Summary
Philip is a PhD student in the Volatile Biomarker Group within the Division of Surgery, under the primary supervision of Professor George Hanna.
The overarching aim of his research is to investigate the link between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and lipid reprogramming in the tumour microenvironment to uncover novel therapeutic targets in gastrointestinal cancers. These VOC biomarkers can then be translated clinically with a non-invasive breath screening test to identify patients at early disease stages and improve outcomes.
Philip was recognised with the Departmental Staff Award in Education (2022) for excellence in teaching and student support, and the College Union Award for outstanding graduate teaching assistant (2023).
BSc, MSc/MRes and Clinical Fellows
Current:
Ms Oriana Castellucci (MRes Clinical Research) -- Volatile biomarker profiling from biofluids of oesphageal-gastric adenocarcinoma patients
Mr James Goodkind (BSc Medical Biosciences) -- Molecular and metabolic mechanisms of bile acid-induced upper gastrointestinal carcinogenesis
Mr Alson Wong (BSc Medical Biosciences) -- Methodological development for hypoxia-stratified single cell sequencing in oesophageal adenocarcinoma
Ms Ulani Arkhurst (BSc Medical Biosciences/Work Placement) -- Clinical Trial Junior Fellow in Patient Engagement (VAPOR Trial)
Previous:
Dr Athanasius Ishak (NIHR/BRC Academic F2 Doctor/Clinical Research Fellow) -- Linking the volatile signatures of upper gastrointestinal cancers with their lipidome -- 2022
MSc/MRes
Ms Innah Kim (MRes Biomedical Research) -- Targeting the mTOR signalling pathway in colorectal adenocarcinoma -- 2022
Ms Yue Wang (MRes Clinical Research) -- Lipid dysregulation and volatile biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma -- 2022
Ms Xiaoyu Cheng (MSc Molecular Medicine) -- Defining novel metabolic markers associated with ERBB2 overexpression in gastric cancer to monitor targeted therapy response -- 2023
Ms Amanda Brower (MRes Cancer Biology) -- Characterisation of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and bacterial populations in locally advanced oesophageal adenocarcinoma -- 2023
BSc
Ms Tammie Sow (BSc Medical Biosciences/UROP) -- Methodological developments for fecal VOC analysis by TD-GC-TOF MS -- 2022
Ms Rena Suzukawa (MBBS -- Tokyo Medical and Dental University) -- Exploring the tissue-resident immune cell profile in gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma -- 2022
Ms Jessie McClymont (BSc Medical Biosciences/Work Placement) -- Clinical Trial Junior Fellow in Patient Engagement (AROMA Trial) -- 2022
Ms Yuki Agarwala (BSc Medical Biosciences/UROP) -- Hypoxia and volatile biomarkers in colorectal adenocarcinoma -- 2023
Mr Bryan Ng (BSc Medical Biosciences) -- Pharmacogenomic data mining for drug sensitivity and response in upper gastrointestinal cancers -- 2023
Ms Oriana Castellucci (BSc Medical Biosciences) – Exhaled human breath VOC fingerprinting and metabolic phenotyping -- 2023
Ms Ziqian Peng (BSc Medical Biosciences) – Assessing systemic and gut inflammation in oesophageal adenocarcinoma patients after complete surgical resection -- 2023
Publications
Journals
Leung K, Das B, Cheng X, et al., 2023, Prognostic and predictive utility of GPD1L in human hepatocellular carcinoma, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol:24, ISSN:1422-0067, Pages:1-13
Das B, Leung KHP, Antonowicz S, et al., 2022, A novel prognostic hypoxia gene signature identifies de novo nucleotide synthesis as a metabolic vulnerability in gastric cancer, European Journal of Surgical Oncology
Leung KHP, Ishak A, Das B, et al., 2022, Unique volatile signatures of gastrointestinal cancers suggest cell autonomous drivers of metabolic reprogramming with potential for non-invasive diagnosis, European Journal of Surgical Oncology, ISSN:0748-7983
Conference
Mitra A, Das B, Tarazi M, et al., 2023, A preoperative breath test to predict post-oesophagectomy pulmonary infection, OXFORD UNIV PRESS, ISSN:0007-1323