Staff Profile

I am a group leader within the Cell Signalling Theme with the Biosciences Institute and the Newcastle Cancer Centre. My research interests are in the molecular mechanisms of prostate cancer development and progression. In particular, identifying signalling pathways that can have therapeutic benefit to prostate cancer patients. 

My group resides within a collaborative urology centred research laboratory which houses the research of Professor Craig Robson, Dr Luke Gaughan and hosts research fellows Dr Adriana Buskin and Dr Anastasia Hepburn. In addition, we collaborate with clinician scientists Prof Rakesh Heer and Mr Stuart McCracken.

Other responsibilities include Joint Early Career Researcher Theme Lead, Radiation Protection Supervisor for the Paul O'Gorman Building and the Faculty of Medicine Representative for the NUCarer's Network.

Previous positions

• Prostate Cancer UK Career Development Fellow (2014-2022)

Qualifications

• PhD (2006) Gene expression analysis in prostate cancer: effects of Trichostatin A. University of Newcastle
• BSc (Hons) Biochemistry (2001) University of Newcastle
• Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (2022)

Areas of expertise

• Molecular biology
• Prostate Cancer
• Chromatin
• Androgen receptor
• Cell signalling
  

Other

• Newcastle Teaching Award (2013)
• PI Development Programme

Memberships

• BACR
• EACR 

Languages

• English

Google scholar: Click here.

Research Interests

Research Interests:

• Gene expression analysis in prostate cancer
• Signalling pathways in prostate cancer
• Androgen receptor
• Chromatin
• Spacial biology

Expertise:

• Laser capture microdissection
• RNA isolation for gene expression analysis
• Real-time PCR
• Mammalian tissue culture systems
• FACS
• siRNA screens
• ELISA
• Chromatin immunoprecipitation
• Ex vivo Cultures

Current Work

Kinase signalling pathways and transcriptional regulation in cancer

Postgraduate Supervision

PhD Students:

Mr Joseph Smith 2016-2020

Mrs Zainab AlEbady 2013-2016 

Miss Mahsa Azizyan 2012-2015 

Mrs Dhuha AlKharaif 2009-2013

Science without borders: Mr Guilherme Gomide Almeida 2013

Wellcome Trust Vacation Scholarships:

Miss Megan Rigby (2019)

Miss Emily Jones (2018)

Miss Kathryn Patterson (2017)

Mr Tamim Siyala (2015)

Miss Sin Yin Kee (2014)

Miss Stephanie Matthews (2012) 

Undergraduate students: yearly

Masters students:

MRes students 2008, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

MSc students 2015, 2012

MSci students 2015, 2014, 2017, 2022

MPharm students 2020, 2021, 2022

Esteem Indicators

Androgens 2018, Edinburgh, UK: Oral Presentation

Prostate Cancer UK Career Development Fellowship 2014 

Androgens 2014, London, UK: Oral presentation

2^nd Biennial Prostate forum, Baltimore, USA, 2014: Oral presentation (Invited Speaker)

PCUK Early Career Researchers Day, London: Oral presentation (Invited Speaker)

Oral Presentation given at Androgens 2012, Helsinki. Prize for best short talk. 

Oral presentation given at the joint NICR and IHG research day 2010.
Oral presentation given at the British Prostate Group Annual meeting 2007.

Undergraduate Teaching

Supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students within the laboratory

UG Seminar leading

Postgraduate Teaching

Joint Module Lead: ONC8022: Cancer: Cell Molecular Biology and Genetics

Deputy Module Lead: MRes MMB8050: Therapeutic Applications of Cell Signalling Pathways

• Articles

  • Garnham R, Geh D, Nelson R, Ramon-Gil E, Wilson L, Schmidt EN, Walker L, Adamson B, Buskin A, Hepburn A, Hodgson K, Kendall H, Frame FM, Maitland NM, Coffey K, Robson CN, Elliott DJ, Heer R, Macauley MS, Munkley J, Gaughan L, Leslie J, Scott E. ST3Gal1 synthesis of Siglec ligands mediates anti-tumour immunity in prostate cancer. bioRxiv 2023.
  • Alebady ZAH, Azizyan M, Nakjang S, Lishman-Walker E, Al-Kharaif D, Walker S, Choo HX, Garnham R, Scott E, Johnson KL, Robson CN, Coffey K. CDC20 is regulated by the histone methyltransferase, KMT5A, in castration resistant prostate cancer. Cancers 2023, 15(14), 3597.
  • Bainbridge A, Walker S, Smith J, Patterson K, Dutt D, Ng YM, Thomas HD, Wilson L, McCullough B, Jones D, Maan A, Banks P, McCracken SRC, Gaughan L, Robson CN, Coffey K. IKBKE activity enhances AR levels in advanced prostate cancer via modulation of the Hippo pathway. Nucleic Acids Research 2020, 48(10), 5366-5382.
  • McClurg UL, Harle VJ, Nabbi A, Batalha-Pereira A, Walker S, Coffey K, Gaughan L, McCracken SRC, Robson CN. Ubiquitin-specific protease 12 interacting partners Uaf-1 and WDR20 are potential therapeutic targets in prostate cancer. Oncotarget 2015, 6(35).
  • Wade MA, Jones D, Wilson L, Stockley J, Coffey K, Robson CN, Gaughan L. The histone demethylase enzyme KDM3A is a key estrogen receptor regulator in breast cancer. Nucleic Acids Research 2015, 43(1), 196-207.
  • Ponthan F, Yusoff NM, Soria NM, Heidenreich O, Coffey K. Gene Silencing by RNAi in Mammalian Cells. Current Protocols in Molecular Biology 2015, 2015, 26.2.1-26.2.17.
  • Coffey K, Rogerson L, Ryan-Munden C, Alkharaif D, Stockley J, Heer R, Sahadevan K, O'Neill D, Jones D, Darby S, Staller P, Mantilla A, Gaughan L, Robson CN. The lysine demethylase, KDM4B, is a key molecule in androgen receptor signalling and turnover. Nucleic Acids Research 2013, 41(8), 4433-4446.
  • Gaughan L, Stockley J, Coffey K, O'Neill D, Jones DL, Wade M, Wright J, Moore M, Tse S, Rogerson L, Robson CN. KDM4B is a Master Regulator of the Estrogen Receptor Signalling Cascade. Nucleic Acids Research 2013, 41(14), 6892-6904.
  • Burska UL, Harle VJ, Coffey K, Darby S, Ramsey H, O'Neill D, Logan IR, Gaughan L, Robson CN. Deubiquitinating Enzyme Usp12 Is a Novel Co-activator of the Androgen Receptor. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2013, 288(45), 32641-32650.
  • Williamson SC, Hepburn AC, Wilson L, Coffey K, Ryan-Munden CA, Pal D, Leung HY, Robson CN, Heer R. Human α₂β₁^HI CD133^+VE Epithelial Prostate Stem Cells Express Low Levels of Active Androgen Receptor. PLoS One 2012, 7(11), e48944.
  • Coffey K, Blackburn TJ, Cook S, Golding BT, Griffin RJ, Hardcastle IR, Hewitt L, Huberman K, McNeill HV, Newell DR, Roche C, Ryan-Munden CA, Watson A, Robson CN. Characterisation of a Tip60 specific inhibitor, NU9056, in prostate cancer. PLoS One 2012, 7(10), e45539.
  • Armstrong K, Ahmad I, Kalna G, Tan SS, Edwards J, Robson CN, Leung HY. Upregulated FGFR1 expression is associated with the transition of hormone-naive to castrate-resistant prostate cancer. British Journal of Cancer 2011, 105(9), 1362-1369.
  • Gaughan L, Stockley J, Wang N, McCracken S, Truemann A, Armstrong K, Shaheen F, Watt K, McEwan I, Wang C, Pestell RG, Robson CN. Regulation of the androgen receptor by SET9-mediated methylation. Nucleic Acids Research 2011, 39(4), 1266-1279.
  • Rajan P, Dalgliesh C, Carling PJ, Buist T, Zhang CL, Grellscheid SN, Armstrong K, Stockley J, Simillion C, Gaughan L, Kalna G, Zhang MQ, Robson CN, Leung HY, Elliott DJ. Identification of Novel Androgen-Regulated Pathways and mRNA Isoforms through Genome-Wide Exon-Specific Profiling of the LNCaP Transcriptome. PLoS One 2011, 6(12), e29088.
  • Armstrong K, Robson CN, Leung HY. NF-κB activation upregulates fibroblast growth factor 8 expression in prostate cancer cells. The Prostate 2006, 66(11), 1223-1234.
  • Zhu HN, Mazor M, Kawano Y, Walker MM, Leung HY, Armstrong K, Waxman J, Kypta RM. Analysis of Wnt gene expression in prostate cancer: Mutual enhibition by WNT11 and the androgen receptor. Cancer Research 2004, 64(21), 7918-7926.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

  • Burska UL, Harle VJ, Coffey K, Darby S, Ramsey H, Gaughan L, Robson CN. Usp12 a novel AR co-regulator and PCa biomarker?. In: Society of Academic and Research Surgery Annual Meeting. 2014, Cambridge, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

• Reviews

  • Coffey K. Targeting the Hippo pathway in prostate cancer: What’s new?. Cancers 2021, 13(4), 611.
  • Coffey K, Robson CN. Regulation of the androgen receptor by post-translational modifications. Journal of Endocrinology 2012, 215(2), 221-237.