| Dear Voornaam, Welcome to your December newsletter. I hope you and your family are well. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has participated in our Research at Risk campaign in the lead up to the Spending Review. It is not yet clear if the multi-year R&D increase includes specific funding to protect charity-funded medical research. We're seeking much-needed clarity from the Government on whether charity-funded research will be supported through a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership Fund. However, the overall uplift in R&D is a positive step in the right direction.
After reviewing our current drug discovery model, we have identified several opportunities to evolve our current therapeutic innovation offering to make the most of our core expertise and network of world class biologists. We're currently working on a strategy that will meet the needs of our research community, cancer patients and provide a compelling interface with industry. We'll be back in the new year with more details. Before the year draws to a close, join us for a free webinar on our landmark Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer Roadmap on Wednesday, 16 December. Hear key leaders from research, industry, government, and healthcare discuss the future of early detection. We'll talk through the report's recommendations and discuss the opportunities for collaborative, cross-sector research to accelerate progress in early detection and diagnosis.
In closing, we’re sorry to say goodbye to Richard Marais who is stepping down after nearly 10 years as Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. Under his stewardship, the Institute has gone from strength to strength, developing an outstanding research environment driven, in no small part, by Richard’s own exceptional research. Richard will remain at the Institute to continue running his lab and will also facilitate a smooth transition to the new Interim Director – Caroline Dive. From 1 January 2021, Caroline will lead the Institute until a new Director is appointed. We would like to say a huge thank you to Richard and we know that Caroline, who has been Deputy Director for nine years, will take on this role with passion and will continue to push the outstanding work of the Institute forward. I hope you and your family have a peaceful holiday season, and I look forward to speaking with you in the new year.
Kind regards, Iain Foulkes Executive Director, Research & Innovation Cancer Research UK |
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| | | An Allied Health Professionals Academy Research Radiographer Project 24 January 2021 |
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| | | Applications accepted all-year round |
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| | BUILDING A CULTURE OF DIGNITY AND RESPECT IN RESEARCH During Anti-Bullying Week (16–20 November), we shared some key developments, on our newly launched research culture hub, to help support a culture of dignity and respect and stamp out bullying and harassment in research: We’re a founding member of the newly established Forum for Tackling Bullying and Harassment in Research and Innovation. Chaired by UKRI, the Forum brings together funding, policy and regulatory organisations to work collaboratively to address bullying and harassment and build a healthy research culture. We’ve updated our Policy on Dignity at Work in Research to reflect feedback from our funded institutions and better align with other funders. We’ve published our Research Events Code of Conduct outlining our expectations of everyone involved in our events. We’re dedicated to providing a welcoming, safe and productive environment for all who attend our research events, and we don’t tolerate any form of harassment. On our new research culture hub, you’ll find all our policies on equality, diversity and inclusion, and our latest blogs on issues like tackling racial bias and building a positive research environment. |
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OUR CANCER DRUG DISCOVERY LAB JOINS THE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE We’ve opened a new therapeutic discovery lab at the Francis Crick Institute to support our translational activities. Cancer Research UK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories (CRUK-TDL) is our in-house drug discovery offering. CRUK-TDL’s drug discovery alliance model enables academic-industry collaborations which span many themes with therapeutic potential in cancer including immune-oncology, protein homeostasis, DNA damage response, and the Hippo pathway. Our current industry partners include Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Ono Pharmaceutical, Merck Healthcare KGaA and LifeArc. The new laboratory will house a major part of our alliance discovery team across protein science, crystallography, and target biology. We are looking to develop new collaborations centred around novel areas of cancer biology. |
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| VIRTUAL ACADEMIC-INDUSTRY MEETUPS FOR CANCER EARLY DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS From 11–20 January, we’re holding a series of virtual academic-industry meetups for knowledge sharing and collaboration building in the field of cancer early detection and diagnosis. Each meetup will be tailored to specific areas of early detection and diagnosis research such as data/computational approaches or on a specific cancer type. If you’re an early detection researcher looking for new opportunities to exchange ideas and collaborate with industry, or a company looking to explore how your technology could be applied to cancer early detection, register your interest to attend by Monday, 14 December. |
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| | CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: VIRTUAL CANCER PREVENTION CONFERENCE Registration is now open for the Cancer Prevention – Physical Activity Virtual Conference. Held in collaboration with Ludwig Cancer Research, the conference will bring together leaders in the field to discuss key advances and identify obstacles preventing progress. Download the agenda for more information. To secure your free place, register by 12 February.
Early and mid-career researchers will have the opportunity to showcase their work as part of the conference programme. To apply to present your work, please submit an abstract under one of five topics areas by 18 January: Epidemiological links and molecular epidemiology Biological causal relationship Clinical trials Behaviour change Built environment Don’t miss your chance to showcase your work alongside a stellar line-up of international experts. |
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| | APPLICATIONS OPEN: ALDERLEY PARK ONCOLOGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Applications are now open for the Alderley Park Oncology Development Programme. This national programme, part of our Entrepreneurial Programmes Initiative, is co-funded by Innovate UK and will develop start-up projects with the potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. You're invited to apply for a 3-day pre-accelerator bootcamp covering the foundations of setting up a business. Following that, there'll be a selection process to progress to the six-month intensive accelerator stage. At this stage, you will be joined by advisors from four pharmaceutical companies, and get the opportunity to receive investment of up to £60,000 and office and/or lab space at Alderley Park. |
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CANCER GRAND CHALLENGES: SEVEN TEAMS LEADING THE WAY In August, we united with US National Cancer Institute to define a new era in cancer research and discovery to launch Cancer Grand Challenges. This ambitious partnership builds on the success of our Grand Challenge initiative, launched in 2015, which is currently supporting seven multidisciplinary teams around the world. A recent blog reflects on the Cancer Grand Challenges community’s discoveries to date. This community of innovators – uniting more than 600 researchers across 9 countries – are driving radical progress in cancer research, from the Rosetta team’s ‘Google Earth’ of cancer to the OPTIMISTICC team’s vision of harnessing the power of the microbiome. |
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| NEW CELL CULTURE MEDIA TO STUDY CANCER BIOLOGY Plasmax is a physiologically relevant cell culture medium that improves the metabolic fidelity and biological relevance of in vitro cancer models. Dr Saverio Tardito (CRUK Beatson Institute, Glasgow) developed Plasmax by optimising the concentrations of over 80 compounds typically found in human plasma. When comparing Plasmax vs. DMEM-F12, cells cultured in Plasmax better represented the metabolic environment present in mammary tumours. This new cell culture medium can be used by researchers studying cancer cell biology, and is now available to purchase as part of the Ximbio product portfolio. |
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| | | Speakers: Professor Puneet Plaha, Dr Natalie Voets (University of Oxford, UK) and Professor Dipankar Nandi (Imperial College London, UK) 3:00 PM 09 December 2020 |
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