Rate My Professor Valerie Speirs

Professor Speirs specializes in cancer biology, with a focus on breast cancer, including male breast cancer, and glioblastoma. Her research explores biomarkers, oestrogen receptor biology—particularly oestrogen receptor β regulation and expression—the breast cancer microenvironment, tumour-stroma interactions, and the effects of endocrine disrupting agents. She utilizes innovative methodologies such as digital pathology, 3D cell culture models, Raman spectroscopy, and fast-field cycling MRI, prioritizing alternatives to animal testing. Notable contributions include founding the Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank, which supplies breast cancer tissue samples to researchers UK-wide and internationally, leading its Aberdeen centre, and establishing SEARCHBreast, a virtual resource for sharing surplus materials from animal studies to minimize animal use. She maintains one of the largest collections of male breast cancer tissue microarrays and collaborates closely with clinicians including pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, and oncologists. Key publications encompass 'Male Breast Cancer: Growing Insights and Continuing Challenges' (2026, Cancer Medicine), 'A compendium of adipocyte morphologies across different breast pathologies' (2025, Adipocyte), 'Towards greener and more sustainable pre-clinical oncology research' (2025, BJC Reports), and 'Effects of bisphenol A and its chemical analogues on the microenvironment and female breast cancer development' (2025, World Academy of Sciences Journal). She received the Breast Cancer Now award for Outstanding Contribution to Breast Cancer Research in 2011. Professor Speirs holds significant committee roles, including Honorary Secretary and Chair of the Meetings and Training Committee for the British Association for Cancer Research, member of the National Cancer Research Institute’s Cellular Molecular Pathology group, and recently appointed Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Centre for Human Specific Research.