Brigid Browne

"At the Molecular Prevention Course, I learned about how the molecular techniques I am familiar with can be applied to the field of cancer prevention."

Brigid Browne
PhD Student
National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB)
Dublin City University, Ireland

I obtained my undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at University College Dublin, and I am currently in my final year of research towards my PhD in Dublin City University, in collaboration with St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. I am researching response and resistance to HER-2 targeted therapy in breast cancer; this involves investigating molecular responses to therapy in cell lines in vitro, and using patient samples to investigate potential molecular markers of response or resistance.

I was fortunate to attend the Molecular Prevention Course this year at the NCI. This was a rewarding week. It was important for me, after three years of working on quite a specific project, to be reminded of the ‘bigger picture’ of cancer and cancer research, and where my current work fits in to that. Being at the NCI, and hearing about some of the research programs going on there, reminded me of the importance of the work we are all doing.

I have had an amateur interest in cancer prevention, particularly in the role of nutrition and lifestyle in incidence and development of cancer. At the Molecular Prevention Course, I learned about how the molecular techniques I am familiar with can be applied to the field of cancer prevention. I also learned about new applications in molecular biology, and in other fields, and how they are being used in cancer prevention research. I found the lectures on Biosystems and Cancer and the discussion of diet and lifestyle and cancer risk and development particularly interesting.

I will be completing my PhD research next year and am thinking about what kind of research I would like to do as a post-doc. After attending this course, I feel I have a good understanding of how I could apply my skills and expertise to the field of cancer prevention. I also have a broadened understanding of the different types of cancer prevention strategies that are being investigated, such as chemoprevention, epidemiology, immunology, genetics and bionutrition. In Ireland, the field of cancer prevention research is yet in its infancy; I think the importance of cancer prevention strategies will be realized here and the field of cancer prevention research will develop, with help from our friends and colleagues in the U.S.