Founding Group

Dr Claire Fletcher

Dr Claire Fletcher is a Lecturer in Molecular Oncology and Principal Investigator within the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, where she completed her PhD, post-doctoral studies and Fellowships from The Prostate Cancer Foundation of the US and Imperial College/ AstraZeneca. Her research concerns the role of the adipose microenvironment and obesity in promoting aggressive prostate cancer phenotypes. Her other research interests include drug resistance mechanisms, the development of RNA-based cancer therapeutics, and understanding the role of non-coding RNAs in hormone-dependent cancer pathogenesis. She holds grants from Prostate Cancer Foundation, Prostate Cancer UK, Worldwide Cancer Research and Prostate Cancer Research.

Dr. Sankari Nagarajan

Dr Nagarajan is a breast cancer research scientist investigating the transcriptional regulation of disease progression in breast cancers. After obtaining a prestigious and competitive PhD scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), she moved to the University of Goettingen, Germany, to work with Prof. Dr. Steven A Johnsen for her PhD.

As a Research associate, she worked with Prof. Jason Carroll at Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Then, she moved to Manchester to start her first PI position in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Function at the University of Manchester. Her expert experience in the epigenetics of breast cancers has been well-recognised by the Career Establishment award by the charity Cancer Research UK. Her lab is further funded by a Breast Cancer Now project grant. Dr Nagarajan serves as the deputy director of the Manchester Breast Centre. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group in the Lobular Cancer UK charity and Breast Cancer Now Tissue Biobank and is heavily involved in cancer patient engagement. She is a member of the founding ECR council and scientific committee of EACR. She is also a strong ambassador and practiser of work-life balance with childcare responsibilities.

Professor Luca Magnani

Luca Magnani's path in biotechnology began at the University of Bologna, where he completed his BSc and MSc in 2004. It was during an exchange visit to Purdue University that he discovered his interest in early embryogenesis. This curiosity guided him into the subtle complexities of chromatin and epigenetics, a field that would come to define his career.

Luca's work on chromatin remodelling ATPases took him to Michigan State University, where he continued his research on mouse embryogenesis. The questions he explored were fundamental, but the implications were vast, touching on how cells diversify their transcriptional programmes through non-genetic changes. 

In 2009, Luca made a significant shift in his research focus. He began to investigate how cancer cells leverage the same processes that drive development to evolve drug resistance. Working with Professor Mathieu Lupien at Dartmouth College and the University of Toronto, he unearthed new insights into epigenetic reprogramming during tumour evolution.

In 2013, Luca's next step took him to Imperial College London, where, supported by a fellowship, he launched his independent lab. His work continued to revolve around the mysteries of oestrogen receptor breast cancer, bridging laboratory research with real-world clinical applications. His journey led him to the position of Chair in Cancer Adaptation and Evolution in 2020. Here, Magnani furthered his research into the biology of dormancy in oestrogen receptor breast cancer, moving ever closer to understanding how to eradicate them before resistance can evolve.

In September 2023, Luca joined the ICR as a professor, leading the Breast Cancer Epigenetics and Evolution Group. His group's goals reflect his ongoing commitment to innovation and patient care: to identify critical vulnerabilities in dormant cancer cells and to develop strategies that might lower the incidence of breast cancer.

Professor Cathrin Brisken