Eric O'Neill
Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Summary
Our research aims to understand the cell and molecular biology behind frequent tumour mutations and how they influence cancer onset and/or therapy.
Members of the group span the whole basic-to-translational research spectrum, with backgrounds in clinical medicine, mathematics, biochemistry, and biomedical sciences. Employing both wet-lab and computational methods, we investigate crucial aspects of (pancreatic) cancer development and therapy. Ongoing projects in the lab broadly cover two key areas:
- Mechanotransduction and signal integration from the extracellular matrix to the nucleus, with a focus on Rassf1a,
- Immuno-oncology and immunotherapy of pancreatic and oesophageal cancers, with a focus on T cells, NK cells, and macrophages.
More recently, we have begun investigating other aspects of cancer, including the complex interplay between cancer and mental health conditions, and the mechanistic modelling of multitargeted therapeutics.
COLLABORATORS
Academic
Clinical
Industry
GROUP MEMBERS
Current lab members
Keaton Jones, Academic Clinical LecturerTess Stanly, Postdoc
Alice Evans, DPhil student (iCASE)
Ben Futcher, DPhil student (Oncology)
Constantinos Demetriou, DPhil student (Oncology)
Alexander Hasson, DPhil student (iCASE)
Giampiero Valenzano, CRTF (Cancer Science)
Elsita Jungkurth, DPhil student (Oncology)
Shannon Russell, DPhil student (Oncology)
Ashley Newton, DPhil student (Oncology)
Gift Gwawawa, DPhil student (Oncology)
Azmaeen Zarif, MSc student (Oncology)
Mohammed Ahmed, Research fellow
Past lab members
Simei Go, PostdocCameron Lang, DPhil student
Haonan Xu, DPhil student
Sophie Hughes, DPhil student
Daniel Hughes, CRTF
Recent publications
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ATR-hippo drives force signaling to nuclear F-actin and links mechanotransduction to neurological disorders.
Chatzifrangkeskou M. et al, (2025), Sci Adv, 11
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DNA-damage orchestrates self-renewal and differentiation via reciprocal p53 family and Hippo/Wnt/TGF-β pathway activation in embryonic stem cells.
Ye Y. et al, (2025), Cell Mol Life Sci, 82
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Standard or high dose chemoradiotherapy, with or without the protease inhibitor nelfinavir, in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer: The phase 1/randomised phase 2 SCALOP-2 trial.
Mukherjee S. et al, (2024), Eur J Cancer, 209
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Development of human pancreatic cancer avatars as a model for dynamic immune landscape profiling and personalized therapy.
Hughes D. et al, (2024), Sci Adv, 10