Rate My Professor Eleanor Burgess

Eleanor Burgess earned her Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences with Honours (BBiomedSc(Hons)) from the University of Otago in 2018, with a thesis investigating whether vitamin C can reduce metastases in a mouse model of breast cancer. She was awarded an undergraduate summer studentship in 2016, supervised by Dr Lyn Wise in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, focusing on related research themes. Burgess then pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago, Christchurch, completing her degree in September 2023. Her doctoral thesis, titled 'The role of ascorbate in gliomas,' was supervised by Associate Professor Gabi Dachs, Dr Elisabeth Phillips, Professor Bridget Robinson, and Professor Margreet Vissers. As a member of the Mackenzie Cancer Research Group, her work centered on the therapeutic potential of ascorbate (vitamin C) in cancer, particularly examining its effects on hypoxia-related gene expression, tumor microenvironments, and metastatic processes in breast cancer and glioma models.

Burgess contributed to several peer-reviewed publications during her time at Otago. Notable works include 'Low Vitamin C Status in Patients with Cancer Is Associated with Patient and Tumor Characteristics' (Nutrients, 2020, co-authored with Helen R. Morrin and others); 'Gene and Protein Expression Is Altered by Ascorbate Availability in the Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell Line MDA-MB-231' (Antioxidants, 2021, corresponding author Margaret J. Currie); 'The Role of 2-Oxoglutarate Dependent Dioxygenases in Gliomas Responding to Ascorbate Treatment' (Cells, 2021); and a chapter in the book 'Vitamin C: From Bench to Bedside' (2020). Additional research output includes 'Does vitamin C interact with chemotherapy in cancer treatment in vivo' (project report). She presented her research at the UOC Research Seminar Series and received the University of Otago Christchurch Value Award for Leadership in 2021 for her role as Social Representative and contributions to the Postgraduate Student Organising Committee during 2020. Following her PhD, Burgess held a postdoctoral research fellow position at the Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunoscience, Heidelberg University, continuing investigations into iron content in glioblastoma tumours and ferrous iron's role in hypoxic responses (Frontiers in Oncology, 2025). Her research has advanced understanding of ascorbate's modulation of cancer pathways.