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About

My research interest is in developing personalized therapies for brain cancer, through the advanced investigation of the molecular features of cancer. This expertise, together with Dr Sarah Best (clinical) and Dr Saskia Freytag (bioinformatics) provides the multidisciplinary foundations of the Brain Cancer Research Laboratory.

The research interests of the lab include:
– Research that is patient-centred and informed by consumers
– Integrating advanced diagnostics together with clinical data to discover new biomarkers
– Applying deep learning to identify prognostic biomarkers
– Developing new pre-clinical models of brain cancer
– Dissecting glioma heterogeneity and its microenvironment
– Identifying existing drugs for repurposing in brain cancer
– Establishing innovative clinical trial design strategies to progress new treatments and combinations for patients
– Support and collaboration across brain cancer research fields

Publications

Selected publications from Dr Jim Whittle

Lindeman G, Muttiah C, Martin FC, Christie M, Dawson S-J, Desai J, Lal L, Moodie K, Murugasu A, Phan P, Rosenthal MR, Travers A, Visvader JE, Whittle JR, Yeo B. Abstract P2-07-18: Results from PALVEN: A Phase 1b Study of Palbociclib, Letrozole and Venetoclax in ER and BCL2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer. Clinical Cancer Research. 2025;31(12_Supplement):10.1158/1557-3265.sabcs24-p2-07-18

Sia J, Whittle JR. Residual Disease as a Decider. International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. 2025;122(2):10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.12.051

Chen AP, O’Sullivan Coyne GH, Wolters P, Martin S, Farschtschi S, Blanco I, Chen Z, Darrigo Junior LG, Eoli M, Whittle JR, Nishida Y, Lamarca R, de la Rosa R, Adeyemi A, Herrero I, Llorente N, Diede SJ, Dombi E, Wolkenstein P. Efficacy and safety of selumetinib in adults with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and symptomatic, inoperable plexiform neurofibroma (PN): Primary analysis of KOMET (NCT04924608), a phase 3, international, randomized, placebo-controlled study.Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2025;43(16_suppl):10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.3014

Kalla M, Bradford A, Schadewaldt V, Burns K, Bray SCE, Cain S, McAlpine H, Dhillon RS, Chapman W, Whittle JR, Drummond KJ, Krishnasamy M. Co-Designing a User-Centered Digital Health Tool for Supportive Care Needs of Patients With Brain Tumors and Their Caregivers: Interview Analysis. JMIR Cancer. 2025;11:10.2196/53690

O’Keeffe P, Nouri Y, Saw HS, Moore Z, Baldwin TM, Olechnowicz SWZ, Jabbari JS, Squire DM, Leslie S, Wang C, You Y, Ritchie ME, Cross RS, Jenkins MR, Audiger C, Naik SH, Whittle JR, Freytag S, Best SA, Hickey PF, Amann-Zalcenstein D, Bowden R, Brown DV. TIRE-seq simplifies transcriptomics via integrated RNA capture and library preparation. Scientific Reports. 2025;15(1):10.1038/s41598-025-98282-8

Kalla M, Huckvale K, Bradford A, Schadewaldt V, Bray SCE, Borda A, Burns K, McAlpine H, Thomas J, Capurro D, De Abreu Lourenco R, Cain S, Chapman W, Whittle JR, Drummond KJ, Krishnasamy M. To framework, or not to framework? Reflections from co-design of a digital supportive care platform for patients with brain tumours and their carers. Digital Health. 2025;11:10.1177/20552076251339302

Whittle JR, Kriel J, Fatunla OE, Lu T, Moffet JJD, Spiteri M, Best SA, Freytag S. Spatial omics shed light on the tumour organisation of glioblastoma. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2025;167:10.1016/j.semcdb.2024.12.006

Kay KE, Lee J, Hong ES, Beilis J, Dayal S, Wesley ER, Mitchell S, Wang SZ, Silver DJ, Volovetz J, Johnson S, McGraw M, Grabowski M, Lu T, Freytag L, Narayana VK, Freytag S, Best SA, Whittle JR, Wang Z, Reizes O, Yu JS, Hazen SL, Brown JM, Bayik D, Lathia J. Tumor cell-derived spermidine promotes a pro-tumorigenic immune microenvironment in glioblastoma via CD8+ T cell inhibition. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2025;135(2):10.1172/jci177824

Lim-Fat MJ, Bennett J, Ostrom Q, Touat M, Franceschi E, Schulte J, Bindra RS, Fangusaro J, Dhall G, Nicholson J, Jackson S, Davidson TB, Calaminus G, Robinson G, Whittle JR, Hau P, Ramaswamy V, Pajtler KW, Rudà R, Foreman NK, Hervey-Jumper SL, Das S, Dirks P, Bi WL, Huang A, Merchant TE, Fouladi M, Aldape K, Van den Bent MJ, Packer RJ, Miller JJ, Reardon DA, Chang SM, Haas-Kogan D, Tabori U, Hawkins C, Monje M, Wen PY, Bouffet E, Yeo KK. Central nervous system tumors in adolescents and young adults: A Society for Neuro-Oncology Consensus Review on diagnosis, management, and future directions. Neuro-Oncology. 2025;27(1):10.1093/neuonc/noae186

Schadewaldt V, O’Brien T, Kalla M, Krishnasamy M, Burns K, Bray SC, Gilbert C, De Abreu Lourenco R, Thomas J, Capurro D, Chapman W, Borda A, Dhillon RS, Whittle JR, Drummond KJ. Development of an evidence-informed implementation strategy for a digital supportive care platform for brain tumour patients, their carers and healthcare professionals. Digital Health. 2025;11:10.1177/20552076251316713

Lab research projects

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