Professor Ingunn Holen
School of Medicine and Population Health
Professor of Bone Oncology


+44 114 215 9011
Full contact details
School of Medicine and Population Health
Room GU24
The Medical School
Beech Hill Road
葫芦影业
S10 2RX
- Profile
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For enquiries please contact - SMPH-West-Operational@sheffield.ac.uk
I studied Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Oslo, Norway, and was awarded my PhD for work on the role of autophagy in cancer in 1995. I then joined the University of 葫芦影业 as a post-doctoral research associate working on the mechanism of action of bisphosphonates. Establishing a lab research program in breast cancer bone metastasis, I gained a lectureship in 2001 and was appointed as Professor of Bone Oncology in 2014.
- Research interests
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The research in my team is focussed on tumour cell dissemination in bone, and how this is influenced by the microenvironment in breast and prostate cancer. In particular we use cutting edge technology to study the early stages of bone metastasis and how single cancer cells may remain dormant or start to proliferate when encountering different environments.
We work to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in tumour cell-bone cell interactions, and how these can be targeted by anti-cancer therapies, including CDK4/6 inhibitors. We also investigate the role of the microenvironment in driving progression of bone metastases and collaborate with colleagues in the Dept of Physics and Astronomy to elucidate the biomechanical properties of the bone metastatic niche.
I have several collaborative projects both with other researchers in the medical school, nationally and internationally. I work closely with the clinical staff on translational research projects, transferring the results from our laboratory projects into clinical feasibility studies. Together with colleagues in Leeds, Glasgow and London I have established a national in vivo tissue bank for breast cancer research funded by an 鈥淚nfrastructure for Impact鈥 grant awarded by the . This initiative is entitled and allows researchers to connect with partners who are wiling to share archived material on a collaborative basis thereby not having to carry out in vivo studies. Work in my team has been funded by local, regional and national charities, industry, the EU, MRC, CRUK, BCN, YCR and NC3Rs. In 2018, I and my colleague Dr Penelope Ottwell was awarded the 鈥淛ulie Philipps PhD Studentship鈥 from the charity to support our work on the biology of secondary breast cancer. Our work on the mechanisms of tumour cell dormancy is supported by and .
- Publications
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- Research group
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PhD students
- Elisavet Theodoulou
- Jacky Wong
- Professional activities and memberships
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I am a Trustee of Breast Cancer Now and a member of the executive committee that organises the biannual UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium.
I have served as the Chair of the British Association for Cancer Research and am a current member of national and international expert review panels, grant committees and journal editorial boards.