Seodhna spearheading research into drug for children’s cancer

A LOCAL woman inspired by the death of her aunt is spearheading research into a new drug for childhood cancer.

Dr Seodhna Lynch, an Ulster University Postdoctoral Research Associate, was inspired to follow a career in cancer research after her beloved aunt Teresa died from breast cancer at 45-years-old.

After studying A-Levels in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Geography at the Convent Grammar School and Holy Cross College in Strabane, Seodhna went on to study her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences before completing her Masters in Biomedical Sciences at Ulster University’s Coleraine campus specialising in Haematology.

She then completed her PhD in prostate cancer research with Dr Declan McKenna in the Genomic Medicine Research Group, Coleraine.

The Ulster University researcher has worked in cancer research for over ten years, and has worked specifically in breast cancer with Professor William Gallagher at University College Dublin, where her research involved the clinical validation of a novel biomarker signature for breast cancer.

This signature was able to accurately identify patients who have a high risk and those with a low risk of their cancer returning (recurrence), and thus may help clinicians optimise treatment decisions.

Dr Lynch said, “Growing up, I was always interested in science and medicine.

“But it was when three of my aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer, and after my aunt Teresa died from breast cancer, that I decided I wanted to pursue a career in cancer research.

“I have dedicated my studies and working life to creating new pathways to support cancer research.”

Dr Lynch was appointed as a Postdoctoral Research Associate within the Personalised Medicine Centre, a research department of the School of Medicine, which is based at the Altnagelvin Hospital Campus in Derry.

She also lectures on the Personalised Medicine and Biomedical Sciences degree programmes at Ulster University.

Dr Lynch is currently spearheading cancer research and is working on the pre-clinical development of a novel drug candidate for childhood cancer. The research is funded by the Little Princess Trust and is in collaboration with Dr Ross Levine at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.

Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, is the most common childhood cancer. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type with a five-year survival for children of greater than 90 per-cent.

Unfortunately, for children who are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the survival rate is very poor, with only 60 per-cent of children diagnosed expected to survive more than five years.

Dr Lynch is helping to address an urgent clinical need to identify new drugs for treating childhood AML.

“My research focuses on finding new drugs that are effective in fighting the leukaemia whilst at the same time reducing severe and toxic side effects for children. Indeed, we are currently working on a promising new drug which may have potential as a new treatment option for children with cancer.”