Dr Elaine Leung BSc (Med Sci) MBChB MRes AFHEA MRCOG PhD

• Accredited colposcopist (diagnosis and treatment), the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, 2019
• PhD, University of Glasgow, 2018
• Membership, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG), 2014
• MRes in Clinical Research with Distinction, University of London, 2014
• Associated Fellow, Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), 2013
• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching with Distinction, University of London, 2013
• MBChB (Medicine), University of Glasgow, 2009
• BSc (Med Sci) with first-class honours, University of Glasgow, 2007

Elaine has developed long-standing interests in the influence of immunity on cancer outcomes and responses to treatment since her intercalated BSc in 2007. She received her degree in medicine from the University of Glasgow in 2009. 

After her academic foundation programme in Glasgow, she started her specialty training in 2011 as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Women’s Health at the Royal London Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London. 

She was awarded her PhD after completing her Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship, supervised by Professor Iain McNeish (now at Imperial College) and Professor Gerry Graham (University of Glasgow). Her PhD was on the importance of NK cells on the effectiveness of oncolytic adenoviral therapy. 

Her current research portfolio focuses on the role of chemokines, which are highly conserved small cytokines that orchestrate immune cell migration, in ovarian cancer. She has continued her collaboration with Professor McNeish and Professor Graham (https://www.chemokineresearchgroup.org/) during her post-doctoral period. She relocated to Birmingham in 2020 to strengthen her translational research portfolio on immuno-oncology with the use of primary human samples and linked clinical data. She is currently funded by the NIHR, CRUK and Wellbeing of Women. 

Elaine has been an advocate for better research training and support for clinically-trained early career researchers. She was the Journal Club coordinator for BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2013-2016) and she is a webinar convenor for the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (2018-present). She founded local clinicians in research networks for undergraduates (2009-2013) and peri-doctoral researchers (2013-2015) in Glasgow. She is the current NIHR Clinical Lecturer representative in West Midlands. She is also an assessing panelist for the Athena Swan Awards for the Equality Challenge Unit. 

• BGCS webinar convenor
• Lectures for undergraduate and intercalated BSc students
• Supervisor for 2 intercalated BSc students per year

Supervisor for 1 pre-doctoral clinical research fellow

• Elucidating the influence of CCL21 on immunotherapies for ovarian cancer (2020-2023). Wellbeing of Women Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.
• Deciphering the role of the CCR7/CCL21 chemokine axis in ovarian cancer (2019-2021). CRUK Postdoctoral Research Bursary.
• NK Cells and Oncolytic Adenovirus in Ovarian Cancer (2014-2017). Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship and Cancer Research Fund, Barts and the London Charity.
• Clinicians in Research Network (2016). The New Initiative Funds and the Chancellor’s Fund, University of Glasgow
• Clinical Undergraduate Research Environment in Scotland (2014-2015); co-applicant. The Academy of Medical Sciences and the Wellcome Trust.
• The INSPIRE programme (2013-2014); co-applicant. the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Wellcome Trust.
• The Katherine Twining Trainee Network- Removing obstacles to research participation for Women’s Health doctors in training (2013); lead applicant. QMUL.

Research Groups:  The Chemokine Research Group