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George WigginsSenior Research Fellow

MSc, PhD (Otago)

Email george.wiggins@otago.ac.nz

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding how inherited genetic variation influences cancer risk and how this knowledge can be translated into improved prevention and clinical management strategies. I am particularly interested in investigating how large copy number variation can contribute to the risk of endometrial cancer and modify the risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Through my involvement in a large international consortium (the Consortium of Investigators or Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA)), we have been able to identify genetic modifiers of cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carrier. A major aim of this work is to better understand the biological mechanisms underlying cancer susceptability and to leverage these findings to explore potential prevention strategies for high-risk individuals. To test these hypotheses, my lab has developed several cell-based models and is developing a normal breast organoid bank.

In addition, my research aims to better understand the effects of DNA variants on RNA splicing and how RNA evidence can be used to improve genetic testing outcomes. This work has contributed to several international consortia including CIMBA and ClinGen, both of which improve the understanding and clinical interpretation of inherited risk variants.

I welcome enquiries from motivated postgraduate students interested in cancer genetics, genomics, RNA biology, and translational cancer research.

Publications

Young, E., Bull, D., Hampton, M., Walker, L., & Wiggins, G. (2026, February). SULT1A1 inhibition and the prevention of BRCA1-associated breast cancer. Verbal presentation at the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Canson, D. M., Wiggins, G. A. R., Walker, L. C., & Spurdle, A. B. (2026). Correspondence on “Genome sequencing reveals the impact of pseudoexons in rare genetic disease” by Pitsava et al. Genetics in Medicine, 28(1), 101636. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2025.101636 Journal - Research Other

Moir-Meyer, G. L., Pearson, J. F., Walker, L. C., Earle, N. J., Poppe, K. K., . . ., Troughton, R. W., Richards, A. M., Wiggins, G. A. R., & Pilbrow, A. P. (2025). Missing heritability in heart failure: Don’t sweat the small stuff? Proceedings of the Genetics Otago (GO) Annual Symposium. Retrieved from https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/go Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Davidson, A., Morley-Bunker, A., Wiggins, G., Walker, L., Harris, G., Mukundan, R., & kConFab Investigators. (2025). Deep learning segmentation of chromogenic dye RNAscope from breast cancer tissue. Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, 38, 1704-1721. doi: 10.1007/s10278-024-01301-9 Journal - Research Article

Burgess, E. R., Praditi, C., Phillips, E., Vissers, M. C. M., Robinson, B. A., Dachs, G. U., & Wiggins, G. A. R. (2025). Role of sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2 and ascorbate in regulating the hypoxic pathway in cultured glioblastoma cells. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 126, e30658. doi: 10.1002/jcb.30658 Journal - Research Article

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