Dr Laura Randle

Research Overview

Investigating cholangiocarcinoma in precision-cut tumour slices to improve therapeutic response.
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive hepatobiliary malignancy with increasing incidence and persistently poor prognosis. Late-stage diagnosis often precludes curative resection and chemoresistance means therapeutic options are limited. Since 2020, I have secured external funding from NC3Rs and North West Cancer Research to establish Precision cut tumour slices (hPCTS) in Liverpool. This has been facilitated by fruitful collaborations with colleagues at Liverpool University Hospital Trust, University of Liverpool, University of Surrey, Liverpool John Moores University and Astra Zeneca.

These patient derived, ex vivo 3D cellular structures can recapitulate critical aspects of cancer biology and crucially retain all aspects of the tumour microenvironment. I believe this translational model can bridge the gap from in vitro / in vivo models and man. Implementation of hPCTS has enabled me to begin to investigate hepatobiliary cancers to explore therapeutic drug response, cellular bioenergetics, the tumour immune-phenotype, validation of novel drug targets and aid in biomarker discovery. The versatility of this technique also means that it can easily be adapted for use on healthy and disease tissue from a variety of organs and species providing ample avenues for future exploration and collaboration.

I also have a keen interest in furthering our understanding of the chemical, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury, particularly focusing on cellular defence and hepatoprotective mechanisms alongside developing novel safe anti-malarials.