Transforming curative cancer treatments

Peter Liu has a decade of experience in cancer and molecular biology research and health innovation translation. He has clinical medicine training from the University of Toronto and completed a DPhil in Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford where he was the recognized as an Oxford-Hoffman International Scholar and Jesus College Graduate Scholar for academic merit. He was President of the Oxford University Scientific Society, oldest society of its kind in the world, and the Executive Director of BRIGHT International, a health innovation think tank focusing on strategic implementation of medical innovations. His cancer research and medical innovation experiences span four continents, including having worked at the World Health Organisation.

Andreas Halner has a unique combination of medical and mathematical training. Andreas completed pre-clinical medicine at University of Oxford in 2018 and is finalising a DPhil in Clinical Medicine and Machine Learning at University of Oxford. Andreas is a St Johns’ College, University of Oxford Casberd Scholar for academic excellence. He holds the Pathology Tutor for Medicine post at St John’s College. Andreas is also the Chief Data Scientist of a European Clinical Research Collaboration on lung disease and has designed statistical analysis plans for a European-wide clinical trial. He has designed multiple new mathematical and clinical paradigms for defining disease states, developing algorithms for treatment outcome prediction and treatment monitoring.

Junetha Syed Jabarulla graduated from Madurai Kamaraj University (India) in Microbial gene Technology. Following her Master’s she worked at the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras focusing on the Functional characterization of RASSFs in Lung adenocarcinoma through whole transcriptomics analysis. She received the Mitsubishi Corporation International Scholarship during her PhD in Chemical Biology at Kyoto University, Japan. Her PhD thesis focused on developing programmable DNA-binding small molecules as a therapeutic strategy to target the oncogene EVI1 at the transcription level. Following her PhD, Junetha joined as a Post-Doctoral researcher in the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford where she was working with DNA Repair in Cancer Treatment and Chromosome integrity groups on the identification of HDAC inhibitor targets in DNA repair pathway to lead new drug combinations or biomarker to increase the efficiency of radiotherapy and targeting H3K36me3-deficient cancer cells with new class of WEE1 inhibitor respectively. With more than a decade experience in target and biomarker discovery in cancer research Junetha has joined OXcan as a chief scientist.

Zhu is a proteomic scientist, who is passionate about biotechnology and medicine. He received his first PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology in Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University (Wu Hsien Prize, 2018), where he focused on the investigation of non-coding RNA in pulmonary diseases using next-generation sequencing, and quantitative analysis of ribonucleoside modifications in RNA using UPLC-MS/MS. He is currently finishing his second D.Phil in Clinical Medicine (CAMS-Oxford Innovative Talent Studentship) in TDI Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, University of Oxford, where he focused on spatiotemporally mapping protein-protein interaction networks using mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches (APEX2 proximity labelling-MS, affinity purification-MS, and LOPIT). With more than eight years of experience in multi-omic approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics and interactomics), Zhu joined OXcan as a proteomic scientist.

Francesco is an Oxford trained mathematician with industry Machine Learning development experience with Natwest and Dallara. He was a NatWest Quantitative Associate and has completed Internships at Susquehanna International Group and Dallara Engineering. Francesco is proficient in C++, Python, R, Matlab, SQL, VBA. He holds a BA Mathematics and MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance with Merit and Distinction at the University of Oxford.

Daniel Szulc is a physiologist turned engineer with a passion for innovation, collaboration, and communication. After completing a double major in physiology and chemistry he went on to achieve a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto, where he was recognized as a UofT Top Scholar and Graduate to Watch for his impact as a STEM innovator and role model. His academic and industrial research spans the fields of biology, chemistry, medicine and physics and has led to several peer-reviewed manuscripts, inventions and collaborative projects awarded millions of research funding geared towards clinical translation. Alongside his passion for research and discovery, Daniel has actively sought to promote scientific communication and translation by leading the operations and strategic initiatives of both a national not-for-profit, Science Rendezvous, and an early-stage medtech start-up, Integral Health Systems, which developed next-generation software tools for surgical staff and medical personnel. Through these endeavours, he established national initiatives which engaged 25,000 students and created interdisciplinary networks with over 1600 scientists, clinicians, and engineers from 100 different academic disciplines across North America.

Ella Mi is a medical doctor specializing in oncology with a dual background in computer science. She holds an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in medical oncology at Oxford, and has led preclinical and clinical cancer research studies at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, with notable research achievements that includes identifying the most common genetic alteration in splenic marginal zone lymphoma, leading a longitudinal gastric cancer screening study and a machine learning programme to improve prognostication of brain tumours, which won the prestigious National Cancer Research Institute Award and received media coverage internationally. She obtained a 1st class Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a medical degree at the University of Cambridge and has undertaken her Masters in Computer Science at the University of Oxford as a DeepMind Scholar. Ella has a keen interest in accelerating the clinical uptake of new medical technologies, and previously worked on Interventional Procedures at NICE and on commercial projects with Google Health and Huma.

Rosaria is an interdisciplinary biologist interested in field-to-lab studies of plants for human health, science-based entrepreneurship, and feedback between business and biodiversity policy. She is trained in biotechnology and molecular medicine and is currently pursuing doctoral study at the Oxford Biology Department. Her thesis investigates the role of biodiversity in underpinning ecosystem services vital for human well-being, which encompasses subject areas such as conservation, food security, ethnobotany, policy-making, and socio-economy. Following her two-month entrepreneurial placement by Oxford Foundry at OXcan, she is now OXcan’s business analyst to create a strategy based on industry analysis and real-time company progression. Her other professional experiences include being one of the key research assistants in advancing policy engagement in Oxford and leading a 3-year UK-Indonesia partnership research program on green economy.

Luke Hankey graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2019 with a degree in Biological and Medical Sciences with a project focus on lysis of cancer cells. Throughout his studies, he acquired the Liverpool Excellence Scholarship as merit for his work. He has since developed applications to showcase his passion for coding and combined this with his strong academic background. He has now moved into the field of Machine Learning as a Junior Programmer to aid in the statistical analysis of biological and clinical datasets.

Amani Ali is the Junior Graphic Designer at OXcan, working independently to create initial designs for digital spaces and determines how best to represent the lung cancer clinical screening processes visually. She produces artwork and exhibitions delivering visual data of patients' stories and treatments, education and machine learning. She has completed her Graphic Design & Animation bachelor’s degree and has five years of experience working with multiple enterprises and organisations across the UK. Working with Data Scientists and Tech Experts, she has innovated creative content to build an online presence for business professionals.

With qualifications in media studies, graphic communication and performing arts, David Litchfield has extensive knowledge of producing content and how it can be used to connect with an audience in the modern digital world. David was awarded a second-class degree in Comedy: Performance and Production from the University of Winchester. He has worked on several films, ranging from promotional commercial work to more creative narrative projects. Giving him the abilities and know-how to create a variety of content that both engages and educates our audience, spreading the word of the wonderful work we are accomplishing at OXcan.