Arman Ali Ghodsinia

Research interests

Childhood brain tumours are one of the most serious forms of cancer in children. While many children respond well to treatment at first, some tumours come back because a small number of cancer cells survive therapy. Understanding how these cells escape treatment is important for developing better and safer therapies. My research uses genetic “barcodes” and sequencing to track tumour cells over time in living models. This allows us to follow how tumours grow, change, and respond to treatment. By studying the cells that survive therapy, we can learn why some tumours become resistant and return after treatment. The goal of this work is to help develop treatments that are more effective and have fewer long-term side effects for children with brain tumours.

Background 

I graduated with a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of the Philippines. After completing my degree, I worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Professor Reynaldo Garcia, where I characterized non-hotspot mutations in PIK3CA. I then obtained an MSc in Radiation Biology from the University of Oxford, working with Professor Tim Humphrey to investigate transcriptional responses to DNA damage. Finally, I completed an MRes and PhD at the University of Cambridge, where I engineered synthetic cytokines for therapeutic applications in the laboratory of Professors Adrian Liston and James Dooley.