Project title
Balancing sortilin function: its role in lung cancer
Profile summary
I have completed a BSc in Pharmacy (2013) at the University of Mosul in my original country, and then a MSc in Pharmacology and Biotechnology in January 2019 at Sheffield Hallam University. I arrived at Canterbury Christ Church University and started my PhD in November 2019 under the supervision of Dr Cornelia Wilson and Dr Carol Trim (advisor). My research focuses on the role of sortilin in exosome biogenesis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Sortilin or neurotensin receptor-3 is a member of Vps10p domain receptor family, which acts as a receptor, co-receptor and intra- and extracellular trafficking molecule. Also, sortilin is involved in neurotrophin signalling through their interaction with Trk receptors to induce cell survival and with p75NTR and pro-neurotrophins to induce apoptosis. Deregulation of sortilin expression has been found in different human diseases including neurological diseases and cancer.
I am investigating the impact of sortilin dysregulation in lung cancer, a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. My studies will focus on sortilin’s role in exosome biogenesis, the cancer microenvironment and cancer progression, in addition to its effect on neurotrophin signalling pathways and their involved genes by using cell line models of NSCLC that express different levels of sortilin. This study will aid in a greater understanding of sortilin’s role in lung cancer and provides a new approach for targeting sortilin for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.