Staff Profile

Qualifications:

BSc (Hons) - Human Genetics - 1st Class (Newcastle University)

MRes - Medical and Molecular Biosciences - Distinction (Newcastle University)

PhD - Alternative splicing regulation of RNA-binding proteins T-STAR and Sam68 (Newcastle University, 2015)

Current position:

Faculty Fellow - researching circulating tumour cells in neuroblastoma:

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/research/fellowship-schemes/marina-danilenko/

Previous appointments:

Postdoctoral Research Associate 2017 - 2023 (Newcastle University) on childhood medulloblastoma:

Molecular heterogeneity of childhood brain cancer medulloblastoma applying single-cell sequencing

Postdoctoral Research Associate 2015 - 2016 (Newcastle University) on skin tumours:

1) Clinical trial on TRK inhibitors in rare skin tumours; 

2) Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of rare skin tumours; 

3) Expression of neurotrophins and neurotrophin recenptors in skin cancer

Main Direction:

My fellowship is focused on exploring Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) isolated from blood of neuroblastoma patients, aiming to identify the key gene signatures required for CTC dissemination and self-seeding. To achieve this, I will be applying single-cell sequencing approaches. Results of this work will provide a background for future studies on designing new life-saving strategies to prevent neuroblastoma metastasis and relapse.

Associate Fellow of the Newcastle University Graduate School;

Lecturer (Haematopoiesis);

Seminar leader (Biochemistry, Physiology, Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology);

Practical leader (Pharmacology);

Exam marker (Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacology). 

• Articles

  • Danilenko M, Zaka M, Keeling C, Crosier S, Lyman S, Finetti M, Williamson D, Hussain R, Coxhead J, Zhou P, Hill RM, Hicks D, Rand V, Joshi A, Schwalbe EC, Bailey S, Clifford SC. Single-cell DNA sequencing identifies risk-associated clonal complexity and evolutionary trajectories in childhood medulloblastoma development. Acta Neuropathologica 2022, 144, 565–578.
  • Hicks D, Rafiee G, Schwalbe EC, Howell CI, Lindsey JC, Hill RM, Smith AJ, Adidharma P, Steel C, Richardson S, Pease L, Danilenko M, Crosier S, Joshi A, Wharton SB, Jacques TS, Pizer B, Michalski A, Williamson D, Bailey S, Clifford SC. The molecular landscape and associated clinical experience in infant medulloblastoma: prognostic significance of second-generation subtypes. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 2021, 47(2), 236-250.
  • Danilenko M, Hodgson K, Stones R, Husain A, Zangarini M, Veal G, Rajan N. Diverse assays from a single skin punch biopsy to assess topical drug intervention. British Journal of Dermatology 2019, 180(4), 937-938.
  • Danilenko M, Stones R, Rajan N. Transcriptomic profiling of human skin biopsies in the clinical trial setting: A protocol for high quality RNA extraction from skin tumours. Wellcome Open Research 2018, 3, 45.
  • Danilenko M, Stamp E, Stocken DD, Husain A, Zangarini M, Cranston A, Stones R, Sinclair N, Hodgson K, Bowett SA, Roblin D, Traversa S, Plummer R, Veal G, Langtry JAA, Ashworth A, Burn J, Rajan N. Targeting tropomyosin receptor kinase in cutaneous CYLD defective tumors (TRAC): A randomised placebo-controlled early phase trial with pegcantratinib. JAMA Dermatology 2018, 154(8), 913-921.
  • Zangarini M, Rajan N, Danilenko M, Berry P, Traversa S, Veal GJ. Development and validation of LC–MS/MS with in-source collision-induced dissociation for the quantification of pegcantratinib in human skin tumors. Bioanalysis 2017, 9(3), 279-288.
  • Danilenko M, Dalgliesh C, Pagliarini V, Naro C, Ehrmann I, Feracci M, Kheirollahi-Chadegani M, Tyson-Capper A, Clowry GJ, Fort P, Dominguez C, Sette C, Elliott DJ. Binding site density enables paralog-specific activity of SLM2 and Sam68 proteins in Neurexin2 AS4 splicing control. Nucleic Acids Research 2017, 45(7), 4120–4130.
  • Feracci M, Foot JN, Grellscheid SN, Danilenko M, Stehle R, Gonchar O, Kang HS, Dalgliesh C, Meyer NH, Liu YL, Lahat A, Sattler M, Eperon IC, Elliott DJ, Dominguez C. Structural basis of RNA recognition and dimerization by the STAR proteins T-STAR and Sam68. Nature Communications 2016, 7, 10355.
  • Ehrmann I, Gazzara MR, Pagliarini V, Dalgliesh C, Kheirollahi-Chadegani M, Xu Y, Cesari E, Danilenko M, Maclennan M, Lowdon K, Vogel T, Keskivali-Bond P, Wells S, Cater H, Fort P, Sanibanez-Koref M, Middei S, Sette C, Clowry GJ, Barash Y, Cunningham MO, Elliott DJ. A SLM2 Feedback Pathway Controls Cortical Network Activity and Mouse Behavior. Cell Reports 2016, 17(12), 3269-3280.
  • Hynes AM, Giles RH, Srivastava S, Eley L, Whitehead J, Danilenko M, Raman S, Slaats GG, Colville JG, Ajzenberg H, Kroes HY, Thelwall PE, Simmons NL, Miles CG, Sayer JA. Murine Joubert syndrome reveals Hedgehog signaling defects as a potential therapeutic target for nephronophthisis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2014, 111(27), 9893-9898.
  • Best A, James K, Dalgliesh C, Hong EA, Kheirolahi-Kouhestani M, Curk T, Xu Y, Danilenko M, Hussain R, Keavney B, Wipat A, Klinck R, Cowell IG, Cheong Lee K, Austin C, Venables JP, Chabot B, Santibanez Koref M, Tyson-Capper AJ, Elliott DJ. Human Tra2 proteins jointly control a CHEK1 splicing switch among alternative and constitutive target exons. Nature Communications 2014, 5, 4760.
  • Ehrmann I, Dalgliesh C, Liu Y, Danilenko M, Crosier M, Overman L, Arthur HM, Lindsay S, Clowry GJ, Venables JP, Fort P, Elliott DJ. The Tissue-Specific RNA Binding Protein T-STAR Controls Regional Splicing Patterns of Neurexin Pre-mRNAs in the Brain. PLoS Genetics 2013, 9(4), e1003474.
  • Schmid R, Grellscheid SN, Ehrmann I, Dalgliesh C, Danilenko M, Paronetto MP, Pedrotti S, Grellscheid D, Dixon RJ, Sette C, Eperon IC, Elliott DJ. The splicing landscape is globally reprogrammed during male meiosis. Nucleic Acids Research 2013, 41(22), 10170-10184.

• Reviews

  • Danilenko M, Clifford SC, Schwalbe EC. Inter and intra-tumoral heterogeneity as a platform for personalized therapies in medulloblastoma. Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2021, 228, 107828.
  • Best A, Dalgliesh C, Kheirollahi-Kouhestani M, Danilenko M, Ehrmann I, Tyson-Capper AJ, Elliott DJ. Tra2 protein biology and mechanisms of splicing control. Biochemical Society Transactions 2014, 42(4), 1152-1158.