Dr Amy Llewellyn is studying aggressive breast cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes and didn’t respond well to chemotherapy before surgery. She’s investigating how changes in the lymph nodes help the cancer to spread further, making it more difficult to treat.

Dr Clare Davies is investigating how a protein called PRMT5 can help triple negative breast cancer resist chemotherapy. This could lead to better treatment options.

Mental health problems, remote living, socio-economic status and other inequalities can all have an impact on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. A team from Queen’s University Belfast led by Professor Chris Cardwell and Dr Charlene McShane are investigating this impact on people with breast cancer in Northern Ireland.

Professor Simak Ali is investigating how changes in the oestrogen receptor (ER) gene contribute to hormone therapy resistance. He hopes this will lead to more effective treatments for secondary ER-positive breast cancer.  

Dr Robert Kerrison is finding out whether inequalities in breast cancer have gotten worse since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Sankari Nagarajan is investigating how some triple negative breast cancers spread to other parts of the body. And she wants to see if drugs against proteins called nuclear receptors could stop this from happening.