Dr Alexandra Shephard
Research Assistant
- shepharda@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2061 5888 (ext 6373)
- Velindre Hospital
Biography
Education and qualifications:
2014: PhD (Cellular and Molecular Medicine), University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
2010: MBiochem (Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Career overview:
2015 - present: Post doctoral researcher, Cardiff University, Division of Cancer and Genetics
Honours and awards
2014: BACR/CRUK Travel Award to attend Keystone Symposium in Banff, Canada
Professional memberships
International Society of Extracellular Vesicles
British Association of Cancer Research
European Association of Cancer Research
Academic positions
2015 - present: Post doctoral researcher, Cardiff University
2010 - 2014: PhD student, Univeristy of Bristol
Publications
2019
- Brook, A. C. et al. 2019. Neutrophil-derived miR-223 as local biomarker of bacterial peritonitis. Scientific Reports 9, article number: 10136. (10.1038/s41598-019-46585-y)
I am currently funded by a PCUK research fellowship grant held by Dr Jason Webber. My research focuses on the role of extracellular vesicles, specifically exosomes, in the induction of fibroblast differentiation in prostate cancer. Conversion of prostate stroma fibroblasts to a more myofibroblastic phenotype is an important step in the carcinogenesis of aggressive prostate cancer. We have identified heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) as the exosomal surface proteins responsible for driving this differentiation process. Current work involves elucidating the specific HSPGs responsible for exosome driven fibroblast differentation and development of an assay to detect these proteins in serum samples from prostate cancer patients.