| Dear Voornaam, Welcome to your January newsletter. Happy new year to you all, and I hope you had a chance to relax over the winter break. Unfortunately we start the year with the very sad news that Professor Enzo Cerundolo recently passed away as a result of lung cancer. Enzo was director of the MRC Human Immunology Unit in Oxford and, as well as holding a programme grant with CRUK, he was a valued member of our Cancer Immunology Review Panel. Enzo was an incredible scientist and a lovely human being and he will be terribly missed. Enzos family have set up a JustGiving page for Sobell House. Enzo was a gifted scientist who excelled in his field. His passing reinforces our resolve here at CRUK to continue to find new insights into this disease by funding brilliant researchers. The year ahead Im sure will bring its own opportunities and challenges, but we will maintain our focus on funding as much world-class cancer research as we can. Iain Foulkes Executive Director, Research & Innovation Cancer Research UK |
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| | | CLINICIAN, NON-CLINICAL RESEARCHER, EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER, MID-CAREER RESEARCHER, ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER 30 January 2020 |
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| | | POST DOCTORAL RESEARCHER, EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER 05 February 2020 |
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| | | EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER, ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER 05 February 2020 |
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| | | ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER 05 February 2020 |
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| | | MID-CAREER RESEARCHER, ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, CLINICIAN, NON-CLINICAL RESEARCHER 20 February 2020 |
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| | | ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, CLINICIAN, NON-CLINICAL RESEARCHER 20 February 2020 |
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 CANCER METABOLISM SPECIAL ISSUE IN THE BJC All papers appearing in the Cancer Metabolism Special Issue of the British Journal of Cancer have now been published online and are available in a special Collection on the journals website. Overseen and curated by Professor Adrian Harris (University of Oxford) and Dr Christian Frezza (University of Cambridge), the Special Issue contains a selection of articles and reviews that provide preclinical and clinical insights into key ongoing questions in oncometabolism to help drive the translation of research findings towards clinical practice. |
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|  ADVICE FOR POPULATION RESEARCH FUNDING APPLICANTS Richard Martin, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Bristol, led the CRUK-funded Cluster Randomised Trial of PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer (CAP) trial. The CAP trial attracted national recognition for providing definitive answers about the value of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) testing in prostate cancer screening. Richard spoke to us about the impact of the study and the advice hed give researchers seeking funding for population research. |
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| | ABSTRACT DEADLINE: BRAIN TUMOUR CONFERENCE 2020 After our highly successful meeting in 2018, the Cancer Research UK Brain Tumour Conference returns to London in 2020. Dont miss your chance to showcase your work alongside our stellar line-up of international experts including Luis Parada (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), Gabriele Bergers (VIBKU Leuven Centre for Cancer Biology) and Sergio Quezada (UCL). All attendees are eligible to submit an abstract, and students and postdocs are welcome to submit their work to feature in our Future Leaders session. Abstract deadline: 21 February 2020 |
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 FIRST-IN-HUMAN TRIAL FOR NEW LUNG CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY We have partnered with Vaccitech Oncology Ltd (VOLT) to develop a new cancer immunotherapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer. This new vaccine treatment delivers cancer-associated antigens (MAGE A3 and NY-ESO-1) to dendritic cells, causing the immune system to produce cytotoxic T cells that target and kill cancerous cells expressing these antigens. Our Centre for Drug Development will fund and manage the first-in-human clinical trial of this vaccine strategy in combination with current standard of care and first-line treatment for NSCLC. |
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|  A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATION: THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS For patients to benefit from novel ideas, we must guide promising research findings towards the clinic. Early-phase clinical trials are a crucial aspect of this journey. In an article in The Translational Scientist, Professor Andrew Davies from the University of Southampton and Dr Nigel Blackburn, CRUKs Director of Drug Development, discuss how their partnership has advanced research on a potential new cancer therapy through to early-phase clinical trials. |
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| | TIPS FOR PHYSICISTS WORKING WITH BIOLOGISTS In this weeks issue of Nature, Sarah Bohndiek from the CRUK Cambridge Institute talks about her experience as a physicist collaborating with biologists. Sarah, who co-leads the CRUK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme, highlights 12 key personal development steps that prepared her well for an interdisciplinary career from learning the language of biology to finding good mentors. In a companion article in the same issue of Nature, physician-scientist Ken Kosik from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), offers 13 tips for biologists who want to engage with physicists. |
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 DEVELOPING A NEW IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY CANDIDATE We are delighted to announce our second collaboration with Bicycle Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle) product platform. The collaboration will be focused on the development of BT7401 a small molecule agonist of CD137. Dr Nigel Blackburn, CRUK's Director of Drug Development, said: We believe BT7401 has the potential to open up new treatment options for the large numbers of patients who stop responding to checkpoint inhibitors. Our Centre for Drug Development will fund and sponsor the exploratory development of this small molecule through to completion of a Phase 2a trial. |
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|  ACCELERATE THE TRANSLATION OF YOUR IMMUNOTHERAPY RESEARCH We've joined forces with Ono Pharma and LifeArc in an immuno-oncology alliance to deliver immunotherapies of the future. If youre working in the immuno-oncology space and have identified a novel target or target identification platform technology, we would love to hear from you. The alliance offers the opportunity for researchers to collaborate with industry partners to translate their research through a joint drug discovery programme. |
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| | ENABLING THE DELIVERY OF COMPLEX INNOVATIVE DESIGN CANCER TRIALS A new report, published in the British Journal of Cancer, outlines recommendations for the effective delivery of Complex Innovative Design (CID) trials in the UK and Europe for the first time. CID trials address multiple clinical questions, assessing not just the safety and toxicity of novel anti-cancer medicines, but also of established drugs when used in a different cancer population. The report was coordinated by the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Network, which is co-funded by CRUK and the four Health Departments of the UK. |
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 OUR GRANT CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN UPDATED In November 2019, we updated our Grant Conditions to reflect best practice in the research-funding sector. These updates apply to all current (ie active and pending) CRUK grants, not just new grants. The key responsibilities of researchers and institutions have not changed significantly, but the updates include: - Clarification that virements cannot be made to move funding from studentship allocations on grants to pay for other costs without prior consent from CRUK (paragraph 3.5)
- Clarification that paid sick leave costs may be charged to CRUK grants if the salary for a post is grant-funded, and that we will cover paid leave for MB/PhD students (paragraph 3.6)
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|  THE RIGHT FLUORESCENT AGENT FOR YOUR RESEARCH Making use of fluorescence in cellular imaging is one of the most powerful ways to study cellular processes, investigate the effects of drugs and monitor biological processes in vivo. Due to their high sensitivity, low-cytotoxic composition, rapid tracking and real-time imaging capabilities, fluorescent- small-molecule probes are a crucial tool for the detection and imaging of processes in biological systems. With such a wide range of functionality, you can find the right fluorescent agent for your research. The Ximbio portfolio boasts a wide range of agents for you to access. |
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| | | LONDON, UK 05 February 2020 |
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| | | EDINBURGH, UK 27 February 2020 |
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| | | OXFORD, UK 23 24 April 2020 |
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| | | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA 24 29 April 2020 |
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| | | LONDON, UK 12 14 May 2020 |
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| | | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA 29 May 2 June 2020 |
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| | | TORINO, ITALY 17 20 June 2020 |
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