Dr Jason Carroll is investigating what role the gene ARID1A plays in breast cancer spreading around the body. He also aims to understand if a class of drugs called BET inhibitors could be used to treat secondary breast cancer that has changes in this gene.

There are currently few targeted treatments available for triple negative breast cancer. In addition, it can be more aggressive than other breast cancers. We need to understand what makes triple negative breast cancer different from other forms of the disease to develop new effective targeted treatments for patients.

Professor Kaye Williams is investigating whether blocking two proteins simultaneously could reduce the growth and spread of breast cancer. The hope is that her work could bring new treatments to people with aggressive forms of the disease, and in doing so save lives.

Breast cancer can trick our immune system into ignoring it, which can cause cancer cells to grow and spread. Professor Damian Mole’s team is studying one possible way tumours do this, so we can develop new treatments to improve the chances of survival for people with breast cancer.

In the future, breast screening could be adapted to a woman’s personal risk of developing breast cancer, which could change how regularly women are screened. Dr Jo Waller will investigate the concerns women have about this to ensure these approaches are effective.

Mrs Jane Macaskill is investigating whether measuring breast density using mammograms can be an effective way to tell if hormone therapy is working to stop breast cancer from returning, as early as possible.