Summary
I am a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the department of Surgery and Cancer, division of Computational and Systems Medicine (CSM) working with Professor Nigel Gooderham. I am interested in genetic toxicology, with a focus on DNA damage caused by exposure to ''environmental carcinogens'', particularly in mixtures. I have been working on a project funded by the Food Standards Agency which is focussed on investigating the genetic toxicology and underlying mechanisms of action of genotoxic food-derived chemicals both individually and in mixtures using loci-based mutation assays in human in vitro cell culture. Further to this I have been investigating the anti-mutagenic potential of glucosinolate hydrolysis products from cruciferous vegetables and their mechanism of action. More recently I have developed an interest in microRNA control of key proteins and pathways involved in cancer and other disease states.
Background
I undertook my PhD in Genetic Toxicology and the Environment at the University of Birmingham under the supervison of Professor Kevin Chipman and Dr Matthew Winter at AstraZeneca Brixham Environmental Laboratory. My thesis, “Xenobiotic Metabolism and Markers of Genotoxicity in Regulatory Non-Vertebrate Ecotoxicological Test Species”, was focused on using the Comet assay and gene expression micorarrays to investigate the response of unicellular algae and the water flea Daphnia magna to genotoxicants, and identifying the ability of these organisms to activate pro-carcinogens.
Prior to this I completed an MSc in Toxicology, also at the University of Birmingham during which I undertook a research project investigating whether there was a link between genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and malignant melanoma.
My undergraduate degree was a BSc in Biochemistry with Molecular Cell Biology from the University of Birmingham.
After completing my PhD I worked as a Research Associate in the Marine Biofouling research group at the University of Birmingham. The project was concerned with developing non-toxic antifouling coatings in collaboration with North Dakota State University, and my role was in testing prospective coatings for their foul-release and toxic properties using the seaweed Ulva linza.
Awards
Best Postdoctoral Abstract Award in Mixture Toxicology - Society of Toxicology (SOT) 52nd Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, March 2013
Awarded a competetive UKEMS travel bursary to attend the 11th International Conference on Environmental Mutagens (ICEM) in Foz do Iguassu, Brazil, November 2013.
Publications
Journals
Stresser DM, Kopec AK, Hewitt P, et al., 2023, Towards in vitro models for reducing or replacing the use of animals in drug testing., Nat Biomed Eng
Patel SAA, Bhambra U, Charalambous MP, et al., 2014, Interleukin-6 mediated upregulation of CYP1B1 and CYP2E1 in colorectal cancer involves DNA methylation, miR27b and STAT3, British Journal of Cancer, Vol:111, ISSN:0007-0920, Pages:2287-2296
Boyce A, David RM, Gooderham NJ, 2014, The mutagenic effects of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-<i>b</i>] pyridine in Muta™Mouse colon is attenuated by resveratrol, Toxicology Research, Vol:3, ISSN:2045-452X, Pages:197-204
David RM, Jones HS, Panter GH, et al., 2012, Interference with xenobiotic metabolic activity by the commonly used vehicle solvents dimethylsulfoxide and methanol in zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) larvae but not <i>Daphnia magna</i>, Chemosphere, Vol:88, ISSN:0045-6535, Pages:912-917
David RM, Dakic V, Williams TD, et al., 2011, Transcriptional responses in neonate and adult Daphnia magna in relation to relative susceptibility to genotoxicants., Aquat Toxicol, Vol:104, Pages:192-204