Professor Penelope D Ottewell

School of Medicine and Population Health

Professor of Cancer Biology

Penny Ottewell
Profile picture of Penny Ottewell
p.d.ottewell@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9058
Office: GU21, The Medical School

Full contact details

Professor Penelope D Ottewell
School of Medicine and Population Health
Office: GU21
The Medical School
Beech Hill Road
Sheffield
S10 2RX
Profile

Professor Penelope (Penny) Ottewell was awarded her personal chair as Professor of Cancer Biology in the Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research in 2022. She has won multiple national and international awards for her work including an International Bone and Mineral Society Fellowship and is currently the holder of a Breast Cancer Now Patricia Swannell Dormancy and Late Recurrence award.  

Penny’s work is focussed on the field of cancer metastasis with a particular emphasis on immune cell regulation and the bone microenvironment. Her work in this field is currently funded by AstraZeneca, Beyer, MRC, Breast Cancer Now and Yorkshire Cancer Research. 

Penny works on the editorial board for multiple per reviewed journals, sits on the former NCRI Bone metastasis strategy working group and is a member of the Cancer and Bone Society Executive Committee. She is also a member of the grant review committees for Breast Cancer Now (UK) and The National Science Centre (Poland). 

Current PhD opportunities

Research interests

My research is focused on advanced breast cancer with particular emphasis on bone metastasis. Primarily, this involves using a complement of in vitro and in vivo model systems to investigate the molecular alterations that are acquired by breast cancer cells causing them to metastases to bone.

I hypothesise that metastases are a result of a stepwise accumulation of genetic mutations and that distinct molecular alterations are required at the different stages in the metastatic process; molecules involved in intravasation are not those involved in tissue homing and colonisation.

The aims of my research are to identify specific molecular determinants involved in tumour cell intravasation, homing to bone and colonisation of the metastatic site and to use this information to develop and apply new therapies for the treatment of breast cancer bone metastasis.

Publications

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Research group
  • Diane Lefley - Research Technician
  • Claudia Tulotta - Post-doctoral Research Associate
Professional activities and memberships
  • British Association for Cancer Research, executive committee member
  • International Bone and Mineral Society, Young Investigators committee member.
  • Analytical and Cellular Pathology, editorial board
  • Open Journal of Oncology, editorial board