Professor Anne Kiltie

Biography

I qualified in medicine from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and trained in Clinical Oncology at the Christie Hospital, Manchester, and Cookridge Hospital, Leeds. I undertook my DM at the Paterson Institute, University of Manchester and was a Clinical Research Fellow at ICRF Clare Hall before taking up a Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist appointment at the University of Leeds in 2001. I moved to the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford in 2009, and obtained my DSc and personal chair in 2016.

I took up my appointment as Friends of ANCHOR Clinical Chair of Oncology at the University of Aberdeen in June 2021.

My research focusses on exploiting dietary fibre manipulation and its effects on the gut microbiome as an ‘endogenous’ means of radiosensitising tumours without increasing radiation toxicity to the surrounding normal tissues including the intestines.

Research Overview

Tumours in the pelvis, including bladder, prostate and colorectal cancer and gynaecological cancers may be treated by surgical removal or organ-preserving radiotherapy-based treatments. Current organ-preservation standard of care for most tumour sites includes addition of radiosensitising chemotherapy to improve tumour control. However, this often comes at the expense of increased radiotherapy-induced side effects to the surrounding normal tissues, including the intestines. Furthermore, such combined treatments are often not tolerated by elderly patients. With the proportion of over 75-year olds set to double by 2050, there is an urgent need to find alternative approaches to radiosensitisation.

Having worked on histone deacetylase inhibitors, which we showed to be effective tumour radiosensitisers without additional acute and late small intestinal toxicity in in vivo models, we are now working to exploit dietary fibre manipulation and the gut microbiome as an ‘endogenous’ means of radiosensitising tumours without increasing radiation toxicity to the surrounding normal tissues including the intestines.

Teaching Responsibilities

ME3013 MBChB SSC2: supervisor

BM4501 BSc Honours project: supervisor

RN5504 Nutrition and Health through the Life Stages: lecture

RN5505 Clinical Nutrition: lecture and seminar

RN5503 Clinical Nutrition for Disease Prevention: lecture

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

I am a Regent for the MB ChB Regent Scheme.