AstraZeneca & University of Manchester
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Petra Hamerlik was born in Slovakia where she graduated with a M.Sc. degree in Molecular Biology (2005) and continued her postgraduate (2008 Ph.D. degree in Medical Biology) and postdoctoral studies (2008-2010) in the Czech-Danish laboratory headed by Professor Bartek, who is among the leading figures in the field of DNA repair. In 2012, Petra was appointed as a junior group leader at the Danish Cancer Society. Petra’s first priority as a group leader was to establish the Brain Tumor Tissue Repository. This well-characterized and robustly curated resource has underpinned a series of novel discoveries. In search for factors contributing to bevacizumab resistance in glioblastoma (GBM), Petra’s work identified autocrine VEGFR2/VEGF-A signaling as a key factor in the maintenance of GBM stem-like cells (GSCs). Petra’s team found that GSCs adopted a unique evasion mechanism, where VEGF-C aberrantly binds VEGFR2 in the absence of VEGF-A, and activates pro-survival signaling. Petra’s group identified a novel pro-oncogenic role for BRCA1 in GBM and investigated other molecular mechanisms such as the role of histone deacetylation or methylation in regulating DNA repair. Among her achievements are the prestigious DFF Young Elite Scientist, Hallas-Møller Investigator and Danish Cancer Society Young Researcher Awards, which enabled her to establish an independent research line primarily focused on improving our understanding of DNA damage response (DDR) regulation and its impact on genomic instability of GBM. Currently, Petra has a joint appointment as a Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca UK and Chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology at the University of Manchester.
1. Principle Scientist & CNS cancer Bioscience Lead
AstraZeneca, Oncology R&D | Research & Early Development | Bioscience
Hodgkin building,
Chesterford Research Park, Saffron Walden, CB10 1XL, UK
petra.hamerlik@astrazeneca.com
2. Chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology and Professor
Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester
555 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M20 4GJ, UK
petra.hamerlik@manchester.ac.uk