Congratulations to MHF Centre PhD Student Simin Zheng who won the Best Poster Award at the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy ECR/HDR Researcher Showcase. Her poster, Using Drug Repurposing to Target DNA Repair in Brain Cancer, outlined the following research: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive type of adult brain cancer and remains difficult to treat despite surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.
Simin’s research investigates whether FDA-approved drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier can be repurposed to improve the effectiveness of current GBM treatments. In this study, they identified a promising candidate that reduced tumour cell growth, enhanced the response to radiotherapy and temozolomide, and altered DNA damage response signalling in patient-derived GBM models. These findings support further investigation of this approach as a potential strategy to improve outcomes for patients with GBM.
