    7 February, 2025
  • Dr Stephen McMahon awarded prestigious Michael Fry Award
    14 November, 2024
News
  • Out in the World
QUB Logo
Contact Us

The Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research

Queen's University Belfast
97 Lisburn Road
Belfast
BT9 7AE

Phone: +44 (0) 28 9097 2760
Email: pgjccr@qub.ac.uk  
Fax: +44 (0) 28 9097 2776

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Our Science
  • Education

 

© Queen's University Belfast 2024
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Website accessibility
  • Freedom of information
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • University Policies and Procedures
Information
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Website accessibility
  • Freedom of information
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
  • University Policies and Procedures

© Queen's University Belfast 2024

Manage cookies