Prof Brown has around 150 published, peer-reviewed research papers and 230 published abstracts. She has had more than 50 successful grant applications in the last 5 years and has recent and current research funding totalling over £15 million, with more than £10 million as Principal Investigator, from Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Yorkshire Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Campaign, Prostate Cancer UK, Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity and other bodies. She is leading on an Impact case for REF 2021.
As an academic leader and clinician-scientist, Prof Brown engages in both clinical and laboratory research, which is internationally recognised, with publications in Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Nature Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Annals of Oncology Breast Cancer Research and Treatment and other journals. She leads the Clinical Bone Oncology and Biomarkers Group in the University of Sheffield, which has a particular focus on the impact of cancer on the skeleton in patients with breast, prostate and renal cancer. Recent research includes the use of biomarkers in established bone metastasis to aid patient management and studies of the negative impact of cancer treatments on bone health. One of the main objectives of her current clinical and laboratory work is to develop novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers for clinical use in patients with early cancer to help in prevention or delay of cancer metastasis to bone, after which disease is incurable, including new developments with exosomes and microRNAs. Prof Brown also runs a range of clinical studies to develop innovative therapeutic approaches in breast, renal and prostate cancer eg combining novel agents such as the radiopharmaceutical Radium-223 with PD1 inhibitors. As Chief Investigator, she currently leads a large UK-wide, 40 centre, clinical trial (STAR) funded by NIHR, to determine whether treatment breaks in patients with renal cancer receiving targeted therapies, can reduce toxicity and have health economic benefits, without loss in efficacy. She is also Chief Investigator on two multi-site clinical studies assessing the potential of therapies combining Radium-223 with other anti-cancer agents in breast cancer.