Dr Timothy O’Brien

Dr Timothy O’Brien is a Medical Oncology Specialist Registrar and an Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) PhD student in the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen’s University Belfast.

Having graduated from University College Cork in Pharmacy (2010) and Medicine (2016), he trained in Medical Oncology in Cork, Dublin and Waterford, developing an interest in gastrointestinal malignancy and the microbiome.

He was awarded a Wellcome – Health Research Board ICAT fellowship in 2022 and is currently in the final year of his laboratory-based PhD. His thesis focusses on the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) antagonist, tolinapant, in models of rectal cancer and Fusobacterium infection. During this time, he has developed a particular interest in Total Neoadjuvant Therapy (TNT) for rectal cancer.

The purpose of his research is to provide rationale for a clinical trial combining tolinapant with radiation and/or chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant management of rectal cancer to enhance local response and reduce disease recurrence.