J.A.L. Brown

Biography

I was educated in Australia, receiving my BSc and PhD from the Queensland University of Technology, with my doctoral work undertaken at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR). I received postdoctoral training at the University of Galway, where I became a faculty member. I then joined the Biological Sciences Department at the University of Limerick as an Associate Professor in Cancer and Cell Biology, where I currently lead my Oncobiology and Molecular Therapeutics Group.

My groups translational work focuses on validating the effectiveness of our small molecule lysine acetylation inhibitors (KATi) in targeting breast cancer. We also focus on the discovery and validation new breast cancer biomarkers allowing improved patient stratification, and enriched understanding of tumour (and subtype specific) molecular diversity. Our fundamental research projects use KATi to reveal the molecular mechanisms regulated by acetyltransferases (Tip60 centric) in genome protection and epigenetic modifications in (breast) cancer.

I have a strong research record and I was awarded the prestigious European Association for Cancer Research award (2015) by the Irish association for Cancer Research (IACR), an award for an outstanding young individual based scientific track record, and for my developing a novel compound that preferentially targets breast cancer (Gao et al, Sci Rep. 2014). I have mentored my postgraduate students (PhD, MD, MSc), guiding them to multiple publications, and they themselves have won a number of awards and grants.

I served on the IACR Senior Council (2017-2020), previously serving at the first Chair of the IACR Junior Council. I led the Departmental Self-Assessment Committee (SAT) when we were awarded our Departmental Athena Swan Bronze award (2021). I sit on the Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre (LDCRC) steering Committee, and serve on the Biochemical Society Publications Committee (previously sitting on the Early Career Advisory Panel).

I am the scientific lead of the Cancer Research Centre: Breast Cancer subgroup (University of Limerick, University Hospital Limerick).

I am an academic editor for PLOS One, BAMBEd and lead editor a Cancers special issue (Advances in Molecular Oncology and Therapeutics).