Professor Chris McCabe BSc PhD

Professor Chris McCabe

Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
Professor of Molecular Endocrinology
Theme Lead Endocrinology & IMSR Deputy Director
IMSR and College of MDS Lead for Sustainability

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 415 8713
Email
mccabcjz@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Chris McCabe is Professor of Molecular Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham. He works on mechanisms of endocrine cancers, including thyroid, breast and head and neck tumour models. Specifically, the research of the McCabe group focuses on the action of the sodium iodide symporter NIS in thyroid tumours; assessment of the role of the proto-oncogenes PTTG and PBF in thyroid, breast, and head and neck tumours; in vitro and in vivo models exploring gene function; mechanisms of aneuploidy and genetic instability. 

Qualifications

  • PhD (Drosophila behavioural genetics) University of Birmingham 1995
  • BSc (First Class Special Honours in Genetics) University of Sheffield 1990

Biography

Chris McCabe qualified with a BSc in Genetics from the University of Sheffield in 1990, and pursued a PhD in the behavioural genetics of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster at the University of Birmingham, which was awarded in 1995.

Subsequently, Chris became interested in applying emerging molecular genetic techniques to the study of human disease, and was appointed as an MRC Post Doctoral Fellow in the Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, under the mentorship of Professor Jayne Franklyn.

Following an overseas stint at the UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Chris achieved the Marjorie Robinson Fellowship in Endocrinology and a Lectureship at the University of Birmingham. He subsequently progressed to Senior Lecturer, Reader, and a Chair in 2010.

Chris has lectured widely across the world both within science, and as a writer with a specific interest in the communication of science.

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

  • 25+ previous PhD and MD students
  • 4 current PhD students funded by the MRC, Wellcome and BBSRC etc
  • Future students will be welcomed in thyroid and breast cancer research

Research

  • The action of the sodium iodide symporter NIS in radioiodine treatment of thyroid and other tumours.
  • Therapeutic modulation of radioiodine uptake in vitro and in vivo
  • Assessment of the role of the proto-oncogenes PTTG and PBF in thyroid, breast and head and neck tumours
  • Diverse mechanisms of endocrine cancer
  • Murine models of tumourigenesis

Other activities

  • Chair, Wellcome Trust Basic Science Interview Committee (2016-2019)
  • Senior Editor, Endocrine Related Cancer
  • Chair, Science Committee of the Society for Endocrinology
  • Script Editor (ITV, C4, BBC, CBBC, Discovery Channel etc)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

OPTIMA Trial Management Group 2020, 'Computational approaches to support comparative analysis of multiparametric tests: Modelling versus Training', PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 9 September, e0238593. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238593

Earl, H, Hiller, L, Vallier, A, Loi, S, Mcadam, K, Hughes-davies, L, Rea, D, Howe, D, Raynes, K, Higgins, HB, Wilcox, M, Plummer, C, Mahler-araujo, B, Provenzano, E, Chhabra, A, Gasson, S, Balmer, C, Abraham, JE, Caldas, C, Hall, P, Shinkins, B, Mccabe, C, Hulme, C, Miles, D, Wardley, AM, Cameron, DA & Dunn, JA 2020, 'Six versus 12 months’ adjuvant trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer: the PERSEPHONE non-inferiority RCT', Health Technology Assessment, vol. 24, no. 40, pp. 1-190. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta24400

Fletcher, A, Read, M, Thornton, C, Larner, D, Poole, V, Brookes, K, Nieto, H, Alshahrani, M, Thompson, R, Lavery, G, Landa, I, Fagin, JA, Campbell, MJ, Boelaert, K, Turnell, A, Smith, V & McCabe, C 2020, 'Targeting novel sodium iodide symporter interactors ADP-ribosylation factor 4 and valosin-containing protein enhances radioiodine uptake', Cancer Research, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 102–115. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-1957

Nazeer, R, Qashqari, F, Albalawi, A, Piberger, AL, Tilotta, M, Read, M, Hu, S, Davis, S, McCabe, C, Petermann, E & Turnell, A 2019, 'Adenovirus E1B 55-kilodalton protein targets SMARCAL1 for degradation during infection and modulates cellular DNA replication', Journal of virology, vol. 93, no. 13, e00402-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00402-19

Thompson, RJ, Fletcher, A, Brookes, K, Nieto, H, Alshahrani, MM, Mueller, JW, Fine, NHF, Hodson, DJ, Boelaert, K, Read, ML, Smith, VE & McCabe, CJ 2019, 'Dimerization of the sodium/iodide symporter', Thyroid, vol. 29, no. 10, pp. 1485-1498. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2019.0034

Smith, R, Middleton, L, Sunner, K, Cheed, V, Baker, K, Farrell-Carver, S, Bender Atik, R, Agrawal, R, Bhatia, K, Edi-Osagie, E, Ghobara, T, Gupta, P, Jurkovic, D, Khalaf, Y, MacLean, M, McCabe, C, Mulbagal, K, Nunes, N, Overton, C, Quenby, S, Rai, R, Raine-Fenning, N, Robinson, L, Ross, J, Sizer, A, Small, R, Tan, A, Underwood, M, Kilby, M, Boelaert, K, Daniels, J, Thangaratinam, S, Chan, SY & Coomarasamy, A 2019, 'Levothyroxine in women with thyroid peroxidase antibodies before conception', The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 380, no. 14, pp. 1316-1325. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1812537

Torlinska, B, Nichols, L, Mohammed, MA, McCabe, C & Boelaert, K 2019, 'Patients treated for hyperthyroidism are at increased risk of becoming obese: findings from a large prospective secondary care cohort', Thyroid, vol. 29, no. 10, pp. 1380-1389. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2018.0731

OPTIMA prelim study group, CSAW study group, Chemorad study group, POUT study group & ACST-2 study group 2018, 'An observational study showed that explaining randomization using gambling-related metaphors and computer-agency descriptions impeded randomized clinical trial recruitment', Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, vol. 99, pp. 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.02.018

Alshahrani, M, Fletcher, A, Thornton, C, Brookes, K, Nieto, H, Thompson, R, Read, M, Boelaert, K, McCabe, C & Smith, V 2018, 'Biochemical analysis of radioiodine uptake enhancement in endocrine cancer', Endocrine Abstracts, vol. 59, OC2.4. https://doi.org/10.1530/endoabs.59.OC2.4

Read, M, Modasia, B, Fletcher, A, Thompson, R, Brookes, K, Rae, P, Nieto, H, Poole, V, Roberts, S, Campbell, M, Boelaert, K, Turnell, A, Smith, V, Mehanna, H & McCabe, C 2018, 'PTTG and PBF functionally interact with p53 and predict overall survival in head and neck cancer', Cancer Research, vol. 78, no. 20, pp. 5863-5876. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-0855

Abstract

Read, M, Brookes, K, Fletcher, A, Thornton, C, Alshahrani, M, Khan, R, Nieto, H, Adcock, H, Webster, J, Cox, L, Alderwick, L, Boelaert, K, Smith, V & McCabe, C 2020, 'Drug repurposing identifies inhibitors of the proteostasis network to augment radioiodine uptake in combinatorial approaches targeting thyroid cancer', Journal of the Endocrine Society, vol. 4, no. Issue Supplement 1, OR28-03. https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvaa046.2135

Read, M, Brookes, K, Fletcher, A, Thornton, C, Alshahrani, M, Nieto, H, Khan, R, Webster, J, Haggie, P, Verkman, A, Alderwick, L, Boelaert, K, Smith, V & McCabe, C 2019, 'A high-throughput yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) cell-based screen identifies autophagy modulators to increase the effectiveness of radioiodine therapy', Endocrine Abstracts, vol. 65, OC4.1. https://doi.org/10.1530/endoabs.65.OC4.1

Fletcher, A, Thompson, R, Read, M, Turnell, A, Smith, V & McCabe, C 2018, 'Abstract LB-327: Identification of novel sodium iodide symporter (NIS) interactors which modulate iodide uptake', Cancer Research, vol. 78, no. 13 Supplement, pp. LB327-LB327. https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2018-LB-327

Read, M, Modasia, B, Fletcher, A, Thompson, R, Brookes, K, Nieto, H, Campbell, M, Boelaert, K, Turnell, A, Smith, V, Mehanna, H & McCabe, C 2018, 'Oncogenic action of pituitary-tumor transforming gene (PBF) in head and neck cancer is associated with poorer overall survival', Endocrine Abstracts, vol. 59, P119. https://doi.org/10.1530/endoabs.59.P119

Read, M, Modasia, B, Fletcher, A, Thompson, R, Baker, K, Boelaert, K, Turnell, A, Smith, V, Mehanna, H & McCabe, C 2018, 'PO-124 PTTG and PBF functionally interact with P53 and predict overall survival in head and neck cancer', ESMO Open, vol. 3, no. Suppl. 2, pp. A69-A69. https://doi.org/10.1136/esmoopen-2018-EACR25.165

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