Elaine Johnstone

As a departmental lecturer and Co-Director of the MSc in Experimental and Translational Therapeutics (ETT), my overarching interest is in experimental medicine and patient variability in response. My current responsibilities on the MSc involve curriculum development and pedagogy, academic progress, dissertation development and supervision as well as pastoral support at a graduate and undergraduate level. I am keen to develop my research in education and am interested in outreach and the attainment gap. 

I have a BSc in Medicinal Chemistry, an MSc in Molecular Pathology and Toxicology and a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology, which I competed at the Cancer Research Unit, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. After a fellowship studying differential drug response in sarcoma at the University of Bordeaux, I started working at the University of Oxford. 

My research at Oxford initially focussed on cancer prevention, studying biological factors influencing effectiveness of smoking cessation therapies (eg NRT).  This approach then shifted into cancer patients, identifying genomic factors that influence efficacy and side effects post-treatment. Although I have focussed mainly on biomarkers of treatment outcome, I also have an interest in healthy aging, cancer and exercise, and identifying high risk individuals using biomarkers. 

I have a keen interest in education and lots of experience teaching and supporting students to achieve their potential. I recently gained a PGCert in Higher Teaching and Learning with distinction and also a Fellow of the HEA.