Dr Philip Jones
Leader “Stem cells and Cancer” programme, MRC Cancer Cell Unit
Consultant in Medical Oncology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital
t: (01223) 763379
What is your subject and specific area of study?
I work as a clinical doctor treating patients with cancer and also as a scientist researching how the behaviour of normal cells changes as they turn into cancer cells. Our special interest is in tracking the fate of large numbers of cells and analysing the data to understand the mathematical “rules” of cell behaviour. Normal cells follow a remarkably simple set of rules, which are only subtly distorted in cancer. Once we know what the rules are, we can both predict cell fate and test how drugs and genes alter cell behaviour far more efficiently than before. We are now starting to apply this work to human tissue samples and cancer cells to try to prevent cancers developing and improve cancer treatment.
What makes Clare College such a good place to study your subject?
The Medical Sciences course at Cambridge offers a great training in how to think logically and critically about medical issues, but it’s a great help to be taught by people who are both scientists and practicing doctors who can connect the science with real clinical problems. Clare has a particularly strong team of such Fellows. The college also prides itself on being inclusive, supportive and friendly and has a strong, student led, Medical Society that brings preclinical and clinical students working at Addenbrooke’s Hospital together.
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Main Publications:
A single type of progenitor cell maintains normal epidermis, Clayton, E; Doupe, DP; Klein, AM; Winton, DJ; Simons, BD and Jones, PH, Nature, 446, 185-189 (2007)
Epidermal homeostasis: do committed progenitors work while stem cells sleep? Jones, P and Simons, BD, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 9, 82-88(2008)
Mechanism of murine epidermal maintenance: Cell division and the Voter Model, Klein, AM; Doupe, DP; Jones, PH and Simons, BD, Physical Review E., 77, 031907 (2008)
Hypoxia-Selective Targeting by the Bioreductive Prodrug AQ4N in Patients with Solid Tumors: Results of a Phase I Study, Albertella, MR; Loadman, PM; Jones, PH; Phillips, RM; Rampling, R; Burnet, N; Alcock, C; Anthoney, A; Vjaters, E; Dunk, CR; Harris, PA; Wong, A; Lalani, AS and Twelves, CJ, Clinical Cancer Research, 14, 1096-104 (2008)