Biography and research overview
Dr Irene Chong undertook her PhD in cancer biology under the supervision of Professor Alan Ashworth, and is now an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Clinician Scientist at The Institute of Cancer Research and a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden. Dr Chong aims to discover new therapeutic targets and biomarkers for oesophageal and rectal cancers through DNA sequencing of cancer cells.
Dr Chong works in the ICR’s Division of Molecular Pathology and The Royal Marsden’s Gastrointestinal Clinical Trials Unit where she develops biomarker-driven, proof-of-concept clinical trial protocols based on discoveries made in the laboratory. She collaborates closely with The Royal Marsden’s Rectal Cancer Study Group and the Pelican Cancer Foundation to identify radiological and molecular predictors of response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy for patients with rectal cancer, and to establish new therapeutic targets that could be exploited in combination with radiotherapy to improve treatment.
She received several awards during her PhD, including the University of London Scholarship Award, the Fourth NIHR Infrastructure Experimental Medicine Research Award, and the Royal College of Radiologists Kay Visiting Award, which enabled her to undertake a fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre.
Dr Chong serves as a member of the Athena SWAN steering group.