Staff Profile

Background

In 2024 I joined Newcastle University as Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Cancer Drug Discovery. I am a member of the Cancer Research UK Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit (Cancer Research Horizons) and Translational and Clinical Research Institute within the Faculty of Medical Sciences. Furthermore, I am executive board member of the Newcastle Centre for Cancer. My research centres around cancer drug discovery, with a particular focus on target identification and target validation. I am interested in the impact of the tumour microenvironment on therapies and vice versa, including the impact of fibroblasts on novel anticancer (immuno-) therapies and therapy-induced fibroblast activation.

I obtained a PhD from the Medical University Vienna (Austria) after which I was awarded an Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship to join the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London (UK). At the ICR I worked together with Prof. Clare Isacke to develop syngeneic, spontaneously metastasising breast cancer in vivo models and studied the metastases-promoting role of cancer-associated fibroblasts. In 2018, I joined the University of Bath as Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Cancer Biology where I was also the Chair of the University-wide Cancer Research at Bath network. In 2023, I was promoted to Senior Lecturer (Associated Professor). Since moving to Newcastle University I hold a visiting academic position at the University of Bath.

Areas of Expertise

• Cancer drug discovery (target identification and target validation)
• Tumour microenvironment
• Cell and molecular biology
• In vitro and in vivo cancer (metastases) models

Links to ORCID , SCOPUS , Google Scholar

External roles and memberships

• British Association of Cancer Research (BACR)
• European Association of Cancer Research (EACR, Ambassador)
• UK Biochemical Society
• Austrian Society of Toxicology
• Fellow of Advanced Higher Education (FHEA)
• Editorial board member of the journal 'Discover Oncology' (Spinger Nature Publishing)

Qualifications

Magistra rerum naturalium (integrated Master’s in Chemistry), University Vienna, Austria.

Master of Science in Toxicology, Medical University Vienna, Austria.

PhD (Research program Malignant Diseases), Medical University Vienna, Austria.

Research interests

My research centres around cancer drug discovery, with a particular focus on target identification and target validation. We use computational, cellular and molecular techniques, including CRISPR, to identify and validate potential targets in cancer cells and combine those approaches with phenotypic assays ranging from 2D cancer cell cultures to complex 3D co-culture systems of multiple cell types. We are interested in the impact of the microenvironment on therapies and vice versa, including the impact of fibroblasts on novel anticancer (immuno-) therapies and therapy-induced fibroblast activation.

Selected Publications

Boosting Skin Wound Healing by Agrin-Mediated YAP/TAZ Activation. Jungwirth U, Walko G. J Invest Dermatol. 2024 Sep 14:S0022-202X(24)02070.

Generation of 3D Fibroblast-Derived Extracellular Matrix and Analysis of Tumor Cell-Matrix Interactions and Signaling. Lay E, Grant T, Walko G, Jungwirth U. Methods Mol Biol. 2024;2800:11-25.

Ectopic expression of HNF4α in Het1A cells induces an invasive phenotype. Grimaldos Rodriguez C, Rimmer EF, Colleypriest B, Tosh D, Slack JMW, Jungwirth U. Differentiation. 2023 Aug 23: 134:1-10

Targeting the Hippo/YAP/TAZ signalling pathway: Novel opportunities for therapeutic interventions into skin cancers. Howard A, Bojko J, Flynn B, Bowen S, Jungwirth U, Walko G. Exp Dermatol. 2022 Oct;31(10):1477-1499.

Impairment of cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes CD8+ T cell infiltration and enhances sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade. Jenkins L, Jungwirth U, Avgustinova A, Mills A, Haider S, Harper J, Isacke CM. Cancer Res. 2022 Aug 16; 82(16):2904-2917

Impairment of a distinct cancer-associated fibroblast population limits tumour growth and metastasis. Jungwirth U, van Weverwijk A, Evans RJ, Jenkins L, Vicente D, Alexander J, Gao Q, Haider S, Iravani M, Isacke CM. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 10;12(1):3516. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23583-

Metabolic adaptability in metastatic breast cancer by AKR1B10-dependent balancing of glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation. Van Weverwijk A, Koundouros N, Iravani M, Ashenden M, Gao Q, Poulogiannis G, Jungwirth U, Isacke CM. Nat Commun. 2019 Jun 20;10(1):2698.

Generation and characterisation of two D2A1 mammary cancer sublines to model spontaneous and experimental metastasis in a syngeneic BALB/c host. Jungwirth U, van Weverwijk A, Melake MJ, Chambers AF, Gao Q, Fivaz M, Isacke CM. Dis Model Mech. 2017. doi: 10.1242/dmm.031740

Calpain-mediated integrin deregulation as novel mode of action for the anticancer gallium compound KP46.Jungwirth U, Gojo J, Tuder T, Walko G, Holcmann M, Schöfl T, Nowikovsky K, Wilfinger N, Schoonhoven S, Kowol CR, Lemmens-Gruber R, Heffeter P, Keppler BK, Berger W. Mol Cancer Ther. 2014. 13(10):2436

Synergistic anticancer activity of arsenic trioxide with erlotinib is based on inhibition of EGFR-mediated DNA double strand break repair.Kryeziu K, Jungwirth U, Hoda MA, Ferk F, Knasmüller S, Karnthaler-Benbakka C, Kowol CR, Berger W, Heffeter P. Mol Cancer Ther. 2013;12(6):1073

Anticancer activity of methyl-substituted oxaliplatin analogs. Jungwirth U, Xanthos DN, Gojo J, Bytzek AK, Körner W, Heffeter P, Abramkin SA, Jakupec MA, Hartinger CG, Windberger U, Galanski M, Keppler BK, Berger W. Mol Pharmacol. 2012;81(5):719

Anticancer activity of metal complexes: involvement of redox processes. Jungwirth U, Kowol CR, Keppler BK, Hartinger CG, Berger W, Heffeter P. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2011;15(4):1085

Resistance against novel anticancer metal compounds: differences and similarities. Heffeter P*, Jungwirth U*, Jakupec M, Hartinger C, Galanski M, Elbling L, Micksche M, Keppler B, Berger W. Drug Resist Updat. 2008;11(1-2):1 *first authors contributed equally

Teaching and supervision

Supervisor of

• PhD and MRes students
• Undergraduate final year project students

Teaching

Module lead MRes course MMB8006, Drug Discovery and Development