Debbie Caswell

Massive congratulations! Very inspiring.

@caswelldrm.bsky.social is lead author of a recent opinion paper bringing tog evidence on how #lungcancer in never smokers differs in its biology & risk profile.

People with no smoking history now account for a growing share of diagnoses. UK data show cases in never-smokers doubling 2008-14. #LCSM

What drugs are safe during pregnancy? There’s a shocking lack of data Nature - Drug trials have typically excluded pregnant people for safety reasons. But that’s now starting to change.

Fears over adverse consequences and associated policy restrictions mean that pregnant people have been largely excluded from clinical trials

go.nature.com/465wTDk

Congratulations!! So well deserved!

If you are interested in how oncogenic RAS signalling influences the immune landscape of lung adenocarcinoma, our latest preprint on the subject is out on @biorxiv-cancer.bsky.social

#KRAS #lung #immuno-oncology #preprint 🧪

Lung cancer in never smokers: from early detection to prevention Lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) is a growing global health challenge. Unlike smoking-related lung cancer, LCINS is characterized by distinct epidemiological patterns and unique molecular pathogenesis and, consequently, requires different clinical management approaches. Unfortunately, for patients with lung cancer who have never smoked, symptoms are nonspecific and often dismissed due to these patients not fitting a high-risk profile (e.g., smoker), underscoring the need for improved detection and interception. Emerging risk factors, including germline variants, clonal hematopoiesis, and environmental exposures, offer new avenues for risk stratification and preventive strategies. While low-dose computed tomography screening shows promise in high-risk subgroups, challenges remain in optimizing cost-effectiveness. Novel prevention approaches, from interleukin (IL)-1β inhibition to cancer vaccines, are under investigation. This opinion article discusses why LCINS demands unique clinical and research paradigms to address its biological complexity.

Lung cancer in never smokers: from early detection to prevention

Schematic of the innate and extrinsic risk factors for lung cancer in patients who have never smoked.

While smoking rates fall, lung cancer among non-smokers is on the rise. Experts discuss the need to better understand lung cancer detection and treatment in never-smokers. spkl.io/63329AtDKN

@Deborah Caswell & colleagues
@cp-trendscancer.bsky.social

Image Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00338-w Lung cancer cells (shown) in mice can connect with nearby neurons to send a ‘shutdown’ signal to the brain that suppresses tumour-killing immune cells. Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/SPL

Read "how tumours trick the #brain into shutting down cancer-fighting cells".

A signalling pathway, from the tumour to the brain and back again, allows the cancerous cells to proliferate unchecked.

🧪 #Science #Biology #Cancer
1- www.nature.com/articles/d41...
2- www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Lung cancer in ‘never-smokers’ draws new focus — and questions In the United States and elsewhere, there’s been a major shift in patients treated for lung cancer.

In the United States and elsewhere, there’s been a major shift in patients treated for lung cancer. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/l...

Urgent call for action on lung cancer in people who have never smoked In 2020, lung cancer in people who had never smoked was the fifth most common cause of cancer death worldwide

Thanks for highlighting our article @the-independent.com
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

Science funding needs fixing — but not through chaotic reforms The changes announced by a major UK science funder are putting scientists — and the future of research — in a difficult position.

The changes announced by a major UK science funder UKRI are putting scientists — and the future of research — in a difficult position, says John S. Tregoning

go.nature.com/45ZO1KL

Targeting extrachromosomal DNA in human cancers - Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) drives oncogene amplification, tumour evolution and therapy resistance across cancers. This Review summarizes advances in ecDNA biology, highlights emerging therapeutic vu...

Targeting extrachromosomal DNA in human cancers
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
rdcu.be/e2kVS

This new Review discusses ecDNA biology, challenges faced by current therapeutic and detection approaches and discoveries that highlight emerging therapeutic vulnerabilities

We are hiring!! Lab Assistant II position to work with the killifish! 🐟🐟🐟 This is an amazing model to study aging and 'suspended animation'

careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/lab-ass...

Come and join our fantastic team at Stanford!! 🤩 Please share!

Lung cancer in ‘never-smokers’ draws new focus — and questions In the United States and elsewhere, there’s been a major shift in patients treated for lung cancer.

Thanks @statnews.com for highlighting my article www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/l...

Lung cancer in never smokers: from early detection to prevention Lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) is a growing global health challenge. Unlike smoking-related lung cancer, LCINS is characterized by distinct epidemiological patterns and unique molecular pathogen...

Excited to share this review article written primarily during my mat leave. Lots of late nights with this one! Thanks to my colleague and mentor Charles Swanton and to Crispin Hiley, Cian Murphy, and Loc Carlo-Bao for all the hard work on this. Please Enjoy🧪:

www.cell.com/trends/cance...

We are seeking a motivated postdoctoral fellow to investigate mechanisms of DNA damage response, APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis, innate immunity, and double-stranded RNA sensing. Located in Southern California, UCI offers an outstanding scientific environment and exceptional quality of life.

The 2025 generation - Nature Cancer Twelve early-career researchers who started their independent research groups in 2025 reflect on their experiences from this first year of the journey, describe the opportunities they have had and the...

Honoured to have been included in @natcancer.nature.com's 2025 generation:
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

I chatted with @philiprlang.bsky.social on his podcast about how a virus might be involved in bladder cancer. Since "Phil Lang is Not a Scientist", we made this really accessible. If you're interested in how small sneaky DNA viruses might contribute to the origins of cancers, give it a listen.

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Our lab is hiring!

This is for a postdoctoral position @ucl.ac.uk in Respiratory Medicine.

Please check out the link for more details:
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

I am pleased to present a new paper from my lab led by Hari Shankar Sunil showing that the transmembrane serine protease TMPRSS11B promotes an acidified tumor microenvironment and immune suppression in squamous lung cancer, OUT NOW in EMBO Reports👇:
embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Photo shows three glowing green bottles of chemicals, with a space where a fourth bottle can be placed Text says "New job openings" and "See all recruitment opportunities by visiting cruk.manchester.ac.uk/careers/"

We are recruiting two exciting #Postdoctoral roles:

🧪 Work with @clausjorgensen.bsky.social on targeting the tumour #microenvironment in #PancreaticCancer

🥼 Join @drwilliamhill.bsky.social to study air pollution & #LungCancer

Full details of both positions at:
www.cruk.manchester.ac.uk/careers/

Thrilled to announce I'm moving to Manchester to lead the Cancer Origins group! If you're interested in how mutations and exposures drive tumourigenesis — come join the adventure

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Our lab is hiring!

This is for a postdoctoral position @ucl.ac.uk in Respiratory Medicine.

Please check out the link for more details:
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Thank you so much!

Glasgow Cancer Scientist Awarded Prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship | Glasgow City Of Science & Innovation Alexander Raven, an early career researcher from the School of Cancer Sciences, has been awarded one of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Future Leaders Fellowships.

🧬 Glasgow researcher Dr Alexander Raven has been awarded a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to advance understanding of how liver cancer develops, with the aim of improving detection and treatment

📍 University of Glasgow
👇 Learn more

glasgowcityofscienceandinnovation.com/glasgow-canc...

Faculty Recruitment

Please apply to our tenure-track faculty position at
@stanford-chemh.bsky.social! We are searching for a new colleague working at the interface between computation and molecular sciences. See post below and pls forward widely!
chemh.stanford.edu/opportunitie...

Recovery of human upper airway epithelium after smoking cessation is driven by a slow-cycling stem cell population and immune surveillance The upper airway epithelium in humans is maintained in homeostasis by a resident population of basal stem cells. In the presence of tobacco smoke these gain mutations that significantly increase their...

My main PhD project is now up on bioRxiv! If you’re interested in somatic evolution or machine learning for simulation-based inference, read on…

doi.org/10.1101/2025...
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UKRI announces winners of £120 million Future Leaders Fellowships Research into the causes of lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are among 77 projects to be funded by UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships.

I am thrilled to have received a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship! This award will enable my laboratory to uncover how our body's natural antiviral defences, including APOBEC3 enzymes, contribute to the earliest stages of lung cancer. 🧪 www.ukri.org/news/ukri-an...

Tobacco smoke alters the trajectory of lung adenocarcinoma evolution via effects on somatic selection and epistasis Background Tobacco smoke is a known mutagen. However, its physiological effects on the lung may also influence the somatic selective pressures acting on mutations, further shaping cancer evolution. Th...

A study led by @jeffreytownsend.bsky.social reveals #tobacco alters lung #adenocarcinoma evolution: smokers’ tumors favor KRAS/KEAP1/STK11, never-smokers’ favor EGFR/PIK3CA—revealing distinct treatment vulnerabilities.
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@toomuchvitamink.bsky.social

Pre-Cancer Immunology The Pre-Cancer Immunology Lab (James Reading Lab) is mapping pre-invasive T cell dynamics during carcinogenesis to detect and intercept cancer development.

🚨 PhD Position available in our lab 🚨 exploring the power of blood immune multi-omics to detect lung cancer years prior to clinical diagnosis in a unique cohort of >10,000 CT screened individuals.
✅ Wet & dry lab
✅ September 2025 enrolment
✅ UK tuition fees only

www.ucl.ac.uk/medical-scie...