Bad to the bone: My PhD journey studying IKKα in bone cancer
About the author
Dr Kirsty Tinto recently completed her PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Strathclyde, funded by the BPS AJ Clark studentship.
Her work explored how IKKα-dependent signalling pathways contribute to tumour progression and its potential as a therapeutic target in bone cancer.
Kirsty is interested in translating fundamental signalling insights into new treatment strategies and is passionate about making complex science more accessible.
Finding My Path into Pharmacology
I discovered I had scientific curiosity at an early age, where I always asked “why”. Ironically, I went on to become a biologist, a field where so many of our questions are still unanswered.
After completing one year at college and being awarded an HNC in Soft Tissue Therapy, I moved on to studying an undergraduate degree at the University of Strathclyde, where I specialised in Immunology and Pharmacology and graduated with a First Class BSc (Hons) degree. At the start of my final year of my undergraduate degree, I applied for the British Pharmacological Society’s (BPS) AJ Clark studentship, which I was fortunate to receive under the joint supervision of Professor Robin Plevin and Professor Margaret Cunningham. I had an absolute blast during my interview and had an enthusiastic interview panel who shared my passion for science, making it an incredibly positive experience.
Osteosarcoma, Cellular Signalling, and a Suspicious Kinase
During my PhD, I investigated cellular signalling pathways in osteosarcoma, the most common form of bone cancer in adolescents and young adults. My work focused on a kinase, IKKα, which led me into exploring bulk transcriptomics. We found that IKKα plays a broad role in regulating gene expression and demonstrated potential roles for it in influencing tumour behaviour and key cancer hallmarks, as well as processes affecting the bone. It was somewhat unsurprising that IKKα would promote cancer-related gene expression given its established roles in other cancers, a concept we also explored in a review article. I also contributed to a broader review covering IKKa in development, disease, and drug discovery, which reinforced just how widely this kinase is implicated across biology.
Despite IKKa being known to have a tumour-promoting role in many cancers, its role in bone cancer has remained relatively underexplored. My PhD helped begin to address this gap, opening the door for further investigation into IKKα in bone cancer biology. This experience also allowed me to utilise various gene knockdown strategies, as well as to test novel first-in-class selective IKKα inhibitors which have been developed at the University of Strathclyde. One conclusion from my PhD research is that IKKα is, quite literally, bad to the bone, acting as an important driver of bone cancer biology. My PhD research findings were utilised to obtain a pilot grant from the Bone Cancer Research Trust, allowing us to further the findings from my PhD. This work includes assessing the effects of IKKa inhibition on osteosarcoma cell division and evaluating IKKa as a potential drug target in osteosarcoma.
Discovering a Passion for Mentorship
Throughout my project, I was a day-to-day supervisor to two third-year undergraduate students funded by the BPS vacation studentship in the summers of 2024 and 2025, which was one of the most rewarding aspects of my PhD. Supporting students as they developed confidence, independence, and practical laboratory skills, alongside providing pastoral support and guidance throughout their projects, was particularly fulfilling and strengthened my interest in student mentorship and education.
From Glasgow to Delhi (and Beyond)
My PhD also gave me opportunities that I would never have imagined. I was awarded the MacRobertson Travel Grant from the University of Glasgow, where I was able to move to Delhi, India, for a few months and work in the Systems Immunology Lab at the National Institute of Immunology under the supervision of Dr Soumen Basak, a leader in cellular signalling globally. This was a phenomenal experience for me both scientifically and personally. Moving to another country alone was a major challenge, but one that I am incredibly grateful for. I also had the opportunity to present at several local, national and international conferences, including World Congress Pharmacology 2023, BPS annual meetings in 2024 and 2025, the 6th NF-κB European Meeting and Dutch Medicines Days. Presenting at Dutch Medicines Days in Leiden was a personal highlight for me, as I was nominated by the BPS to represent the UK as the first international competitor in the PhD student competition.
In addition to my own PhD project, I got involved in various other research projects, both laboratory- and scholarship-based, and worked with an incredible team to obtain funding for further projects. Additionally, we gained funding from the Wellcome Trust through a Collaborative Cultures initiative, where we began a project called Collaborative University Learning for Targeting Under-representation in Research and Education – Addressing Attainment GAPS in STEM (CULTURE-GAPS in STEM). Additionally, our laboratory group obtained funding to look at the killifish model, and its potential as a more sustainable model to replace rodents in multimorbidity research. This allowed me to attend a training course delivered by UCL and complete relevant fish handling competencies at the University of Edinburgh, which made me eligible to apply for my license to carry out this research. We were also awarded an education grant from the BPS to establish links with secondary schools and organise outreach activities, where we organised a “space medicine” workshop for secondary school students who were travelling to NASA in Houston, Texas.
Engaging with the Pharmacology Community
Throughout my PhD, I became involved in several committees. I am a member of the BPS Early Career Pharmacologists Advisory Group (ECPAG), as well as the Early Career Review Network, Meetings Committee, and Finance Committee. I have also served as both a student representative and am now a staff representative for the Glasgow Pharmacology Society.
Life After the PhD
Being surrounded by a motivated team of students and educators throughout my PhD was, by far, the best part of my experience. After submitting my PhD thesis in November 2025, I defended my thesis in January 2026 and graduated in March 2026. Since submitting my PhD thesis, I completed a 5-month EPSRC-funded Research Assistant position at the University of Strathclyde across the Faculty of Science, where I collated and established resources to set up an AI resource hub. This project focused on AI upskilling, and promoting ethical and responsible use of GenAI, a current hot topic in education, which we discussed in a recent article. This experience allowed me to co-supervise undergraduate and MSc students, and to organise and lead upskilling workshops, furthering my development.
What I Learned Along the Way
The PhD gave me more than a certificate; in fact, that was a minor part in my journey. I gained resilience, confidence, friendships, and a belief in my own abilities. I learned that even the best scientists make mistakes, and that failure is often where the most valuable lessons are found. And it’s not every day you get to visit the Taj Mahal!
To find out more about the research projects I have been involved in and the research outputs which I have contributed to, click here.
