Prof. Simon McDade
Presentation Title: Integrative Longitudinal Functional Genomics to Identify Novel Treatment-Induced Cancer Vulnerabilities Biography: Professor Simon McDade is a leading researcher in functional genomics and cancer biology at the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, and a principal investigator at the Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research. His research focuses on understanding how transcriptional networks — particularly those controlled by the p53 family of transcription factors — become deregulated in cancer. By integrating multi-omics approaches such as RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and CRISPR functional screens, his team aims to identify key genetic dependencies and vulnerabilities that can be exploited for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Professor McDade also serves as the academic lead for the Genomics Core Technology Unit at Queen’s University Belfast, supporting the development of core genomic and computational infrastructure for biomedical research. He was awarded the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) Young Scientist Prize in 2011 and continues to contribute significantly to the understanding of transcriptional control, epigenetic regulation, and tumor heterogeneity. His laboratory’s work spans several cancer types, including colorectal, prostate, and squamous cancers, with a translational focus on identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. |
