Dr Ana Bolhaqueiro
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences
- School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry
- Penrhyn Road
Lecturer in Biochemistry
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
During my PhD at the Hubrecht Institute (Utrecht, Netherlands) in Geert Kops' lab, my research focused on Cancer Biology and Genomic Instability in patient-derived tumour organoids. I investigated molecular mechanisms driving chromosomal instability in colorectal cancer, using long-term live imaging of chromosome segregation and single-cell DNA sequencing in organoid cultures derived from both healthy and colorectal cancer patient tissues.
As a postdoctoral researcher in Jean-Paul Vincent Lab at the Francis Crick Institute, I studied how the JNK stress pathway triggers seemingly opposite cell behaviours such as cell death, proliferation and cell cycle arrest. Using fruit flies as a model organism, I investigated the dynamic stress-related signalling that governs cell fate decisions and tissue repair. In 2020, I was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship to support this research. Additionally, I was actively involved in teaching undergraduate students at University College London (UCL) and King's College London, which shaped my career direction.
In December 2024, I joined Kingston University as a Lecturer in Biochemistry.
Qualifications
- Postdoctoral Researcher at the Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom (2020-2024)
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2022)
- PhD University of Utrecht / Hubrecht Institute, the Netherlands (2014-2019)
- MSc Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal (2012-2014)
- BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University of Coimbra, Portugal (2009-2012)
Domains
Qualifications
- AFHEA (2022)
Courses taught
My research interests lie at the intersection of aneuploidy, stress signalling, and cancer biology. I focus on investigating the role of JNK stress signalling in cancer progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance, as well as its potential as a therapeutic target. The JNK pathway has dual, context-dependent roles, exhibiting both pro- and anti-tumorigenic effects, which are thought to depend on the cell type involved. I believe that unravelling the complexities of JNK signalling is one of the challenges in cancer research today.
Specialisms
- Confocal & Fluorescent Microscopy
- Cell, Molecular & Cancer Biology
- Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies)
- Cell Stress Signalling
- Aneuploidy and Chromosomal Instability
University responsibilities
- Module Leader LS4001 Genes, Cells and Tissues 2025- Present
- Module Leader LS4014 Genes to Tissues 2025- Present
Publications
Reconstructing single-cell karyotype alterations in colorectal cancer identifies punctuated and gradual diversification patterns
Bollen, Yannik, Stelloo, Ellen, van Leenen, Petra, van den Bos, Myrna, Ponsioen, Bas, Lu, Bingxin, van Roosmalen, Markus J., Kimberley, Christopher, Bolhaqueiro, Ana C.F., Mossner, Maximilian, Cross, William C.H., Besselink, Nicolle J.M., van der Roest, Bastiaan, Boymans, Sander, Oost, Koen C., de Vries, Sippe G., Rehmann, Holger, Cuppen, Edwin, Lens, Susanne M.A., Kops, Geert J.P.L., Kloosterman, Wigard P., Terstappen, Leon W.M.M., Barnes, Chris P., Sottoriva, Andrea, Graham, Trevor A. and Snippert, Hugo J.G., 2021, Nature Genetics (53), 8pp 1187-1195, Published
A biosensor for the mitotic kinase MPS1 reveals spatiotemporal activity dynamics and regulation
Kuijt, Timo E.F., Lambers, Maaike L.A., Weterings, Sonja, Ponsioen, Bas, Bolhaqueiro, Ana C.F., Staijen, Debbie H.M. and Kops, Geert J.P.L., 2020, Current Biology (30), 19pp 3862-3870, Published
Ongoing chromosomal instability and karyotype evolution in human colorectal cancer organoids
Bolhaqueiro, Ana C.F., Ponsioen, Bas, Bakker, Bjorn, Klaasen, Sjoerd J., Kucukkose, Emre, van Jaarsveld, Richard H., Vivié, Judith, Verlaan-Klink, Ingrid, Hami, Nizar, Spierings, Diana C.J., Sasaki, Nobuo, Dutta, Devanjali, Boj, Sylvia F., Vries, Robert G.J., Lansdorp, Peter M., van de Wetering, Marc, van Oudenaarden, Alexander, Clevers, Hans, Kranenburg, Onno, Foijer, Floris, Snippert, Hugo J.G. and Kops, Geert J.P.L., 2019, Nature Genetics (51), 5pp 824-834, Published
Live imaging of cell division in 3D stem-cell organoid cultures
Bolhaqueiro, Ana C.F., van Jaarsveld, Richard H., Ponsioen, Bas, Overmeer, René M., Snippert, Hugo J. and Kops, Geert J.P.L. (2018). In: Maiato, Helder, Schuh, Melina, (eds.), London, U.K.:pp 91-106 [Published]
Predicting CIN rates from single-cell whole genome sequencing data using an in silico model
Bakker, Bjorn, Schubert, Michael, Bolhaqueiro, Ana C.F., Kops, Geert J.P.L., Spierings, Diana. C.J. and Foijer, Floris (2023). [Published]