Landmark discoveries (selected)
1995 – Discovery of the VGSC and its role in promoting invasiveness in rat PCa
1997 – Confirmation of the expression and function of the VGSC in human PCa
2001 – Discovery of galvanotaxis (directional response of small electrical fields) in cancer cells
2002 – Discovery of the VGSC and its role in promoting invasiveness in human BCa
2005 – Production and validation of a polyclonal antibody (NESOpAb) specific for the neonatal splice variant of Nav1.5 (nNav1.5)
2005 – Demonstration that the ‘culprit’ VGSC in human BCa cells and tissues is nNav1.5
2006 – First demonstration of the anti-invasive effect of a dietary agent (‘omega-3 fish oil’) occurring via VGSC; later studies demonstrated similar effects for resveratrol and
2006 – Discovery of activity-dependent regulation of VGSC expression in prostate and breast cancer
2007 – Confirmation by gene silencing that the ‘culprit’ VGSC in human BCa cells and tissues is nNav1.5
2007 – First demonstration that VGSC expression is controlled by a major cancer-promoting growth factor (“epidermal growth factor”)
2010 – Demonstration of the regulation of VGSC expression in breast cancer by estrogen
2012 – Confirmation of the role of VGSC in metastasis in vivo
2013 – Proposal that the role of the VGSC occurs through its persistent current component and that ranolazine can serve as an anti-metastatic drug
2014 – Formalization of the CELEX hypothesis – that metastasis has the hallmarks of membrane excitability
2014 – Discussion of the role of the VGSC in use of local anaesthetic during cancer surgery to inhibit disease recurrence
2015 – Demonstration that common pain killers given to cancer patients can impact upon the cancer process itself.