Biosketch
NAME: Elizabeth Jane Iorns
POSITION TITLE: Research Assistant Professor
EDUCATION/TRAINING
1999-2002
University of Auckland, Auckland, NZ
B.Sc (Hons) in Biomedical Science
2004-2007
Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Center, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
Ph.D. in Cancer Biology
2008-2010
Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Postdoctoral training in Cancer Biology
POSITIONS AND HONORS
Experience
2001-2002
Honors Student, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Auckland, Auckland, NZ
Research project: Identifying novel cancer associated mutations in the YB-1 gene (supervised by Professor Andrew Shelling).
2003-2004
Scientific Officer, Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Center, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
2004-2007
Graduate Student, Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Center, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
Dissertation: Identifying modifiers of tamoxifen sensitivity using high-throughput RNAi and small molecule inhibitor screens (supervised by Professor Alan Ashworth).
2008-2010
Postdoctoral Associate, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Research area: Identifying mechanisms of breast cancer development and progression (mentored by Professor Marc Lippman).
2010-present
Research Assistant Professor, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Research area: Identifying mechanisms of breast cancer development and progression.
Memberships in Professional Societies
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for Cancer Research
Honors and Awards
1998: First in New Zealand for University Entrance Biology
1999: New Zealand Government Scholarship for Top University Entrance Scholar
2001: University of Auckland Best Overall Student in Biomedical Science
2001: University of Auckland Senior Prize in Biological Science
2002: University of Auckland Best Overall Student in Biomedical Science
2002: University of Auckland Prize for Best Final Research Presentation
2002: University of Auckland Honors/Masters Scholarship
2002: University of Auckland Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research Scholarship
2004-2007: New Zealand Government Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship
2007: Award for Best Oral Presentation at Institute of Cancer Research Annual Conference
2008: Institute of Cancer Research Chairman’s Prize for Best Graduating Ph.D. student
2008-2009: Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research Young Investigator Award
2009-2010: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Nominee for AACR Future Leaders in Translational Research Special Symposium
Presentations
2007: Invited Speaker, Institute of Cancer Research Annual Conference
2008: Invited Speaker, 4th International PacRim Breast and Prostate Cancer Meeting
2009: Invited Participant, “Think Tank 19” Breast Cancer Symposium
2009: Invited Speaker, 13th Annual Laura Evans Memorial Breast Cancer Symposium
2009: Poster Presentation, AACR Advances in Breast Cancer Research
2009: Poster Discussion, AACR 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
2010: Invited Speaker, “Think Tank 20” Breast Cancer Symposium
2010: Invited Speaker, 14th Annual Laura Evans Memorial Breast Cancer Symposium
Peer Review Service
2008-present: Reviewer for Journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
2010: BCRP/CDMRP Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program: Scientist Reviewer
PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Iorns, E., Lord, C. J., Turner, N. and Ashworth, A. Utilizing RNA interference to enhance cancer drug discovery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 6(7):556-68 (2007).
Iorns, E., Turner, N., Elliott, R., Syed, N., Garrone, O., Gasco, M., Tutt, A. N., Crook, T., Lord, C. J. and Ashworth, A. Identification of CDK10 as an important determinant of resistance to endocrine therapy for breast cancer. Cancer Cell 13(2):91-104 (2008).
Featured in: Swanton, C., Downward, J. Unraveling the complexity of endocrine resistance in breast cancer by functional genomics. Cancer Cell 13(2):83-5 (2008).
Turner, N. C., Lord, C. J., Iorns, E., Brough, R., Swift, S., Elliott, R., Rayter, S., Tutt, A. N. and Ashworth A. A synthetic lethal siRNA screen identifying genes mediating sensitivity to a PARP inhibitor. The EMBO Journal 27(9):1368-77 (2008).
Lord, C. J., Iorns, E. and Ashworth, A. Dissecting resistance to endocrine therapy in breast cancer. Cell Cycle 7(13):1895-8 (2008).
Iorns, E., Lord, C. J., and Ashworth, A. Parallel RNAi and compound screens identify the PDK1 pathway as a target for tamoxifen sensitization. Biochemical Journal 417(1):361-70 (2009).
Iorns, E., Lord, C. J., Grigoriadis, A., McDonald, S., Fenwick, K., McKay, A., Mein, C. A., Natrajan, R., Savage, K., Tamber, N., Reis-Filho, J. S., Turner, N. and Ashworth, A. Integrated functional, gene expression, genomic analysis for the identification of cancer targets. PLoS ONE 4(4):e5120 (2009).
Iorns, E., de Kemp, S., Lord, C.J. and Ashworth, A. CRK7 modifies the MAPK pathway and influences the response to endocrine therapy. Carcinogenesis 30(10):1696-701 (2009).
Turner, N., Pearson, A., Sharpe, R., Lambros, M., Geyer, F., Lopez-Garcia, M. A., Natrajan, R., Marchio, C., Iorns, E., Mackay, A., Gillett, C., Grigoriadis, A., Tutt, A., Reis-Filho, J. S. and Ashworth, A. FGFR1 amplification drives endocrine therapy resistance and is a therapeutic target in breast cancer. Cancer Research 70(5):2085-94 (2010).
Iorns, E., Hnatyszyn, J., Seo, P., Clarke, J., Ward, T.M. and Lippman, M. The role of SATB1 in breast cancer pathogenesis. JNCI (Epub July 1, 2010).
Iorns, E., Ward, T. M., Dean, S., Jegg, A., Lord, C. J., Murugaesu, N., Sims, D., Mitsopoulos, C., Fenwick, K., Kozarewa, I., Naceur-Lombarelli, C., Zvelebil, M., Isacke, C., Ashworth, A., Hnatyszyn, J., Pegram, M. and Lippman, M. Whole genome in vivo RNAi screening identifies the Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor as a novel breast tumor suppressor. In submission (June 2010).
*Ward, T. M., *Iorns, E., Liu, X., Kim, P., Singh, S., Dean, S., Jegg, A., Lippman, M., Landgraf, R. and Pegram, M. Novel detection and characterization of truncated ERBB2 receptors in human breast tumors. In submission (July 2010). *These authors contributed equally.
*Wong, J. S., *Iorns, E., *Rheault, M., Ward, T. M., Weber, U., Lippman, M., Faul, C., Mlodzik, M. and Mundel, P. Regulation of RhoA ubiquitination is an essential step of the RhoA GTPase cycle. In submission (July 2010). *These authors contributed equally.
RESEARCH SUPPORT
Ongoing Research Support
Grant number: BC096628
Source: Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program
Dates: 10/1/10-9/30/13
Role: P.I.
Title of project: Identifying Breast Tumor Suppressors Using In Vitro and In Vivo RNAi Screens
Total award: $424,930
