Staff Profile

I am an academic paediatric oncology registrar and CRUK-funded clinical research fellow with the lymphoma research group within the Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre. I completed my medical school training in 2012 with an intercalated BMed Sci.

As a postgraduate, I was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in the Northern Deanery, during which time I worked with the lymphoma research group on various projects investigating the risk factors, clinical characteristics and molecular biology of B-cell lymphomas in children and young people, including those with primary and acquired Immunodeficiencies. This has led to a clinical and research interest in immuno-oncology, particularly the impact of the tumour immune microenvironment and Epstein-Barr virus immunity on modulating tumourigenesis of high grade B-cell lymphomas in the immune-dysregulated child.

I am currently pursuing a clinical PhD fellowship to investigate the systemic immune landscape and tumour immune microenvironment of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in thymectomised children under the supervision of Dr Simon Bomken (primary supervisor), Dr Chris Bacon (co-supervisor) and Professor Andy Gennery (co-supervisor).

Qualifications

• MRCPCH, UK
• BMed Sci (Hons)
• MBChB (Hons)
• PgCert Clinical Research (Distinction)
• MSc Public Health and Health Services Research (Distinction)

Awards and Funding

• Cancer Research UK Clinical PhD Fellowship, 2021 (£256,000)
• Lymphoma Research Trust Research Grant, 2021 (£30,762)
• Northern Deanery Annual Research and Development Conference, Runner Up Best Oral Presentation, 2019
• Newcastle University Institute of Health and Society Prize for Best Masters Dissertation, 2016
• Great North Paediatric Conference Best Clinical Research Poster Prize, 2016
• Newcastle University Postgraduate Scholarship Award, 2015

My interest in immuno-onology is focussed on developing a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive the risk of high grade B-cell lymphomas in children and young people, particularly EBV-driven lymphoproliferative disease in immune-dyregulated children. This includes establishing the temporal trajectory of immune reconstitution in children following a solid organ transplant and its impact on viral oncogensis and the composition of the tumour immune microenvironment.

I provide clinical teaching to medical students and junior doctors within the paediatric oncology department at the Great North Children's Hospital. I conduct MRCPCH clinical exam revision sessions within the Northern School of Paeditarics. I have collaborated with the Northern Deanery to establish a monthly regional virtual journal club for paediatric trainees alongside a training curriculum for evidence-based clinical practice. This has been formally integrated into the regional teaching programme for specialty training in paediatrics.

• Prunotto G, Offor UT, Samarasinghe S, Wynn R, Vora A, Carpenter B, Gowdy C, McHugh K, Windebank KP, Rovelli AM, Slatter MA, Gennery AR, Veys P, Bacon CM, Bomken S, Lucchini G. HSCT provides effective treatment for lymphoproliferative disorders in children with primary immunodeficiency. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2020, 146(2), 447-450.
• Offor UT, Bacon CM, Roberts J, Powell J, Brodlie M, Wood K, Windebank KP, Flett J, Hewitt T, Rand V, Hasan A, Parry G, Gennery AR, Reinhardt Z, Bomken S. Transplantation For Congenital Heart Disease Is Associated With An Increased Risk Of Epstein-Barr Virus-Related Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder In Children. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation 2021, 35(5), 24-32.
• Zhou P, Blain AE, Newman AM, Zaka M, Chagaluka G, Adlar F, Offor UT, Broadbent C, Chaytor L, Whitehead A, Hall A, O'Connor H, Van Noorden S, Lampert I, Bailey S, Molyneux E, Bacon CM, Bomken S, Rand V. Sporadic and endemic Burkitt lymphoma have frequent FOXO1 mutations but distinct hotspots in the AKT recognition motif. Blood Advances 2019, 3(14), 2118-2127.
• Offor UT, Akyea RK, Neequaye JE, Renner LA, Segbefia CI. The changing clinical pattern of endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Western Africa: Experience from a tertiary center in Ghana. Pediatric Blood & Cancer 2018, 65(10), e27275.
• Offor UT, Basta NO, James PW, McNally RJQ. Is there a socioeconomic variation in survival from renal tumours in children and young people resident in northern England (1968-2012)?. Cancer Epidemiology 2017, 50(Part A), 92-98.