I am a Lecturer in Bioscience at the University of Sheffield, with a research background spanning experimental and computational cancer biology. My research combines these approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms that underpin cancer progression, metastatic dormancy and therapeutic resistance. My work aims to identify biomarkers and therapeutic vulnerabilities that can support precision oncology.
I originally trained as an experimental cancer biologist at the University of Sheffield, completing my PhD in the Bone Oncology group of Prof. Ingunn Holen and Prof. Penelope Ottewell. My doctoral research focused on identifying and characterising mitotically quiescent sub-populations of breast cancer cells and developing experimental models of metastatic dormancy. This established a long-standing interest in understanding how cancer cells survive treatment, persist in a dormant state and subsequently re-emerge to cause metastatic disease.
During my early postdoctoral research, I became increasingly interested in using genomic and transcriptomic approaches to understand the molecular biology underlying these phenotypes. In 2019, I undertook a training placement in high-performance computing and RNA sequencing analysis at the Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. This marked the beginning of my transition towards computational cancer biology and the integration of bioinformatics with my experimental research background.
I subsequently worked as a cancer bioinformatician at the University of Sheffield, including within the Sheffield Bioinformatics Core Facility, where I developed scalable computational workflows and applied genomic, transcriptomic and clinical data analysis to translational cancer research. During this period, I contributed to several large collaborative studies and national precision-medicine initiatives, including Genomics England’s 100,000 Genomes Project and the GUSTO phase II clinical trial in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
In 2023, I joined Sheffield Hallam University as a Senior Lecturer in Data Science and Analytics within the School of Computing and Digital Technologies, subsequently moving to the School of Biosciences and Chemistry as Senior Lecturer in Data-Driven Cell Biology. This allowed me to bring together my backgrounds in cancer biology, bioinformatics and data science while developing an independent research programme and supervising postgraduate researchers working across computational and biomedical science. During this period, I also held an honorary Senior Lectureship in Bioinformatics at the University of Sheffield, enabling me to maintain collaborative research across both institutions.
In November 2026, I returned to the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in Bioscience. My research programme centres on understanding how cancer cells survive therapeutic and microenvironmental pressures, persist following treatment and ultimately contribute to disease progression and metastatic relapse. I am particularly interested in the biology of dormant cancer cells and their interactions with the metastatic microenvironment, and in identifying molecular features that distinguish cells that remain dormant from those capable of re-entering the cell cycle and driving recurrent disease.
A central aim of my research is to connect these fundamental biological questions with clinically relevant applications. I combine experimental models with multi-omic profiling, bioinformatics, statistical modelling and machine learning to identify molecular mechanisms, biomarkers and potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. Drawing on experience in both experimental and computational biology, I am particularly interested in developing studies in which biological questions, experimental design and computational analysis inform one another from the outset, rather than treating bioinformatics as a downstream analytical step.
My current work spans breast, colorectal, bladder and other human cancers. This includes investigating molecular drivers of breast cancer dormancy and strategies for preventing the outgrowth of dormant tumour cells; genomic profiling and molecular stratification in bladder cancer; biomarker discovery and advanced survival modelling for precision oncology; and the integration of extracellular-vesicle, microRNA and microbiome data in colorectal cancer. I also collaborate on projects using human-derived experimental models to study cancer immunotherapy and investigating the biological mechanisms underlying supportive cancer treatments.
Alongside my research, I supervise doctoral and postgraduate researchers and contribute to training in bioinformatics, data science and reproducible computational research. I am a Fellow of Advance HE and a certified Carpentries instructor, serve on the Editorial Board of Clinical & Experimental Metastasis, and am a member of the Northern Bioinformatics User Group Steering Committee. I am also an advocate for open and reproducible research and the development of robust computational workflows that enable researchers to extract meaningful biological insight from increasingly complex datasets.
This section contains an up-to-date list of publications that I have authored.
George, C., Zhou, J., Canuas-Landero, V., Lefley, D., Hughes, R., Thistletwaite, F., Wilson, C., Holen, I., Dunning, M., Danson, S., Winter, M., Quayle, L.A., Muthana, M., Ottewell, P.D. (2026). Estrogen Prevents Anti-Tumor Effects of Zoledronic Acid in Breast Cancer Through the NK and CD8+T Cell PD-1/PD-L1 Axes. npj Breast Cancer. ePub ahead of print.
Clover, T.A., Price, M.L., Quayle, L.A., Le Maitre, C.L., Ottewell, P.D. (2026). Cytokine Regulation of the Bone Pre- and Metastatic Niches: Implications for Breast Cancer Dormancy. Cells, 15(17):1528.
Price, M.L., Zhou, J., Le Maitre, C.L., Quayle, L.A., Ottewell, P.D. (2026). Mechanisms of Breast Cancer Dormancy in Bone Metastasis. Clin Exp Metastasis, 43(3):31.
Conroy, S., Gagg, H., Quayle, L.A., Adams, J.A., Williams, S.T., Helleday, T., Hussain, S.A., Griffin, J., Allen, R., Rantala, J.K., Danson, S.J., Catto, J., Wells, G. (2026). Ex Vivo Drug Screening and Clustering of Bladder Cancers for Pre-clinical Treatment Prediction. Commun Med (Lond)., 14;6(1):417.
Naeemaee, R., Harris, K., Cross, N., Griffin, J., Quayle, L.A. (2026). Innovations in Biomarker Stratification for Precision Oncology. Clin Exp Med, 26(1):235.
Morita, M., Arshad, F., Quayle, L.A., George, C.N., Lefley, D.V., Kalajzic, I., Balsubramanian, M., Cebe, T., Reilly, G., Bishop, N.J., Ottewell, P.D. (2024). Losartan Alters Osteoblast Differentiation and Increases Bone Mass Through Inhibition of TGFB Signalling In Vitro and in an OIM Mouse Model. Bone Rep, 101795: 2352-1872.
Griffin, J., Down, J., Quayle, L.A., Heath, P., Gibb, E.A., Davicioni, E., Liu, Y., Zhao, X., Swain, J., Wang, D., Hussain, S., Crabb, S., Catto, JWF. on behalf of the GUSTO Trial Management Group (2024) Verification of Molecular Subtyping of Bladder Cancer in the GUSTO Clinical Trial. J Pathol Clin Res, 1;10(2):e12363.
Catto, J.W.F., Mandrik, O., Quayle, L.A., Hussain, S.A., McGrath, J., Cresswell, J., Birtle, A.J., Jones, R.J., Mariappan, P., Makaroff, L.E., Knight, A., Mostafid, H., Chilcott, J., Sasieni, P., Cumberbatch M. (2023). Diagnosis, Treatment and Survival from Bladder, Upper Urinary Tract and Urethral Cancers: Real World Findings from NHS England Between 2013 and 2019. BJU Int, 131(6): 734-744.
Quayle, L.A., Spicer, A., Ottewell, P.D., Holen, I. (2021). Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Novel Candidate Genes and Signalling Programs in Breast Cancer Quiescence and Dormancy. Cancers, 13(16): 3922.
Tulotta, C., Lefley, D., Moore, C., Amariutei, A., Spicer, A., Quayle, L., Hughes, R., Ahmed, K., Cookson, V., Evans, C., Vadakekolathu, J., Heath, P., Francis, F., Pinteaux, E., Pockley, A., Ottewell, P.D. (2021). IL-1B Drives Opposing Responses in Primary Tumours and Bone Metastases: Harnessing Combination Therapies to Improve Outcome in Breast Cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer, 7(1): 95.
Quayle, L.A., Ottewell, P.D., Holen, I. (2018). Chemotherapy Resistance and Stemness in Mitotically Quiescent Human Breast Cancer Cells Identified by Fluorescent Dye Retention. Clin Exp Metastasis, 35(8): 831-846.
Quayle, L.A., Pereira, M.G., Scheper, G., Wiltshire, T., Peake, R.E., Hussain, I., Rea, C.A. & Bates, T.E. (2017). Anti-Angiogenic Drugs: Direct Anti-Cancer Agents with Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Action. Oncotarget, 8 (51): 88670-88688.
Quayle, L., Ottewell, P.D., Holen, I. (2015). Bone Metastasis: Molecular Mechanisms Implicated in Tumour Cell Dormancy in Breast and Prostate Cancer. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 15: 469-480.
Holen, I. and Quayle, L.A. (2020). Stem Cell Niches in Bone and Their Roles in Cancer Metastasis. Advances in Stem Cells and their Niches. Elsevier. 5: 35-62.
Ottewell, P.D. and Quayle, L.A. (2019) Tumor Dormancy in the Bone. Encyclopaedia of Bone Biology. Elsevier. 166 - 179.
Bafana, N., Quayle, L., Godakumara, K., Hart, A., Muhandiram, S., Heath, P., Fazeli, A. (2025) Extracellular vesicles from different endometrial receptivity states influence the early embryo transcriptome. Fertility 2025: Reproduction - Facts, Myths and Evidence. Joint conference of the Association of Reproductive & Clinical Scientists, British Fertility Society, and the Society for Reproduction & Fertility. Human Fertility, 28(1). Abstract.
Crabb, S.J., Hussain, S.A., Oughton, J.B., Swain, J., Cairns, D.A., Collinson, M., Ainsworth, G., McCready, D., Griffin, J., Heath, P., Quayle, L., Down, J., Wang, D., Knight, A., Gibb, E., Davicioni, E., Liu, Y., Catto, J.W.F. (2024) Use of Gene Expression Patterns to Identify Unique Molecular Subtypes in Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: GUSTO. 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, J. Clin. Oncol. 42:16(Suppl): Abstract TPS4621.
Griffin, J., Down, J., Quayle, L., Heath, P., Catto, J. (2023) Pathology Against the Clock: Verification of Gene Expression Subtyping for the GUSTO Clinical Trial. Liverpool Pathology 2023. 14th Joint Meeting of the BDIAP and The Pathological Society, 27-29 June 2023. J Pathol. 261 Suppl 1:S3-S69: Abstract P85.
Quayle, L., Ottewell, P.D., Holen, I. (2018) Therapeutic Resistance and Stemness in Mitotically Quiescent Human Breast Cancer Cells. 1st UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium 15th – 16th January 2018; Manchester, U.K. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 167:309–405: Abstract P10.12.
Quayle, L., Park, S., McDonnell, D.P., Ottewell, P.D., Holen, I. (2017) Targeting ERR-α Regulated Lactate Metabolism Eliminates Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells. Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 6th – 10th December 2016; San Antonio, TX, U.S.A. Cancer Res. 77(4 Suppl): Abstract P3-07-14.
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
BMC Cancer
Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
Clinical & Experimental Metastasis
Discover Oncology
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
NPJ Breast Cancer
Scientific Reports
Clinical & Experimental Metastasis (2023 - Present)
British Association for Cancer Research (2014 - Present)
European Association for Cancer Research (2014 - Present)
Institute of Biomedical Science (2011 - 2017)
Royal Society of Biology (2011 - 2017)
I have been awarded the Advance HE Fellowship. This award demonstrates a personal and institutional commitment to professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education, and that my higher education (HE) teaching and/or support for learning practice meets all 15 points of the Professional Standards Framework 2023.
I have also reached certified The Carpentries Instructor status. This certification demonstrates my understanding of core evidence-based teaching practices and pedagogical concepts that qualify me to teach foundational coding and data science skills to researchers under the core curriculum of Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry, and Software Carpentry.
Below is a brief overview of some of my analytical skills and competencies:
This section contains an up-to-date list of links (in alphabetical order) to certificates gained through my commitment to continuous professional development (CPD).
Courses Run by Sheffield Bioinformatics Core and RSE Teams
Analysis of RNA-Seq Data in R
Best Practices for Data Management
High Performance Computing: Accessing Resources and Running Software
Introduction to RNA-Seq
Introduction to RNA-Seq in R
Introduction to the Command Line for Bioinformatics
Physalia Courses
Single-cell RNAseq with R/Bioconductor (5th - 9th June 2023)
Spatial Omics in R/Bioconductor (20th - 24th May 2024)
Metabolomics in R: From Study Design to Data Analysis (7th - 10th Oct 2024)
DataCamp Analysing Genomic Data in R Skills Track
Introduction to Bioconductor in R
RNA-Seq with Bioconductor in R
Differential Expression Analysis with Limma in R
Data Manipulation with Pandas
Intermediate Python
Introduction to Python
Introduction to Statistics in Python
Career and Skills Tracks
Data Scientist with R
Statistics Fundamentals with R
Courses
Building Web Applications with Shiny in R
Cleaning Data in R
Cluster Analysis in R
Data Manipulation with dplyr
Differential Expression Analysis with limma in R
Exploratory Data Analysis in R
Exploratory Data Analysis in R Applied
Feature Engineering in R
Hypothesis Testing in R
Intermediate Data Visualisation with ggplot2
Intermediate Importing Data in R
Intermediate R
Intermediate Regression in R
Introduction to Bioconductor in R
Introduction to Data Visualisation with ggplot2
Introduction to Importing Data in R
Introduction to R
Introduction to Regression in R
Introduction to Statistics in R
Introduction to the Tidyverse
Introduction to Writing Functions in R
Joining Data with dplyr
Machine Learning in the Tidyverse
Modelling with Tidymodels in R
Reporting with R Markdown
RNA-Seq with Bioconductor in R
Sampling in R
Supervised Learning in R: Classification
Supervised Learning in R: Regression
Unsupervised Learning in R
Working with Dates and Times in R
Writing Efficient R Code
Introduction to BASh Scripting
Introduction to Shell
Introduction to ChatGPT
Introduction to Data Warehousing
Understanding Data Engineering
Understanding Data Science
Understanding Machine Learning