Dr Harriet Holme was awarded a fellowship grant by the Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) to investigate which genes drive the growth of osteosarcoma tumours and will submit this for a PhD qualification. After completing undergraduate training at Cambridge and University College London, Harriet has undertaken paediatric training in London. Harriet was an Academic Clinical Fellow at the Blizard Institute, London, and appointed to national subspecialty training in paediatric oncology in September 2012.

In collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) Harriet will perform an ‘siRNA’ screen (gene silencer screen) to target and silence individual genes in osteosarcoma cell lines. Over 700 genes will be screened in order to identify which genes are essential for the continued growth of the osteosarcoma cells. Fifteen osteosarcoma cell lines will be used to ensure that the results are not just relevant in one kind of osteosarcoma tumour.

Secondly, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the same cell lines will be screened against a library over 600 drugs which each target and turn-off different genes in the cells. Computer analysis of both stages of this project will then show the most powerful genes and gene-networks that could be targeted for the treatment of osteosarcoma. Any such genes can be examined in 80 more osteosarcoma tumour samples, to see whether these genes are switched on in many osteosarcoma tumours.

Harriet will be supervised by Dr Sandra Strauss, and Professor Adrienne Flanagan at the UCL Cancer Institute and Professor Alan Ashworth and Dr Chris Lord at the ICR.

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