Adèle Hegoburu
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
BSc (Hons) MSc PhD
Email adele.hegoburu@otago.ac.nz
Dr Adèle Hegoburu is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Her research focuses on understanding treatment response in rectal cancer, with particular interest in the interplay between the tumour microenvironment, the microbiome, and patient outcomes.
She obtained a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Microbiology from University College Dublin, followed by a master’s degree in Infection Biology, specialising in Bacteriology, from the University of Glasgow. She subsequently completed her PhD at the University of Otago, Christchurch, where she investigated how the microbiome and tumour microenvironment influence response to therapy in rectal cancer.
Adèle is passionate about improving patient outcomes through research that supports more personalised and effective treatment strategies.
Research interests
- Rectal cancer
- Microbiome
- Digital spatial pathology
- Bioinformatics
- Tumour microenvironment
Publications
Purcell, R. V., Hegoburu, A., Sulit, A., & Frizelle, F. (2026). Spatial immune architecture as a predictor of response to neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy in rectal cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 44(16, Suppl.), e15739. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2026.44.16_suppl.e15739 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Hegoburu, A., Amer, M., Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. (2025). B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer therapy response. BJC Reports, 3, 40. doi: 10.1038/s44276-025-00146-1 Journal - Research Other
Sulit, A. K., Hegoburu, A., & Purcell, R. (2024, August-September). Response to chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancers: Profiling protein expression in defined tumour tissue structures. Verbal presentation at the Queenstown Research Week (QRW) Cancer Meeting, Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Hegoburu, A. (2023, August). The role of the microbiome in response to therapy in rectal cancer. UOC Research Seminar Series, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. [Research Presentation]. Other Research Output
Hegoburu, A. (2022, August). The role of host genes and microbes in mechanisms of response to radiotherapy in rectal cancer. Poster session presented at the Cancer Satellite Meeting: Queenstown Research Week, Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Poster Presentation (not in published proceedings)