Name:
Gavin Metcalf

Cohort year:
2012-2013

Stream:
Cancer Biology

My project titles:
I worked on two 5 months projects during my masters:

1) The roles of MARK2 and MARK4 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Metastasis.
2) RPS6KC1 as a modulator of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Drug resistance and Metastasis.

Current role:
Final year PhD Student, joint between Imperial Cancer Research UK Centre and the Department of Bioengineering.

My main areas of interest:
Early cancer diagnostic biosensor development.

The most beneficial things about the programme:
The programme allows you to become an independent researcher, focusing on a project area of key interest to the cancer-specific scientific community. It is an amazing trial run as to what a PhD would entail.

The things enjoyed the most about the programme/Imperial College London/London:
I was able to develop a wide range of scientific skills, both in and outside of the lab. Regular journal clubs and weekly lab meetings meant that my presentation skills were fine-tuned and I gained a lot of confidence in myself as a scientist. I believe the course enabled me to gain my interdisciplinary PhD position here at Imperial.

Since getting my Master’s, here are some of the things I’ve done:
Attended numerous conferences and symposiums, presenting my work to audiences. I have published my work in various scientific journals, including my most recent (first name author) paper in Analytical Chemistry which was also chosen to be published in an open-access format due to being awarded Editors’ choice. In terms of my research, I have been able to develop a new chemistry-based biosensor technology that can detect stage cancers using biofluids sourced by minimally invasive means (i.e. a simple blood test).

Next, I’d like to:
I am currently applying for a Postdoctoral research fellowship to continue working on developing a new technology that can aidto early cancer diagnosis and be used in the clinic.