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.

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. 

Dr Seth Coffelt is investigating how a specific type of white blood cell can help breast cancer to spread throughout the body. His work could lead to new ways to prevent the spread of breast cancer, and ultimately stop people dying from the disease.

Breast cancer that has spread to the brain can be particularly hard to treat and severely affects people’s quality of life. Walk the Walk Fellow Dr Damir Varešlija is looking at how gene switches in breast cancer cells might make them more likely to spread to the brain and hopes to find ways to stop this from happening.

Mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 can drastically increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer. Professor Xiaodong Zhang will study how changes in the shape of BRCA proteins can alter their function. This could help us tailor therapies to people with breast cancer.