Professor Angus Cameron
Director of Graduate Studies | Deputy Centre Lead: Tumour Biology
Overview
Protein kinases represent the largest group of drug targets in cancer therapy. My research focuses on kinases regulating cancer cell growth and motility to understand how and when to target them with drugs.
Team
Ashley Campbell
PhD Student
Dr Jack Henry
Postdoctoral Researcher
Luke Higgins
PhD Student
Dr Prerana Huddar
Clinical Research Fellow
Constance Maurer
PhD Student
Joanne Sewell
Research Assistant
Research
The targeting of protein kinases represents an opportunity and challenge in cancer treatment. Some 2% of transcribed genes are kinases, many implicated in tumorigenesis and all potentially druggable.
My research encompasses various cancer associated kinases, including PKC, PKN, mTOR and EGFR family tyrosine kinases. In particular, my work on PKC and the HER family of tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors has revealed that inhibitors can have surprising allosteric effects on kinase function with significant implications for therapy.
My group is currently examining the role of the PKN kinases in malignant progression. PKN kinases are effectors of Rho family GTPases, regulating cell shape, adhesion and motility. Our studies on the role for PKN family members in mammalian development has provided significant insight; we have described a key non-redundant role for the PKN2 isoform in the regulation of embryo morphogenesis, cell proliferation and migration; phenotypes critically linked to cancer progression (Cell Reports 2016).
The PKN kinases are dramatically upregulated in many cancers and high expression has been correlated with metastatic disease – the spread of cancer around the body. Our current studies focus on the stromal roles for the PKN kinases in pancreatic and breast cancer, supported by the novel roles we have discovered for PKN during development.
The ultimate goal of this research is to assess whether these kinases represent a significant cancer drug target.
Key Publications
- The chordoid glioma PRKCA D463H mutation is a kinase inactive, gain-of-function allele that induces early-onset chondrosarcoma in mice. Sci Signal (2025). 18(911):eadr0235. PMID: 41187221
- Disruption of pancreatic stellate cell myofibroblast phenotype promotes pancreatic tumor invasion. Cell Reports (2022) 38(4):110227. PMID: 35081338
- Inhibitor-induced HER2-HER3 heterodimerisation promotes proliferation through a novel dimer interface. Elife (2018) 7. pii: e32271. PMID: 29712619
- Knockout of the PKN family of Rho effector kinases reveals a non-redundant role for PKN2 in developmental mesoderm expansion. Cell Reports (2016) 14(3):440-448. PMID: 26774483
- mTORC2 targets AGC kinases through Sin1-dependent recruitment. Biochem J (2011) 439(2):287-97. PMID: 21806543
- PKC maturation is promoted by nucleotide pocket occupation independently of intrinsic kinase activity. Nat Struct Mol Biol (2009) 16(6):624-30. PMID: 19465915
Major Funding
- 2023-2026- MRC Project Grant: £774,000
- 2022-2025- Willoughby Trust Clinical Studentship: £250,000
- 2022-2026- Barts Charity Project Grant, £179,000
- 2021-present- Queen Mary Innovation Impact Fund, £100,000
Other Activities
- Associate Editor of The Journal of Pathology
- Member of the Biochem Journal Editorial Panel
- Advisory Board Member – European Pharma Summit- Design & Screening conference 2017
- Athena Swan Committee member – Silver Award 2015/2018
- Barts Pancreas Tissue Bank (BPTB) committee member: 2017-present
Biography
I completed my BSc in biochemistry at the University of Bath where I got hooked on research while working on a placement year in the US on protein phosphatases and virology.
I studied for my PhD in Glasgow on a Wellcome Trust Prize studentship working on receptor mediated signal transduction, graduating in 2000. After completing a 2 years Wellcome Trust postdoctoral fellowship in Glasgow, I joined Professor Peter Parker’s lab at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute where I studied the role PKC family protein kinases in development and cancer.
I joined Barts Cancer Institute in 2013 as an Early Career Researcher in the Centre for Tumour Biology and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018. In 2025, I was promoted to Professor.
Related News
Discovery reveals new understanding of cancer-driving proteins in rare brain tumours and beyond
Scientists have discovered that a single letter change in a gene called PRKCA drives a rare and hard-to-treat brain cancer, chordoid glioma, through an entirely unexpected mechanism. The findings could open up new ways to design targeted treatments for this difficult-to-treat disease, and possibly for other cancers involving the same gene.
General News 7 November 2025
Targeting healthy cells changes invasive behaviour of pancreatic cancer
Researchers from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London, led by Dr Angus Cameron, have found a way to modulate the invasive behaviour of pancreatic cancer by targeting a non-cancerous cell type found within pancreatic tumours. The findings, published in Cell Reports, provide valuable insights into the biology of pancreatic cancer progression, and could help to drive improvements in cancer treatment.
General News 25 January 2022
Research reveals how breast cancer drug can accelerate cancer cell growth
The breast cancer drug lapatinib which is designed to shrink tumours can sometimes cause them to grow in the lab, according to a new study published in eLife. By understanding the molecular basis of this phenomenon, scientists hope that their findings will lead to safer treatment options and drug design in the future.
General News 1 May 2018
UK charities join forces to fund the work of Dr Angus Cameron
BCI’s Dr Angus Cameron, Centre for Tumour Biology, is to receive joint funding from Worldwide Cancer Research and Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (PCRF) to support vital research on pancreatic cancer. The charities have awarded equal sums totalling £235,000 to support the work of Dr Cameron and his laboratory group.
General News 5 April 2018