Will Cousins Email and Phone Number

MRC DiMeN iCASE Studentship in collaboration with AMLo Biosciences. My research focuses on the identification and validation of novel prognostic biomarkers which may improve the risk stratification of head and neck cancer patients, in addition to investigating the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids as anti-cancer agents.• Construction of drug efficacy studies using chemotherapies and cannabinoids, and combining both modalities.• Analysis of immunohistochemical biomarkers in… Show more MRC DiMeN iCASE Studentship in collaboration with AMLo Biosciences. My research focuses on the identification and validation of novel prognostic biomarkers which may improve the risk stratification of head and neck cancer patients, in addition to investigating the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids as anti-cancer agents.• Construction of drug efficacy studies using chemotherapies and cannabinoids, and combining both modalities.• Analysis of immunohistochemical biomarkers in patient-derived tissue microarrays and whole tissue sections using digital image analysis and H-scores.• Effective communication of research with immediate supervisors, and industrial sponsors and investors at industrial scientific meetings.• Successful establishment of an international collaboration with Prof Guillermo Velasco, Complutense University of Madrid.• Proficient in a variety of molecular biology techniques: tissue culture of human cell lines (2D and 3D), Western blot, qPCR, stable and transient gene silencing, RNA and DNA extraction• Experience with murine in vivo xenograft models and in ovo CAM model for the analysis of tumour growth in response to drug treatments.Poster Presentations:"Targeting cannabinoid-induced cytotoxic autophagy as a novel therapeutic strategy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma"Keystone Symposia: Autophagy and Disease, Dec 2023Second author publications:"The combined immunohistochemical expression of AMBRA1 and SQMST1 as putative biomarkers to identify patients with poorly differentiated cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma at risk of metastasis: a proof-of-concept study"Journal of Cutaneous Pathology - doi: 10.1111/cup.14590 Show less

I was awarded the MRC Flexible Supplement Fund bursary to complete a 10-week academic lab placement in the lab of Prof Guillermo Velasco of the Complutense University Madrid - an internationally renowned group for cannabinoid research. The key aims for this collaboration were to generate data for my PhD and to enable the development of new laboratory techniques which were unavailable at my host institute. Principally, the production of stable AMBRA1 knockdown cell lines using a… Show more I was awarded the MRC Flexible Supplement Fund bursary to complete a 10-week academic lab placement in the lab of Prof Guillermo Velasco of the Complutense University Madrid - an internationally renowned group for cannabinoid research. The key aims for this collaboration were to generate data for my PhD and to enable the development of new laboratory techniques which were unavailable at my host institute. Principally, the production of stable AMBRA1 knockdown cell lines using a lentiviral shRNA transfection system and the subsequent analysis of their growth in vivo, and the analysis of tumour growth in response to THC (cannabinoid) treatment.• Deliver regular project updates via presentations to the research group and wider department.• Generate stable gene knockdown cell lines using shRNA and lentiviral transfection systems.• Develop in vitro assays for the analysis of tumour cell growth, migration and invasion in 2D and 3D.• Establish an in vivo OPSCC murine xenograft model for the investigation of OPSCC tumour growth following treatment with THC. Show less

Through the successful award of the MRC Flexible Supplement Fund bursary, I was able to complete a 4-month industrial internship with APIS Assay Technologies Ltd to gain experience outside of my PhD programme. APIS Assay Technologies Ltd. specialise in in vitro diagnostics and assay development. This role focused on performing experiments and data analysis for ELISA and PCR-based commercial kits for various diseases. The projects on which I was assigned encompassed both late phases of… Show more Through the successful award of the MRC Flexible Supplement Fund bursary, I was able to complete a 4-month industrial internship with APIS Assay Technologies Ltd to gain experience outside of my PhD programme. APIS Assay Technologies Ltd. specialise in in vitro diagnostics and assay development. This role focused on performing experiments and data analysis for ELISA and PCR-based commercial kits for various diseases. The projects on which I was assigned encompassed both late phases of product validation prior to launch, and early-stage proof-of-concept studies. • Work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team to attain milestone driven targets.• Provide weekly updates via presentations of ongoing work to the wider team, and across the company and to external collaborators.• Develop an understanding of ISO accredited research environments including health and safety requirements and the recording of protocols, experimental procedures and report writing. • Improvement of molecular biology techniques such as serial dilutions and handling human samples which were essential for ELISA and qPCR assays. Show less