Emily Ashwin

1. How did you become interested in translational gastroenterology? 

I began working for The Gastroenterology and Hepatology Clinical Trials’ Facility as a research practitioner, involved with trials on a range of different liver diseases. This is where my interest and passion started which led to me becoming a Clinical Study Coordinator for the DeLIVER programme. 

2. What are you currently working on and what importance does your work hold for current patients with gastrointestinal issues? 

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the fastest rising and 4th commonest cause of cancer death world-wide. Currently, 80% of HCCs are diagnosed at late stage with a 5-year survival of less than 5%. Strategies for the early detection of HCC are urgently required so that curative therapies may be applied. To date, little effort has been made to characterise the pre-cancerous liver landscape, and current imaging techniques and biomarkers that seek to identify HCC, lack sensitivity, specificity and use outdated modalities. 

The DeLIVER programme aims to overcome the barriers to HCC early detection by characterising the pre-cancerous liver microenvironment and applying new methodologies to measure this, combining novel quantitative multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging and state-of-the-art molecular biomarker technologies. To achieve this, we have established an internationally renowned research team in the fields of immunology, imaging, (epi)genomics, biochemistry, oncology and integrative data science. 
 

3. What do you enjoy most about scientific research? 

I love that scientific research is constantly evolving and developing and that every day is different. It feels very rewarding to be part of something that has the potential to benefit lives.  
 

4. What’s the best part of being an Oxford University TGLU member? 

The TGLU is a very friendly, collaborative environment and working with such a supportive group of scientists and clinicians is inspiring.