JACQUI SHIELDS

BEHIND THE BENCH

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I studied for my Bachelors degree in Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Bristol (1998-2001) before going on to undertake a PhD in the area of tumour microcirculation under the supervision of Professor Dave Bates at Bristol (2001-2005). This is really where my interest in lymphatic vessels and their role in the disease really began. In 2005, I moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and the laboratory of Professor Melody Swartz, at the Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL. Here I pursued post-doctoral training to further specialize in lymphatic functionality, and how this could relate to tumour progression.

 

In Mid 2011, I was appointed as a Group Leader at the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, where I started a new research programme. We focus on understanding how the tumour stroma operates to help a tumour develop and evolve. We are especially interested in how these non-cancerous cells are able to shut off the immune responses to avoid our defences.