Hayley obtained her PhD at Imperial College, London working on androgen receptor interacting proteins and swiftly moved to The University of Cambridge to join Professor David Neal working on mechanisms of prostate cancer development. After moving to the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute when it opened Hayley went on to develop a prostate biomarker programme making use of the Prompt and ProTect biorepositories. In recent years Hayley expanded the biomarker work to other cancers by setting up the Biomarker Initiative to work on prostate, pancreas, cholangiocarcinoma, bladder and ovarian cancers. In April 2015 Hayley moved to UCL to develop a group focused on molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. Later that year she was made Head of Centre for Molecular Intervention.

Jonathan obtained his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Oncology from the University of Nottingham. After completing a PhD at Imperial College, London he spent a year at MedImmune, Cambridge before moving to the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute working on the prostate International Cancer Genome Consortium. He is now a senior research associate within the Biomarker Initiative where he develops and validates novel cancer biomarkers in a number of tumour types including prostate, pancreas, cholangiocarcinoma, bladder and ovarian cancers.

Hayley completed her BSc (Hons) at University of Wales, Aberystwyth before going on to do her PhD with Hayley Whitaker and Professor David Neal at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. After a brief encounter with breast cancer research with Nic Jones at the Paterson Institute in Manchester Hayley returned to prostate cancer research in 2013. After a short spell as a research assistant Hayley is now a postdoctoral research associate in the Whitaker Lab working on the prostate marker NAALADL2.

Hayley obtained her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, shortly followed by a PhD with Dr M. Deonarain and the biotechnology company Photobiotics where she developed new drugs for photodynamic therapy. While writing her thesis she undertook a brief 6 month placement at ETH Zurich in Switzerland to study antibody fragment re-engineering. More recently Hayley has spent three years as a postdoctoral research associate at University College London with Prof. L. Lovat developing biomarker targeted antibody based drug conjugates for photodynamic therapy in oesophageal cancer. Her work in the Whitaker lab will focus on the INNOVATE trial and clinical validation of new fluidic biomarkers in combination with MRI imaging for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In her spare time she likes to draw and be a zombie - rarely at the same time.

Susan obtained her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Medicine from Trinity College Dublin, where she went on to complete a PhD scholarship investigating different strategies for treating lung cancer. Since then, Susan has carried out a Postdoctoral Fellowship, also in Trinity, which looked at the involvement of miRNA and cancer stem cells in radioresistant oesophageal cancer. She is now a research associate in the Whitaker Lab, where she is comparing different methods for sampling fresh tissue from radical prostatectomies, and investigating the role of a novel drug in prostate cancer. In her time off Susan is excited to be a tourist in London, and has many sights to tick off her list!

Lina graduated in Bogota Colombia as a doctor in 2008. She has always had an interest in urology and after working in the Colombian jungle began her first research project on MRI and prostatectomy specimens. Lina moved to the UK in 2010 and worked at King’s College Hospital for three years as a clinical research fellow, focusing on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer sponsored trials, as well as performing prostate template biopsies. She later worked at Addenbrooke’s hospital for one year continuing research into template biopsies. Lina is joining the lab after a short spell away from urology while she became a Mum. Lina has previously been a competitive ballerina and is looking forward to teaching the rest of the lab how to salsa!

Jonathan studied in Paris VII Medicine University for 6 years then started as resident in urology in Lille University Hospital 4 years ago. He has a special interest in urological oncology and is following a sub-specialisation in medical oncology. He worked in Lille on MRI-guided prostate biopsies and active surveillance.  He has moved to London and has joined the lab as a clinical fellow to work on prostate cancer biomarkers and MRI for patients under active surveillance.  Jonathan enjoys cooking and is looking forward to sharing his recipes with the team (they are looking forward to cake!).

Ben has completed his bachelor’s and more recently his master’s degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Central Lancashire. Ben has previously been involved in several research-based internships, moving to London to pursue a career in research. He has recently joined the biomarker initiative at Whitaker Lab where he works as research assistant to Dr Hayley Luxton. Ben is currently working on the prostate marker NAALADL2 specialising in cell culture. Ben enjoys breaking limbs when taking part in amateur rock-climbing.

Shanti completed her masters in Biochemistry at Osmania University, India in 2007 and spent three years working in the bioassay department in Dr. Reddy’s Lab Ltd, India before moving to England in 2010. Shanti did her PhD in skeletal muscle stem cell at the University of Sheffield under the supervision of Dr. Anne-Gaelle Borycki. After her PhD, Shanti took up a postdoctoral research position in Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge. Shanti was appointed to her current post in December 2014 where she is working on a novel protein involved in pancreatic cancer funded by Cancer Research Technology. Outside of work Shanti has a keen interest in music and has recently developed a passion for cooking.

Since completing his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science Steve has settled in Cambridge and has previously been involved with research into the genetics of Type 1 Diabetes and severe childhood obesity syndromes. Steve joined Cancer research UK just over a year ago in the laboratory of Professor David Neal as a Research Assistant is now involved in the Cambridge arm of the of the International Cancer Genome Consortium project. In his spare time Steve plays in league Ultimate Frisbee team has just completed his first (and last) marathon. Steve has gone on to work at the new CRUK Crick building in London.

After gaining a Ph. D from University of Calcutta in 2004 I moved to England and worked as a research assistant before joining Rebecca Fitzgerald’s team at the MRC-Hutchison working on biomarkers of Barrett’s oesophagus.  After a break in my career to support my young family I have recently joined the Whitaker’s lab in prostate biomarker project. I am an Indian classical dancer, love baking and a proud mother of two lovely daughters.

Asif is a postdoctoral research associate working as a data architect researching clinical data workflow modelling, metadata exchange and data/metadata standards. He is also responsible for creation, management and integration of clinical, sample and research data resources of the group.