Dr Zoë Walters’ research into combination therapies

Dr Zoe Walters, University of Southampton

In 2019, as part of our Small Grants programme, we awarded £5,000 to Dr Zoë Walters at the University of Southampton.

The aim of Dr Walters research is to evaluate the efficacy of combining therapies for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma.

Dr Walters tells us more about her research, why she is passionate about cancer research and how she hopes to make a difference to children with neuroblastoma.

What motivates you in your role?

I am passionate about science and cancer research in particular. As far back as I can remember I have always wanted to be a scientist. My parents both have scientific backgrounds so I suppose you could say it’s in the genes!

I am a naturally inquisitive person and like to get to the bottom of things, that’s definitely a trait that comes in handy for a career in research. I’m also lucky enough to work with a wonderful bunch of people, and have a lovely little team in the lab at the moment.

What is your background?

I am a molecular geneticist at heart and have spent the last 10 years or so working on a paediatric sarcoma. My work involves the study of proteins that regulate the structure of DNA to control when and where particular genes are switched on in cells and how these go wrong in cancers.

The molecular similarities between the paediatric sarcoma that I am working on and neuroblastoma, in terms of my research area, meant that I felt I could apply what I had learnt from the sarcoma area to the neuroblastoma field.

Can you explain a little about your research project and what it will involve?

Around half of children in the high risk category for neuroblastoma will eventually relapse and currently the prognosis for these children is dismal. Also, current treatments often have long term side effects, these can seriously impact on the life of the child even after the cancer has gone.

We need to test new types of drugs and how effective they are against this type of tumour. In my lab we have found a protein present in these tumours that reacts to recently developed drugs. I am testing to see if targeting this protein in combination with one of the current treatments will limit growth and reduce the size of the cancer.

Once I have tested the drugs as much as I can they will progress into clinical trials, hopefully then they will be widely used for children with this type of cancer.

What does the research grant from Neuroblastoma UK mean to you and your team?

My team firmly believe that every child with cancer deserves to be cured and given their life back. This grant gives us the opportunity to start to make a difference to children suffering from neuroblastoma, particularly those with the most severe form.

What do you hope your research will lead to? What impact will it have?

We hope that this pilot research will lead to a larger study that will eventually result in these more targeted, and thus potentially less harmful, treatments being used for the treatment of neuroblastoma.

If we can show that this combination treatment is effective then ultimately we hope that it could reduce the harmful side effects of current treatments as well as improving the survival rates for children with neuroblastoma. 

Read about Dr Zoe Walter’s research and current research grants awarded in 2019.