Prof Steve Conlan

Professor Conlan joined Anglia Ruskin University in April 2026 as Head of the School of Life Sciences. He moved to ARU from Swansea University, where he held senior academic leadership positions within the Medical School and played a key role in the NHS Wales Precision Medicine Programme. A molecular biologist by training he has worked across interdisciplinary boundaries linking molecular biology and nanotechnology, and leading MSc and PhD educational programmes in nanomedicine.

His career has combined strategic academic leadership with a strong commitment to education including as an HEA Fellow, research excellence and translational impact across the life and biomedical sciences.

Steve obtained his Biology BSc in Swansea University, his PhD from the University of London, with time spent in Kent, Bristol and Braunschweig. His postdoctoral time was in Norwich (John Innes Centre) and then in Crete (IMBB, Heraklion), before returning to Swansea to take up and faculty position.

Professor Conlan has an established international profile including collaborations with academic, clinical, and industry partners worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, an Affiliate Member of the Houston Methodist Academic Institute (USA), and an Honorary Professor at Swansea University. His academic career has included building research and innovation environments, mentoring interdisciplinary teams, and strengthening connections between education, discovery science, healthcare, and innovation.

Steve’s research focuses on:

1. elucidating the molecular mechanisms that drive gynaecological cancer development, with the aim of identifying and advancing novel therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment, and understanding of disease progression and therapeutic response.
2. female reproductive biology, particularly the molecular characterisation of common infertility associated conditions such as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and endometriosis. By defining the signalling pathways and regulatory networks underpinning these disorders, research seeks to inform the development of new diagnostic modalities and targeted interventions to improve reproductive health outcomes and long term clinical management.

His work integrates molecular biology, functional genomics and translational approaches.

• PhD (Molecular Biology), University of London
• BSc (Hons) Biology, Swansea University

Antibody drug conjugates against the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), a novel therapeutic target in endometrial cancer J Immunother Cancer (2019) doi: 10.1186/s40425-019-0765-z

Selenium nanoparticles modulate histone methylation via lysine methyltransferase activity and S-adenosylhomocysteine depletion Redox Biology (2023) doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.102641

Distinct H3K27 Methylation States Drive Cellular Responses to the Histone Demethylase Inhibitor GSK-J4 in Ovarian Cancer Cells Mol Cancer Ther (2026) doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-25-0268

Insights into spheroid formation: interaction of ovarian cancer cells with macrophage populations in the tumor microenvironment J Transl Med (2025) doi.org/10.1186/s12967-025-07162-2

Adipocyte derived exosomes promote cell invasion and challenge paclitaxel efficacy in ovarian cancer Cell Commun Signal (2024) doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01806-4

In silico enhancer mining reveals SNS-032 and EHMT2 inhibitors as therapeutic candidates in high-grade serous ovarian cancer Br J Cancer (2023) doi: 10.1038/s41416-023-02274-2

Speaker, Festival of Genomics & Biodata, London (2026). Driving National Collaboration and Innovation in Advanced Therapy Research and Delivery