Dr Lee Parry
Senior Research Fellow
- parryl3@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2068 8017
- 1.23, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Research overview
Colorectal cancer (CRC) leads to approximately 600,000 deaths globally each year and is one of the major causes of death in the western world. In the UK it is the fourth most common cancer with around 40,000 new cases diagnosed each year (Cancer Research UK). At least half of these cases are thought to be preventable, as diet and lifestyle choices play a significant role in altering a person’s risk of developing cancer.
Perhaps unsurprisingly bowel cancer is strongly linked to dietary choices, for example a high fibre diet is associated with a lower cancer risk. However, the reasons for these links remain unknown. To gain a better understanding we need to study the intestinal stem cells that are responsible for maintaining a healthy bowel, as it is damage to these cells which can cause cancer.
However, in comparison to cancer there is little work performed on the normal bowel, partly due to the difficulty of obtaining samples from healthy people and lack of research teams capable of understanding the complete effect of diet on the bowel. The group is working to identify how the bacteria, immune system, epigenome and stem cells in the normal and cancerous bowel respond to different food types. The focus of the research is to improve our understanding of diet and health to provide accurate public advice and develop ways of preventing or detecting bowel cancer.
Biography
Originally from the South Wales valleys, my undergraduate training was completed in Cardiff University, followed by a PhD at the Institute of Medical Genetics at (what was then) the University of Wales College of Medicine. My Cancer Research Wales funded PhD was completed in the laboratory of Professors Julian Sampson and Jeremy Cheadle on the "Molecular and Functional Analysis of the Human Tumour Suppressor Genes TSC1 and TSC2". Upon completing my PhD in 2002 I took up a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. My work there was a change of focus from the cancer genetics of my PhD as I worked in the research groups of A/Prof Henrik Dahl and David Thorburn on Complex I deficiency in mitochondria. Upon completing this post I returned to Cardiff University and to cancer genetics, working on a Cancer Research UK funded project in the laboratory of Prof Alan Clarke. In July 2013 I took up a fellowship at the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute where my research focused on understanding and therapeutically exploiting the mechanisms that links the environment (diet & gut bacteria) to inflammation and colorectal cancer. In 2020 I became a lecture at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences, where I lead the Prevention and Early Detection of Cancer group.
Honours and awards
2014 Cardiff University Excellence Award For Leadership
Professional memberships
Proefessional Memberships
- British Association of Cancer Research 2006-
- European Association of Cancer Research 2006
- Genetics Society 1998-present
Network Memberships
- ECMC UK - Therapeutic Cancer Prevention Network
- STFC Cancer Detection Network+
Academic positions
- 2020 - present: Lecturer, Cardiff University, UK
- 2020 - 2020: Senior Research Fellow, European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, Cardiff University, UK
- 2013 - 2020: Research Fellow, European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, Cardiff University, UK
- 2005 - 2013: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cardiff University, UK
- 2002-2005: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Speaking engagements
2020
- European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, 4th Symposium, Cardiff, UK
2019
- Current Methods in Biomedical Research Summer School, Kuopio, Finland
2018
- Genetics Society - 4th Mammalian Gene, Disease and Devlopment Meeting, Bristol, UK
- Royal Society of Biology - Public Lecture, Cardiff, UK
2016
- Beatson International Cancer Conference - Modelling the Mechanisms of Malignancy - In Vivo Veritas, Glasgow, UK
- British Association Cancer Research - Therapeutic Interventions for Cancer Prevenmtion Meeting, Bristol, UK
Committees and reviewing
2020-present: Wales Cancer Research Centre Executive Committee Member
2018- present: Review Panel Member, Cardiff University Biobank
Grant Reviewer
- American Institute of Cancer Research
- Medical Research Council
- NC3R
- KiKa Dutch Cancer Council
- Research Council of Norway
Journal Reviewer
- BMC Cancer
- Clinical and Translational Medicine
- Immunology
- Journal of Pathology
- Journal of Visualised Experiments
- Kidney International
- Oncogene
- PLOS Biology
- Scientific Reports
- Trends in Endocrinology
Publications
2020
- May, S., Parry, C. and Parry, L. 2020. Berry chemoprevention: do berries decrease the window of opportunity for tumourigenesis. Food Frontiers 1(3) (10.1002/fft2.32)
- May, S.et al. 2020. Impact of black raspberries on the normal and malignant Apc deficient murine gut microbiome. Journal of Berry Research 10(1), pp. 61-76. (10.3233/JBR-180372)
- Kermanizadeh, A.et al. 2020. A review of the current state of nanomedicines for targeting and treatment of cancers - achievements and future challenges. Advanced Therapeutics
2019
- Kannen, V., Parry, L. and Martin, F. L. 2019. Phages enter the fight against colorectal cancer. Trends in Cancer 5(10), pp. 577-579. (10.1016/j.trecan.2019.08.002)
- Parry, L. and Phesse, T. J. 2019. FXR regulates intestinal stem cells response to bile acids in a high fat diet. Biotarget 3(12) (10.21037/biotarget.2019.07.01)
- Young, M. A.et al. 2019. Epigenetic regulation of Dlg1, via Kaiso, alters mitotic spindle polarity and promotes intestinal tumourigenesis. Molecular Cancer Research 17(3), pp. 686-696. (10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-18-0280)
2018
- Greenow, K. R.et al. 2018. Lect2 deficiency is characterised by altered cytokine levels and promotion of intestinal tumourigenesis. Oncotarget 9(92), pp. 36430-36443. (10.18632/oncotarget.26335)
- May, S.et al. 2018. Mbd2 enables tumourigenesis within the intestine while preventing tumour-promoting inflammation. Journal of Pathology 245(3), pp. 270-282. (10.1002/path.5074)
2017
- Colbeck, E. J.et al. 2017. Treg depletion licenses T cell-driven HEV neogenesis and promotes tumor destruction. Cancer Immunology Research 5(11), pp. 1005-1015. (10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-17-0131)
- Planells-Palop, V.et al. 2017. Human germ/stem cell-specific gene TEX19 influences cancer cell proliferation and cancer prognosis. Molecular Cancer 16, article number: 84. (10.1186/s12943-017-0653-4)
- May, S., Evans, S. and Parry, L. 2017. Organoids, organs-on-chips and other systems, and microbiota. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 1(4), pp. 385-400. (10.1042/ETLS20170047)
2016
- Hollins, A. J. and Parry, L. 2016. Long-term culture of intestinal cell progenitors: an overview of their development, application, and associated technologies. Current Pathobiology Reports 4(4), pp. 209-219. (10.1007/s40139-016-0119-1)
- Schmidt, N.et al. 2016. Epigenetic silencing of serine protease HTRA1 drives polyploidy. BMC Cancer 16, article number: 399. (10.1186/s12885-016-2425-8)
- Zhao, C.et al. 2016. Dual regulatory switch through interactions of Tcf7l2/Tcf4 with stage-specific partners propels oligodendroglial maturation. Nature Communications 7, article number: 10883. (10.1038/ncomms10883)
2015
- Parry, L.et al. 2015. Protocols for analyzing the role of Paneth cells in regenerating the murine intestine using conditional cre-lox mouse models. Journal of Visualized Experiments(105), article number: e53429. (10.3791/53429)
- Huels, D. J.et al. 2015. E-cadherin can limit the transforming properties of activating β‐catenin mutations. EMBO Journal 34(18), pp. 2321-2333. (10.15252/embj.201591739)
2014
- Koh, D. -.et al. 2014. KAISO, a critical regulator of p53-mediated transcription of CDKN1A and apoptotic genes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(42), pp. 15078-15083. (10.1073/pnas.1318780111)
2013
- Parry, L.et al. 2013. Evidence for a crucial role of Paneth Cells in mediating the intestinal response to injury. Stem Cells 31(4), pp. 776-785. (10.1002/stem.1326)
- Jarde, T.et al. 2013. In vivo and in vitro models for the therapeutic targeting of Wnt signaling using a Tet-OΔN89β-catenin system. Oncogene 32(7), pp. 883-893. (10.1038/onc.2012.103)
- Meniel, V.et al. 2013. Cited1 deficiency suppresses intestinal tumorigenesis. PLoS Genetics 9(8), article number: e1003638. (10.1371/journal.pgen.1003638)
2012
- Smartt, H. J. M.et al. 2012. β-catenin represses expression of the tumour suppressor 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase in the normal intestinal epithelium and colorectal tumour cells. Gut 61(9), pp. 1306-1314. (10.1136/gutjnl-2011-300817)
2011
- Parry, L. and Clarke, A. R. 2011. The roles of the methyl-CpG binding proteins in cancer. Genes & Cancer 2(6), pp. 618-630. (10.1177/1947601911418499)
2010
- Cole, A.et al. 2010. p21 loss blocks senescence following Apc loss and provokes tumourigenesis in the renal but not the intestinal epithelium. EMBO Molecular Medicine 2(11), pp. 472-486. (10.1002/emmm.201000101)
2008
- Phesse, T.et al. 2008. Deficiency of Mbd2 attenuates Wnt induced tumourigenesis via deregulation of a novel Wnt inhibitor, Lect.2. Molecular and Cellular Biology 28(19), pp. 6094-6103. (10.1128/MCB.00539-08)
2005
- Wilson, C. H.et al. 2005. A mouse model of tuberous sclerosis 1 showing background specific early post-natal mortality and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Human Molecular Genetics 14(13), pp. 1839-1850. (10.1093/hmg/ddi190)
2004
- Kirby, D. M.et al. 2004. NDUFS6 mutations are a novel cause of lethal neonatal mitochondrial complex I deficiency. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 114(6), pp. 837-845. (10.1172/JCI200420683)
2003
- Dixon, P. F.et al. 2003. Four years of monitoring for viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus in marine waters around the United Kingdom. Disease of Aquatic Organisms 54(3), pp. 175-186. (10.3354/dao054175)
2001
- Hodges, A. K.et al. 2001. Pathological mutations in TSC1 and TSC2 disrupt the interaction between hamartin and tuberin. Human Molecular Genetics 10(25), pp. 2899-9205. (10.1093/hmg/10.25.2899)
- Parry, L.et al. 2001. Analysis of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes in sporadic renal cell carcinomas. British Journal of Cancer 85, pp. 1226-1230. (10.1054/bjoc.2001.2072)
2000
- Parry, L.et al. 2000. Molecular analysis of the TSC1 and TSC2 tumour suppressor genes in sporadic glial and glioneuronal tumours. Human Genetics 107(4), pp. 350-356. (10.1007/s004390000390)
1997
- Dixon, P.et al. 1997. Isolation of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus from Atlantic herring Clupea harengus from the Atlantic herring Clupea harengus from the English channel. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 30(2), pp. 81-89.
- Parry, L. and Dixon, P. F. 1997. Stability of nine viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) isolates in seawater. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists 17(1), pp. 31-36.
Teaching
Lecturer at Cardiff University
- 2020-21
- Co-ordinator: 2nd Year Cancer Biology Workshop
- Lecturer in immunology on BI3352 Cancer: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutics
- Supervisor on BI4001: Advanced Research Project
- Contributor on BI4002: Advanced Research Methods
- Contributor on BI4003: Frontiers in Biosciences
- Supervisor on BI3001: Final Year Project
- Contributor on BI2332: Concepts of Disease
Occaisonal Lecturer at University of West England
- 2016-present: Lecturer at MSc Rsearch Conference Event
Primary research
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 4th most frequent type of tumour and the 2nd leading cause of malignancy-related deaths in the Western world. Worldwide CRC incidence is increasing in female patients, those younger than 50 years-old and in low/middle income nations. As ~50% of CRC cases are preventable (WCRF-UK and Cancer Research UK websites) there is a potential to significantly reduce CRC incidence and address this global clinical need. Many of the fundamental mechanisms which link nutritional intake to physiological consequences remain undetermined. An improved mechanistic understanding would form part of a wider robust evidence base which is important in determining cause-and-effect relationships. There is a need to answer fundamental questions about the mechanisms by which diet impacts upon the normal biological processes and how they link through to influences on health and disease. Primary prevention can be achieved with greater understanding of how the major CRC risk factors of diet and lifestyle impact on the intestinal stem cell from which CRC originates. Secondary prevention can be achieved with improvements in existing and new techniques for the early detection of the pre-malignant polyps prior to thier progression to carcinoma.
It is well documented that CRCs evolve through loops of deregulated inflammatory stimuli which are sustained by DNA damage signalling pathways and epigenetic re-modelling (DNA methylation). Intensive work in recent years has led to the identification of genes and mechanisms that link diet to changes in the gut microbiota, and the pigenome. These alterations drive epithelial and inflammatory/immune responses which interact with intestinal stem cell and can increase or decrease CRC risk. As a lab we aim to foster symbiotic relationships with a multidisciplinary team that includes epidemiologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, translational scientists, basic scientists, clinical researchers, clinicians, statisticians and public health professionals, all of whom bring their individual specialties to the common purpose. As we believe that synergic analysis of all parameters could provide new biological insights and effective biomarkers that could have applications in prevention, molecular diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of intestinal disease and CRC.
Current projects:
- Molecular and Functional Characterization of the Role of Foxp3+ Regulatory T (Treg) Cells in the Development of Intestinal Cancer
- Molecular and Functional Characterisation of the Nutri-Epigenetic Effects of Chemopreventative Polyphenols in Intestinal Cancer
- Identifying the influence of the microbiome and metabolome on the normal and
malignant murine intestinal stem cell - Exploiting oncotropic bacteria for early detection of colorectal cancer
Supervision
I would be interested in supervising in the areas of:
- Mouse models of disease
- Intestinal stem cells/cancer stem cells
- Cancer prevention
- Cancer early detection
- Any interaction between the microbiome, immune system and epigenome that impacts on the intestine
- Technology to improve prevention and early detection of cancer
- Translational/clinical resaerch into
I currently supervise/co-supervise the following students:
Current supervision
Past projects
PhD
- 2019
- Supervisor for Ana Padhila - "Molecular and Functional Characterization of the Role of Foxp3+ Regulatory T (Treg) Cells in the Development of Intestinal Cancer"
- 2018
- Co-supervisor (50%) for Stephanie May-"Molecular and Functional Characterisation of the Nutri-Epigenetic Effects of Chemopreventative Polyphenols in Intestinal Cancer"
- Co-supervisor (20%) for William Hill - " Heterotypic cell-cell interactions between KrasG12D cells and normal neighbours in early pancreatic cancer"
Mres
- 2014 Supervisor for Christopher Towers - "Understanding the anti/pro tumourigenic role of Ifnγ in intestinal cancer"
Intergrated Masters
- 2020
- Supervisor for Cerian -"The impact of different eating mechanisms on gene expression profiles in intestinal stem cells and differentiated cell types."
Engagement
2020 - Contributor to Techniquest After Hours - Rogue Cells
2018 - present: Contributor to Wales Gene Park Gentics Roadshow
2013 - present: CRUK representative and volunteer
2013 - present: - Wales STEM Ambassador
