Luke Tattersall, Developing a Treatment for Osteosarcoma

Luke conducted PhD research into exploring a novel drug receptor to attempt to develop a treatment for osteosarcoma. “The Mellanby Centre for Bone Research based in The University of Sheffield’s Medical School is internationally recognised in bone research and has many resources, state-of-the-art facilities and career opportunities.”

Luke is from Sheffield born and bred and started his PhD in October 2015, with his final viva examination in January 2019, supervised by Professor Alison Gartland in the Department of Oncology and Metabolism.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary bone cancer in young people, with treatment options not changing for decades. Luke’s research was funded by the Bone Cancer Research Trust and investigated and determined the role of a novel drug receptor in osteosarcoma, and whether the impact of this would be used as a new treatment option for patients if the research is successful.

“I found the amount of opportunities that were available to me the most rewarding part - I spent two months learning a lab technique in Italy, was invited to speak in Brazil at an international conference and also made an appearance on TV about bone cancer. I also had two very supportive supervisors, and they helped to give me many opportunities to further my career.”

Luke is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Alison Gartland researching osteosarcoma, which is funded by a charity called Hannah’s Willberry Wonderpony, using high throughput screening to identify potentially new drugs; Luke is also researching chemotherapy resistance. 

Luke adds, “I would highly recommend finding out about the supervisor and the lab group you are interested in - research the background and read the papers produced from the department, so you are aware of what is going on and how you can contribute towards future progress.”