Dr Jill McKay

Associate Head of School

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

After completing her first degree in Medical Microbiology at Newcastle University, Jill joined the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle to undertake a PhD in Molecular Nutrition under the supervision of Prof. John Mathers. Jill continued her career at Newcastle University as a post-doctoral researcher and subsequently Lecturer in Molecular Epidemiology before joining Northumbria University as Senior Lecturer in 2018.

As a PhD student and post-doctoral researcher, Jill’s research interests focused on the developmental origins of health and disease. In this area she had a specific focus towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying associations observed between sub-optimum nutrition during early development and adverse adult health. During her early career, she utilised animal models and human cohorts to investigate these associations, using a range of molecular techniques including gene expression analysis (candidate specific and transcriptomic approaches), epigenetic analysis (DNA methylation assessment at the candidate and methylomic level) and genotyping.

In her role as lecturer, Jill’s portfolio expanded to include interests in the developmental origins of childhood cancer (with specific interests in leukaemia) and obesity. More recently she has begun to develop mechanistic and long term outcome studies to help understand the underlying mechanisms and risk factors associated with treatment related toxicities and long term adverse effects for childhood cancer survivors.

Campus Address

447 Northumberland Building

Email Jill

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Dr M^cKay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Sciences, with an expertise in molecular epidemiology specifically focused on the developmental origins of health and disease. After completing her first degree in Medical Microbiology at Newcastle University, Jill joined the Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle to undertake a PhD in Molecular Nutrition under the supervision of Prof. John Mathers. Jill continued her career at Newcastle University as a post-doctoral researcher and subsequently Lecturer in Molecular Epidemiology before joining Northumbria University as Senior Lecturer in 2018, and subsequently promoting to Associate Professor in 2020.

In her >20 year career, Jill’s research interests have focused towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the relationship between early life exposures and subsequent later life health outcomes. During her early career, she utilised animal models and human cohorts to investigate the associations between maternal folate intake during pregnancy and offspring health, using a range of molecular techniques including gene expression analysis (candidate specific and transcriptomic approaches), epigenetic analysis (DNA methylation assessment at the candidate and methylomic level) and genotyping.

In her academic role, Jill’s portfolio has expanded to include interests in a range of exposures which may influence health outcomes including childhood cancer, the late health effects of childhood cancer survivors, obesity and neurocognition. In particular, she has developed a unique, cutting-edge internationally recognized research portfolio investigating the influence of early life exposures on childhood leukaemia, with a focus on understanding how exposures may influence molecular events initiating disease. Her ongoing project supported by the World Cancer Research Fund is currently investigating how maternal folate levels may influence the molecular triggers (including chromosomal translocations and DNA methylation changes) involved in the initiation of childhood leukaemia development (The role of maternal folate in childhood leukaemia development - WCRF International). Meanwhile, she is also investigating the potential role exposure to microbial diversity through day care attendance may play in the development of non-communicable diseases (including leukaemia) in children.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Author's Response to the Commentary by Raitoharju E et al. on "Epigenome-wide analysis across the development span of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: backtracking to birth”, Nassar, F., Cahais, V., McKay, J., Strathdee, G., Lee, Y., Spitz, N., Nickels, E., Nordlund, J., Saffery, R., Dwyer, T., Magnus, P., Munthe-Kaas, M., Herceg, Z., Wiemels, J., Ghantous, A. 10 Apr 2026, In: Molecular Cancer
Exploring the role of environmental factors on chromosomal translocations associated with childhood leukaemia, Saville, J., Russell, L., Padget, K., McKay, J. Mar 2026, In: Cancer Medicine
One-Carbon Metabolism and Chemotherapy-induced Toxicities in Patients with Stage II-III Colorectal Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study, Zwart, N., van Duijnhoven, F., Wesselink, E., Lubberman, F., Ulrich, C., McKay, J., van Halteren, H., McCann, A., Ueland, P., Kampman, E., Kok, D. 1 Sep 2026, In: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Plasma serine and glycine in relation to clinical outcomes following neoadjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer, Zwart, N., Ueland, P., McCann, A., McKay, J., Rütten, H., Bogers, J., de Wilt, J., Kampman, E., Kok, D. 1 Jul 2026, In: Clinical and Translational Radiation Oncology
2826P Plasma folate and chemotherapy-induced toxicities in patients with colorectal cancer, Zwart, N., van Duijnhoven, F., Wesselink, E., Lubberman, F., Ulrich, C., McKay, J., van Halteren, H., Ulvik, A., McCann, A., Ueland, P., Kampman, E., Kok, D. 2 Sep 2025, In: Annals of Oncology
Developing a 3D model of the bone marrow niche to investigate the influence of folate on childhood leukaemia-initiating events, Saville, J., Porter, K., Padget, K., Russell, L., Pal, D., McKay, J. 3 Jul 2025, Northumbria University Applied Sciences Departmental Research Day
Developing a 3D model of the bone marrow niche to investigate the influence of folate on childhood leukaemia-initiating events, Saville, J., Padget, K., Pal, D., Porter, K., Russell, L., McKay, J. 8 Sep 2025, 13th World Congress of the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
Developing a 3D model of the bone marrow niche to investigate the influence of folate on childhood leukaemia-initiating events., Saville, J., Porter, K., Padget, K., Russell, L., Pal, D., McKay, J. 24 Nov 2025, Children with Cancer UK Conference 2025
Folate-associated DNA methylation and chemotherapy-induced toxicities in patients with colorectal cancer, Zwart, N., Kok, D., Ariyaratne, S., McKay, J. 1 Jul 2025, In: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research
Folate depletion alters DNA methylation in tissues relevant for childhood leukaemia, Saville, J., Nasser, F., Russell, L., Padget, K., Cuenin, C., Cahais, V., Ghantous, A., McKay, J. 22 Sep 2025, NuGO week 2025

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
The role of maternal folate in childhood leukemia initiation; understanding the molecular mechanisms, McKay, J. (Principal Investigator), World Cancer Research Fund International, 01/04/23 - 31/03/27, £346,625.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation:  Developing a 3D model of the bone marrow niche to investigate the influence of folate on childhood leukaemia-initiating events. 2025
Oral presentation:  Folate depletion alters DNA methylation in tissues relevant for childhood leukaemia. 2025
Oral presentation: Folate depletion alters DNA methylation in tissues relevant for childhood leukaemia. 2025
Invited talk: Exploring the environmental contribution to the molecular profiles of childhood leukaemia 2024
Oral presentation: Exploring the role of maternal nutrition-associated DNA methylation to contribute to risk of different subtypes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. 2024
Invited talk: Exploring the environmental contribution to the molecular profiles of childhood leukaemia 2024
Oral presentation: Exploring a potential mechanistic role of CpG-specific methylation in the relationship between environmental exposures and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.  2024
Invited talk: Exploring the environmental contribution to the molecular profiles of childhood leukaemia 2024
Oral presentation: Exploring the potential role of environmentally-associated DNA methylation to contribute to risk of different subtypes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. 2023
Invited talk: Exploring the environmental contribution to the molecular profiles of childhood leukaemia 2023