MRC PhD students

MRC Career award, ex-recipient

Project: Identification of genes associated with the development of cervical cancer.

Dr Leaner completed a five year postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA. During this time she worked on the identification and characterization of genes involved in the development of cancer using cell culture model systems.

She is now a senior lecturer at  the  University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences, Division of Medical Biochemistry.

Her current research interests are to determine an understanding of the molecular events associated with the development and treatment of cervical cancer, one of the major cancers affecting women in South Africa. The project aims to identify transcriptional profiles and genes associated with cervical cancer in order; (1) to obtain a better understanding of disease progression; (2) to identify markers for the detection of the disease and (3) to identify genes that are functionally relevant to the disease. This is a collaborative effort between researchers at UCT, Groote Schuur Hospital and the National Institutes of Health, USA. Understanding the molecular changes associated with the progression of this disease may ultimately help in the development of early detection strategies and more effective treatment regimens.