Dr. Alison Allan
Senior Oncology Scientist, London Regional Cancer
Department of Medicine
University of Western Ontario
Canada
Biography
Dr. Allan’s research interests lie in the study of molecular mechanisms that influence normal cellular growth, tumor development, and cancer progression. The focus of Dr. Allan’s research program is cancer metastasis and translational research. Despite the fact that the majority of deaths from solid cancer occur due to the physiological effects of metastasis rather than from the consequences of the primary tumor, metastasis remains a badly understudied field. A major area of research that is needed to address this problem involves gaining a greater understanding of the metastatic process as a whole, such that current therapies can be better utilized to target metastatic disease, and new, more effective therapies can be developed which will better treat or prevent cancer metastasis. A second important area of research is the identification and development of surrogate marker approaches that will allow close monitoring of both disease progression and response to therapy.
Research Interest
Clinical and biological importance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients and mouse models of metastasis. Role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in breast cancer metastasis and treatment
Publications
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Ma I, Allan AL. The role of human aldehyde dehydrogenase in normal and cancer stem cells. Stem cell reviews and reports. 2011 Jun 1;7(2):292-306.
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Croker AK, Goodale D, Chu J, Postenka C, Hedley BD, Hess DA, Allan AL. High aldehyde dehydrogenase and expression of cancer stem cell markers selects for breast cancer cells with enhanced malignant and metastatic ability. Journal of cellular and molecular medicine. 2009 Aug 2;13(8b):2236-52.
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McQuillan P, Pilkington S, Allan A, Taylor B, Short A, Morgan G, Nielsen M, Barrett D, Smith G. Confidential inquiry into quality of care before admission to intensive care. Bmj. 1998 Jun 20;316(7148):1853-8.
