Staff Profile

Research Associate, Newcastle University Translational and Clinical Research Institute.

Board Member of the Care for CMMRD consortium.

Scientific Board Member for the Prospective Lynch Syndrome Database.

Conference Organisation Committee Member for the European Hereditary Tumour Group.

Co-founder of the UK Replication Repair Deficiency National Advisory Panel.

My research aims to improve the diagnosis and care of people with cancer predisposition syndromes caused by mismatch repair deficiency: Lynch syndrome and Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency (CMMRD) syndrome.

Highlights

• clinical deployment of a sequencing-based microsatellite instability assay into NHS England Genomic Laboratory Hubs
• commercialisation of the above microsatellite instability assay, in collaboration with Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• ongoing development of urine microsatellite instability analysis for Lynch syndrome urothelial cancer surveillance
• exploration of genotype-phenotype correlations in CMMRD
• immunology-related cancer risk factors in Lynch syndrome, including HLA type and colorectal immune infiltrate
• landmark study proposing three pathways of colorectal tumorigenesis in Lynch syndrome

Clinical guidelines

• EMQN microsatellite instability analysis best practice
• ERN GENTURIS CMMRD diagnosis and management

Grants

• Predi-Lynch consortium member, EU Horizon Mission Cancer award, 13th Dec 2024. 800,000 euros contract.
• Lead applicant, North Eastern Skin Research Fund, 6^th September 2024. £10,000.
• Co-applicant, NHS Small Business Research Initiative award, 20^th Oct 2021. £1,800,000.

Patents

• WO/2021/019197 (published February 4th 2021)
• GB2114136.1 (filed October 1st 2021)

Seminar leader for undergraduate genetics course BGM1004.

Supervisor for undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

PhD progress assessor, Newcastle University, Medical University of Innsbruck.

• Articles

  • Sowter P, Gallon R, Hayes C, Phelps R, Borthwick G, Prior S, Combe J, Buist H, Pearlman R, Hampel H, Goodfellow P, Evans DG, Crosbie EJ, Ryan N, Burn J, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS. Detection of Mismatch Repair Deficiency in Endometrial Cancer: Assessment of IHC, Fragment Length Analysis, and Amplicon Sequencing Based MSI Testing. Cancers 2024, 16(23), 3970.
  • Gallon R, Brekelmans C, Martin M, Bours V, Schamschula E, Amberger A, Muleris M, Colas C, Dekervel J, De Hertogh G, Coupier J, Colleye O, Sepulchre E, Burn J, Brems H, Legius E, Wimmer K. Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency mimicking Lynch syndrome is associated with hypomorphic mismatch repair gene variants. npj Precision Oncology 2024, 8, 119.
  • Gallon R, Herrero-Belmonte P, Phelps R, Hayes C, Sollars E, Egan D, Spiewak H, Nalty S, Mills S, Loo P-S, Borthwick G, Santibanez-Koref M, Burn J, McAnulty C, Jackson MS. A novel colorectal cancer test combining microsatellite instability and BRAF/RAS analysis: Clinical validation and impact on Lynch syndrome screening. BJC reports 2024, 2(1), 48.
  • Rasmussen M, Sowter P, Gallon R, Durhuus JA, Hayes C, Andersen O, Nilbert M, Schejbel L, Hogdall E, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Burn J, Therkildsen C. Mismatch repair deficiency testing in Lynch syndrome-associated urothelial tumors. Frontiers in Oncology 2023, 13, 1147591.
  • Gallon R, Phelps R, Hayes C, Brugieres L, Guerrini-Rousseau L, Colas C, Muleris M, Ryan NAJ, Evans DG, Grice H, Jessop E, Kunzemann-Martinez A, Marshall L, Schamschula E, Oberhuber K, Azizi AA, Baris Feldman H, Beilken A, Brauer N, Brozou N, Dahan K, Demirsoy U, Florkin B, Foulkes W, Januszkiewicz-Lewandowska D, Jones KJ, Kratz CP, Lobitz S, Meade J, Nathrath M, Pander HJ, Perne C, Ragab I, Ripperger T, Rosenbaum T, Rueda D, Sarosiek T, Sehested A, Spier I, Suerink M, Zimmermann SY, Zschocke J, Borthwick GM, Wimmer K, Burn J, Jackson MS, Santibanez-Koref M. Constitutional Microsatellite Instability, Genotype, and Phenotype Correlations in Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency. Gastroenterology 2023, 164(4), 579-592.e8.
  • Bohaumilitzky L, Kluck K, Huneburg R, Gallon R, Nattermann J, Kirchner M, Kristiansen G, Hommerding O, Pfuderer PL, Wagner L, Echterdiek F, Kosegi S, Muller N, Fischer K, Nelius N, Hartog B, Borthwick G, Busch E, Haag GM, Blaker H, Moslein G, von Knebel Doeberitz M, Seppala TT, Ahtiainen M, Mecklin J-P, Bishop DT, Burn J, Stenzinger A, Budczies J, Kloor M, Ahadova A. The Different Immune Profiles of Normal Colonic Mucosa in Cancer-Free Lynch Syndrome Carriers and Lynch Syndrome Colorectal Cancer Patients. Gastroenterology 2022, 162(3), 907-919.e10.
  • Schamschula E, Kinzel M, Wernstedt A, Oberhuber K, Gottschling H, Schnaiter S, Friedrichs N, Merkelbach-Bruse S, Zschocke J, Gallon R, Wimmer K. Teenage-Onset Colorectal Cancers in a Digenic Cancer Predisposition Syndrome Provide Clues for the Interaction between Mismatch Repair and Polymerase δ Proofreading Deficiency in Tumorigenesis. Biomolecules 2022, 12(10), 1350.
  • Phelps R, Gallon R, Hayes C, Glover E, Gibson P, Edidi I, Lee T, Mills S, Shaw A, Heer R, Ralte A, McAnulty C, Santibanez-Koref M, Burn J, Jackson MS. Detection of Microsatellite Instability in Colonoscopic Biopsies and Postal Urine Samples from Lynch Syndrome Cancer Patients Using a Multiplex PCR Assay. Cancers 2022, 14(15), 3838.
  • Sehested A, Meade J, Scheie D, Østrup O, Bertelsen B, Misiakou MA, Sarosiek T, Kessler E, Melchior LC, Munch-Petersen HF, Pai RK, Schmuth M, Gottschling H, Zschocke J, Gallon R, Wimmer K. Constitutional POLE variants causing a phenotype reminiscent of constitutional mismatch repair deficiency. Human Mutation 2022, 43(1), 85-96.
  • Gallon R, Kibbi N, Cook S, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Burn J, Rajan N. Sebaceous tumours: a prototypical class of skin tumour for universal germline genetic testing. British Journal of Dermatology 2021, 185(5), 1045-1046.
  • Gallon R, Sheth H, Hayes C, Redford L, Alhilal G, O'Brien O, Spiewak H, Waltham A, McAnulty C, Izuogu OG, Arends MJ, Oniscu A, Alonso AM, Laguna SM, Borthwick GM, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Burn J. Sequencing‐based microsatellite instability testing using as few as six markers for high‐throughput clinical diagnostics. Human Mutation 2020, 41(1), 332-341.
  • Perez-Valencia JA, Gallon R, Chen Y, Koch J, Keller M, Oberhuber K, Gomes A, Zschocke J, Burn J, Jackson MS, Santibanez-Koref M, Messiaen L, Wimmer K. Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency is the diagnosis in 0.41% of pathogenic NF1/SPRED1 variant negative children suspected of sporadic neurofibromatosis type 1. Genetics in Medicine 2020, 22, 2081-2088.
  • Nakamori M, Panigrahi GB, Lanni S, Gall-Duncan T, Hayakawa H, Tanaka H, Luo J, Otabe T, Li J, Sakata A, Caron MC, Joshi N, Prasolava T, Chiang K, Masson JY, Wold MS, Wang X, Lee MYWT, Huddleston J, Munson KM, Davidson S, Layeghifard M, Edward LM, Gallon R, Santibanez-Koref M, Murata A, Takahashi MP, Eichler EE, Shlien A, Nakatani K, Mochizuki H, Pearson CE. A slipped-CAG DNA-binding small molecule induces trinucleotide-repeat contractions in vivo. Nature Genetics 2020, 52(2), 146-159.
  • Gallon R, Müglegger B, Wenzel S-S, Sheth H, Hayes C, Aretz S, Dahan K, Foulkes W, Kratz CP, Ripperger T, Azizi AA, Feldman HB, Chong AL, Demirsoy U, Florkin B, Imschweller T, Januskiewicz-Lewandowska D, Lobitz S, Nathrath M, Pander HJ, Perez-Alanso V, Perne C, Ragab I, Rosenbaum T, Rueda D, Seidel MG, Suerink M, Taeubner J, Zimmermann SY, Zschocke J, Borthwick GM, Burn J, Jackson MS, Santibanez-Koref M, Wimmer K. A sensitive and scalable microsatellite instability assay to diagnose constitutional mismatch repair deficiency by sequencing of peripheral blood leukocytes. Human Mutation 2019, 40(5), 649-655.
  • Ahadova A, Gallon R, Gebert J, Ballhausen A, Endris V, Kirchner M, Stenzinger A, Burn J, von Knebel Doeberitz M, Bläker H, Kloor M. Three molecular pathways model colorectal carcinogenesis in Lynch syndrome. International Journal of Cancer 2018, 143(1), 139-150.
  • Izuogu O, Alhasan AA, Mellough C, Collin J, Gallon R, Hyslop J, Mastrorosa FK, Ehrmann I, Lako M, Elliott DJ, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS. Analysis of human ES cell differentiation establishes that the dominant isoforms of the lncRNAs RMST and FIRRE are circular. BMC Genomics 2018, 19(1), 276.
  • Redford L, Alhilal G, Needham S, O'Brien O, Coaker J, Tyson J, Amorim LM, Middleton I, Izuogu O, Arends M, Oniscu A, Alonso AM, Laguna SM, Gallon R, Sheth H, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Burn J. A novel panel of short mononucleotide repeats linked to informative polymorphisms enabling effective high volume low cost discrimination between mismatch repair deficient and proficient tumours. PLoS ONE 2018, 13(8), e0203052.

• Letters

  • Rajan N, Cook S, Best K, LS UK SC Workshop Group, Monahan K. Universal testing of cutaneous sebaceous carcinoma: A missed opportunity in Lynch syndrome detection. Lancet Oncology 2024, 25(1), E1-E2.
  • Gallon R, Phelps R, Betts L, Hayes C, Masic D, Irving JAE, McAnulty C, Saha V, Vora A, Wimmer K, Motwani J, Macartney C, Burn J, Jackson MS, Moorman AV, Santibanez-Koref M. Detection of constitutional mismatch repair deficiency in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia and Lymphoma 2023, 64(1), 217-220.
  • Sowter P, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Borthwick GM, Burn J, Rajan N, Gallon R. Response to ‘Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is associated with Lynch syndrome: widening the spectrum of Lynch syndrome-associated tumours’. British Journal of Dermatology 2022, 186(5), 913-914.

• Reviews

  • Ahadova A, Witt J, Haupt S, Gallon R, Hüneburg R, Nattermann J, Ten Broeke S, Bohaumilitzky L, Hernandez-Sanchez A, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Ahtiainen M, Pylvänäinen K, Andini K, Grolmusz VK, Möslein G, Dominguez-Valentin M, Møller P, Fürst D, Sijmons R, Borthwick GM, Burn J, Mecklin JP, Heuveline V, von Knebel Doeberitz M, Seppälä T, Kloor M. Is HLA type a possible cancer risk modifier in Lynch syndrome?. International Journal of Cancer 2023, 152(10), 2024-2031.
  • Ahadova A, Seppala TT, Engel C, Gallon R, Burn J, Holinski-Feder E, Steinke-Lange V, Moslein G, Nielsen M, ten Broeke SW, Laghi L, Dominguez-Valentin M, Capella G, Macrae F, Scott R, Huneburg R, Nattermann J, Hoffmeister M, Brenner H, Blaker H, von Knebel Doeberitz M, Sampson JR, Vasen H, Mecklin J-P, Moller P, Kloor M. The "unnatural" history of colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome: Lessons from colonoscopy surveillance. International Journal of Cancer 2021, 148(4), 800-811.
  • Suerink M, Wimmer K, Brugieres L, Colas C, Gallon R, Ripperger T, Benusiglio PR, Bleiker EMA, Ghorbanoghli Z, Goldberg Y, Hardwick JCH, Kloor M, le Mentec M, Muleris M, Pineda M, Ruiz-Ponte C, Vasen HFA. Report of the fifth meeting of the European Consortium 'Care for CMMRD' (C4CMMRD), Leiden, The Netherlands, July 6th 2019. Familial Cancer 2021, 20(1), 67-73.
  • Gallon R, Gawthorpe P, Phelps RL, Hayes C, Borthwick GM, Santibanez-Koref M, Jackson MS, Burn J. How should we test for Lynch syndrome? A review of current guidelines and future strategies. Cancers 2021, 13(3), 406.