Dr Rachel Davies
Director of Teaching
Senior Lecturer
Biography
After graduating with a BA in Biochemistry from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, I moved to London to do a PhD on human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. This stimulated my interest in cancer research which I further extended as a post-doctoral scientist. Initially, I worked on Wilms’ Tumour, a childhood kidney cancer, in Edinburgh and later on breast cancer in Cambridge. I then moved to the Institute of Human Genetics in Newcastle where I ran the MSc in Medical Genetics.
I teach molecular medicine throughout the curriculum, particularly focusing on genetics. I hope that my teaching will provide a secure foundation in molecular aspects of medicine for doctors as they progress through medical school and into practice, and inspire a subset of students to pursue these aspects further.
Teaching
Director of Teaching
Academic lead for the Gateway to Medicine programme
Personal Tutor
Research areas
Scientific research: I have a special interest in the molecular basis of cancer. In particular the relationship between the structure and function of tumour suppressor genes, and the consequences for inherited susceptibility to cancer. Additionally I am intrigued by the way viruses associated with cancer can interfere with the function of tumour suppressor genes.
Educational research: I am interested understanding the process of learning and ways to help students improve the effectiveness of their learning, whether knowledge or skills based. I am particularly interested in the relationship between formative and summative assessment. Can formative assessments help improve performance in a summative setting? I am also interested in the way feedback from formative or summative assessments can shape future performance.
Selected publications
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Open access
Association of human papillomavirus 16 E2 with Rad50-interacting protein 1 enhances viral DNA replication
Campos-León, K., Wijendra, K., Siddiqa, A., Pentland, I., Feeney, K. M., Knapman, A., Davies, R., Androphy, E. J. & Parish, J. L., Mar 2017, In: Journal of Virology. 91, 5, 18 p., e02305-16.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Stabilization of stalled DNA replication forks by the BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility protein
Lomonosov, M., Anand, S., Sangrithi, M., Davies, R. & Venkitaraman, A. R., 15 Dec 2003, In: Genes & Development. 17, 24, p. 3017-22 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Did nucleotides or amino acids drive evolutionary conservation of the WT1 +/-KTS alternative splice?
Davies, R. C., Bratt, E. & Hastie, N. D., 1 May 2000, In: Human Molecular Genetics. 9, 8, p. 1177-83 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Identification of WTAP, a novel Wilms' tumour 1-associating protein
Little, N. A., Hastie, N. D. & Davies, R. C., 22 Sept 2000, In: Human Molecular Genetics. 9, 15, p. 2231-9 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Multiple roles for the Wilms' tumor suppressor, WT1
Davies, R., Moore, A., Schedl, A., Bratt, E., Miyahawa, K., Ladomery, M., Miles, C., Menke, A., van Heyningen, V. & Hastie, N., 1 Apr 1999, In: Cancer Research. 59, 7 Suppl, p. 1747s-1750s; discussion 1751sResearch output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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WT1 interacts with the splicing factor U2AF65 in an isoform-dependent manner and can be incorporated into spliceosomes
Davies, R. C., Calvio, C., Bratt, E., Larsson, S. H., Lamond, A. I. & Hastie, N. D., 15 Oct 1998, In: Genes & Development. 12, 20, p. 3217-25 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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HPV16 E7 oncoprotein deregulates B-myb expression: correlation with targeting of p107/E2F complexes
Lam, E. W., Morris, J. D., Davies, R., Crook, T., Watson, R. J. & Vousden, K. H., 15 Feb 1994, In: EMBO Journal. 13, 4, p. 871-8 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Human papillomavirus type 16 E7 associates with a histone H1 kinase and with p107 through sequences necessary for transformation
Davies, R., Hicks, R., Crook, T., Morris, J. & Vousden, K., May 1993, In: Journal of Virology. 67, 5, p. 2521-8 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Human papillomavirus type 16 E7 regulates E2F and contributes to mitogenic signalling
Morris, J. D., Crook, T., Bandara, L. R., Davies, R., LaThangue, N. B. & Vousden, K. H., Apr 1993, In: Oncogene. 8, 4, p. 893-8 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Functional analysis of human papillomavirus type 16 E7 by complementation with adenovirus E1A mutants
Davies, R. C. & Vousden, K. H., Aug 1992, In: Journal of General Virology. 73 ( Pt 8), p. 2135-9 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review