Julia Gee

Dr. Julia Gee is a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, specializing in breast cancer molecular pharmacology. Her research focuses on therapeutic resistance mechanisms in anti-hormonal treatments, particularly estrogen receptor signaling inhibition. She leads a group investigating compensatory signaling pathways induced by treatments and their role in resistance development. Her work aims to identify novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for resistant breast cancer.

Dr. Gee’s research integrates experimental models of cancer resistance with patient tumor analyses. Key projects include studying estrogen receptor loss post-anti-hormone treatment, exploring alternative signaling pathways, and evaluating novel therapies like photo-dynamic therapy in breast cancer subtypes. She has collaborated on national trials (e.g., FURVA, STAKT) using immunohistochemistry to assess biomarkers for treatment response and relapse.

Her contributions span over two decades at Cardiff, including a Breast Cancer Now Fellowship and leadership in the Drug Discovery, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics (DDPSET) research theme. Her work bridges basic science and clinical translation, with publications addressing epigenetic regulation, zinc transporter roles in resistance, and receptor signaling dynamics.

Dr. Gee’s research highlights include pioneering studies on endocrine resistance mechanisms, identifying compensatory proliferative pathways, and advancing understanding of estrogen receptor dynamics in long-term therapy. Her team’s work on 3D epigenome modulation and neural crest mimicry in triple-negative breast cancer exemplifies cutting-edge exploration of cancer biology.