Dr Sushila Rigas

Dr Sushila Rigas

Lecturer in Health Sciences

I have worked on research projects characterising DNA variants in cancers and I now run a research group focused on identifying functional and regulatory DNA and RNA variants that may affect risk of breast cancer and other cancers with putative shared aetiology. We collaborate with Dr Francesco Crea's group within the Open University, identifying lnRNA variants putatively underlying risk of prostate and other cancers. I also collaborate with Professor Angela Cox (University of Sheffield) on the Identification of regulatory DNA variants in apoptosis genes associated with breast cancer risk (Yorkshire Cancer Research) and Professor Nicola J Camp (University of Utah, USA). My first post-doctoral position was in Professor Angela Cox's group where we were the first to identify that the Caspase 8 gene (Casp8) was associated with risk of breast cancer and subsequently identify CASP8 and other apoptosis DNA variants (Yorkshire Cancer Research, Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Campaign, and the Wellcome Trust). Whilst doing my PhD (The role of p14ARF in familial and sporadic melanoma, funded by Imperial Cancer Research now called Cancer Research UK) in Professor D Timothy Bishop and Professor Julia Newton-Bishops's group with Professor Margaret A Knowles (University of Leeds) I was the first to: comprehensively screen for deletions on chromosome 9p in melanoma families and in sporadic melanomas (at a time when it was difficult for detect deletions and loss of heterozygosity, LOH); to identify p14ARF [CDKN2A-ARF gene (exon 1β)] as a tumour suppressor gene; identify the MTAP to KIAA1 gene region as important in melanoma aetiology and a candidate locus for the location of a tumour suppressor gene; and contributed to being the first to identify that introns are important in disease with the detection of a splicing variant (IVS2-105) in melanoma families.

Tools: genetic (e.g. high throughput PCR, allelic discrimination, sequencing, MLPA, qPCR), molecular (e.g. cell culture, flow cytometry), and data mining using publically available online databases e.g. dbSNP, Ensembl, UCSC, GEO etc. Mainly gene expression tools.

Key words: cancer, breast cancer, genetics, molecular science, epidemiology, bioinformatics, data mining, DNA variants, RNA variants, DNA characterisation, RNA expression, protein expression.

Membership of societies

The Genetics Society

Participated with the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC, UK), North of England Genetic Epidemiology Group (NEGEG, UK), and the Melanoma Genetics Consortium (GenoMEL, UK)

Awards

Two research poster prizes 2009, Yorkshire Cancer Research Annual Science Meeting (Harrogate)

Research Team of the Year 2008, Awarded by Baroness Fookes of Plymouth DBE DL, patron of the Breast Cancer Campaign (House of Lords)

Sarah Jane Cross memorial prize, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 1997

Academic excellence letter, Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 1997

Publications

Qualifications

PGC HEP, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice, University of Bradford, 2016

PhD. School of Medicine, University of Leeds (Leeds Institute of Cancer and Pathology, Section of Epidemiology and Biostatisics), St James' Hospital, 2004

• The role of p14ARF in familial and sporadic melanoma

BSc. (HONS) 1st, Genetics, Aberystwyth University, Wales, 2000

• Familial hypercholesterolaemia, causitive role in atherosclerosis, other risk factors, and treatment