̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Sarah Bohndiek

Sight and sound

sc604 — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:13:35 +0000

How photoacoustics could transform cancer detection and monitoring

Cambridge researchers announced as programme directors for new UK funding agency

cjb250 — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 11:23:03 +0000

ARIA is a government-funded agency that aims to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs that could benefit everyone. Many of society’s most important advances have stemmed from those with the foresight to pursue new capabilities that most believed to be unattainable. ARIA aims to empower scientists and engineers with the resources and freedom to pursue those breakthroughs.

̽��ֱ��new programme directors include:

Gemma Bale

Gemma is the Gianna Angelopoulos Assistant Professor in Medical Therapeutics and Head of the Neuro Optics Lab at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. Her work focuses on developing non-invasive brain monitoring in real-world environments where traditional brain monitoring isn’t usually possible.

Sarah Bohndiek

Sarah is a Professor of Biomedical Physics at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, jointly appointed in the Department of Physics and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Sarah leads an interdisciplinary team that uses optical imaging technology to monitor in situ tumour evolution and support earlier cancer detection.

Angie Burnett

Angie is a plant biologist, focused on investigating the responses of crop plants to environmental stresses, such as drought and extreme temperature. Angie worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory and a Consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, before becoming a Research Associate at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

Writing on the ARIA website, Professor Bohndiek and Dr Bale said: “We’re both passionate about the future health of our planet and the people on it. Working in the health tech space, we have created new tools to allow us to safely see inside humans in new ways using light. We believe that there are emerging optical technologies at the edge of the possible, which will disrupt the current landscape.

“As co-PDs, we’ll look to accelerate these technologies, initially by exploring ideas around non-invasive optical mapping and sensing across a range of applications – from monitoring human health to climate change.”

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ��launch of ARIA, a brand new funding organisation, is an important moment for UK research and innovation. It’s a remarkable reflection of the quality of Cambridge research that three of the eight new programme directors stem from our ̽��ֱ��, including two current academics. We wish them luck in this exciting new endeavour.”

ARIA, the UK’s new R&D funding agency, has announced its line-up of new programme directors – and three of them are current or former researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

It’s a remarkable reflection of the quality of Cambridge research that three of the eight new programme directors stem from our ̽��ֱ��

Anne Ferguson-Smith

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Cambridge joins new transatlantic research alliance to detect cancer at its earliest stage

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 07:46:14 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge will be a partner in a new transatlantic research alliance announced today to help more people beat cancer through early detection.

Cancer Research UK will invest up to £40 million over the next five years into the International Alliance for Cancer Early Detection (ACED).

ACED is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Canary Center at Stanford ̽��ֱ��, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, UCL and ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Manchester. Stanford and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute will also significantly invest in the Alliance, taking the total potential contributions to more than £55 million.

Early detection is essential to help more people beat cancer – a patient’s chance of surviving their disease improves dramatically when cancer is found and treated earlier.

Understanding the biology of early cancers and pre-cancerous states will allow doctors to find accurate ways to spot the disease earlier and where necessary treat it effectively. It could even enable ‘precision prevention’ – where the disease could be stopped from ever occurring in the first place.

UK statistics highlight the major improvements in survival that could be achieved. 5-year survival for six different types of cancer is more than three times higher if the disease is diagnosed at stage one, when the tumour tends to be small and remains localised, compared with survival when diagnosed at stage four, when the cancer tends to be larger and has started to invade surrounding tissue and other organs.*

Advances in early detection technologies will help decrease late-stage diagnosis and increase the proportion of people diagnosed at an early and treatable stage, so a future for more patients can be secured.

Great strides have been made through existing screening programmes, such as for bowel, breast and cervical cancer, and increasing public awareness and GP urgent referral of patients with suspicious symptoms. However, for many cancer types, no screening tools exist and new technologies for detecting cancer have been slow to emerge.

Previously, researchers taking on this challenge have faced many barriers, including lack of funding and collaboration opportunities, meaning research has been small scale and disconnected. Individual research groups have chipped away at big challenges with limited success. By combining the ‘firepower’ of some of the leading research institutions in the world in early detection, ACED will accelerate breakthroughs, leading to quicker benefits for patients.

However, like looking for a needle in a haystack the very low levels of tell-tale early cancer signs make it incredibly difficult to detect cancer early. Scientists in the Alliance will work together at the forefront of technological innovation to translate research into realistic ways to improve cancer diagnosis, which can be implemented into health systems. Potential areas of research include:

Developing new improved imaging techniques and robotics, to detect early tumours and pre-cancerous lesions
Increasing understanding of how the environment surrounding a tumour influences cancer development
Developing less invasive and simpler detection techniques such as blood, breath and urine tests, which can monitor patients who are at a higher risk of certain cancers
Searching for early stress signals sent out from tumours or surrounding damaged tissue as a new indication of cancer
Looking for early signs of cancer in surrounding tissue and fluids to help diagnose hard to reach tumours
Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence and big data to look for signs of cancer that are undetectable to humans.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge ACED centre is led by clinician-scientist Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald and physicist Dr Sarah Bohndiek who also lead the CRUK Cambridge Centre’s Early Detection Programme.

In Cambridge, scientists will design, develop and deliver a clinical facility that will enable early phase clinical trials of new diagnostic technologies.

Called Clinical Infrastructure for Research in Early Detection (CuRED), this facility will be key to test and validate early diagnostics and accelerate adoption of the most promising early detection approaches by doctors.

Ongoing research in Cambridge includes the development of sophisticated imaging tools to detect pre-cancerous lesions.

"Early detection is an area of research that hasn’t been given the attention it deserves," said Professor Fitzgerald. "This alliance will allow the field to gain momentum, so the sum of its members will be greater than its parts.

“In Cambridge we will work on essential clinical trials that will result in faster implementation of new early detection strategies and diagnostics, making a real difference to the lives of patients.”

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “Now is the time to be ambitious and develop effective new ways to detect cancer earlier. It’s an area of research where we have the potential to completely change the future of cancer treatment, turning it into a manageable and beatable disease for more people.

“Real progress in early detection can’t be achieved by a single organisation. Benefits for patients will only be realised if early cancer detection leaders from around the world come together. No more siloes, no more missed opportunities; let us tackle this problem together and beat cancer.”

̽��ֱ��Prime Minister said: “Every two minutes, someone in the UK has their world turned upside down when they are diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to the pioneering work of UK researchers and our world-beating NHS, more people are surviving than ever.

“However, there is more to do to detect and cure this disease earlier. That is why I am pleased to welcome this new UK-US alliance, driven by Cancer Research UK.

“This is the transatlantic partnership at its very best. Our brilliant scientists will be able to work together to develop detection technologies and implement them in our health service, so we can find cancer earlier and ultimately save people’s lives.”

It’s crucial that new early detection advances can also be quickly implemented into the health service to save and transform lives. ̽��ֱ��Alliance will be a globally unique platform that is able to test and validate early detection innovations in real-world hospital and healthcare settings. ̽��ֱ��partners will engage with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the research field to ensure discoveries can achieve economies of scale and reach patients as soon as possible.

̽��ֱ��Alliance will also be in a unique position to train and develop a new generation of early cancer detection research leaders, learning from the very best that both countries and all five centres have to offer.

̽��ֱ��benefits of investing in early detection research are clear. And through ACED the global early detection research community will grow and develop technological innovations that radically improve outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer.

* Based on 5-year age-standardised net cancer survival in England of adults diagnosed between 2013 and 2017, followed up to 2018; cancer sites for persons: colorectal, kidney, lung. For women specifically: breast, uterine and ovary.

Adapted from CRUK press release.

Cambridge scientists are set to benefit from a major cash injection from Cancer Research UK and partners to develop radical new strategies and technologies to detect cancer at its earliest stage.

Early detection is an area of research that hasn’t been given the attention it deserves. This alliance will allow the field to gain momentum, so the sum of its members will be greater than its parts.

Rebecca Fitzgerald

NIH Image Gallery

Pre-cancerous pancreatic tissue in mice

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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“All this cancer talk is new to me, but I do know there isn’t a stage five”

cjb250 — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 08:00:27 +0000

Read more about how clinical researchers, physicists, engineers and social scientists are among those collaborating as part of the Cancer Research UK Early Detection Programme.

Kate Gross was just 36 years old when she died of cancer. Researchers at Cambridge – including her husband – are trying to ensure that others receive their diagnoses early enough to stop their cancer.

Billy Boyle/William Collins

Kate Gross

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Closing the Gender Gap

ta385 — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Gender diversity, both in education and the economy, is now the subject of serious debate among policy-makers, academics, teachers and employers. Of particular concern is the fact that female participation in STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – suffers from a “leaky pipeline”. Up to the age of sixteen, as many girls as boys study maths and science, but thereafter a gap opens up which continues to widen at each step of the career ladder.

For this reason, many of Cambridge’s access events aim to encourage female students, particularly those in state sector schools and colleges, to continue studying mathematics and science at school and to apply for university courses in which women are currently under-represented across the UK.

Recent events have included

Robinson College’s Women in Science Festival

Robinson welcomed 124 female Sixth Formers from across the country to its inaugural Women in Science Festival, an entirely free one day event aimed at encouraging more young women to pursue further study in science and maths related disciplines.

̽��ֱ��event opened with five talks by female scientists currently making waves at Cambridge. Dr Liisa Van Vliet spoke about microscopy, Dr Teresa Tiffert on Malaria and Anaemias and Dr Athina Markaki on Cardiovascular stents. They were followed by two PhD students – Joana Grah discussed the use of Mathematical Image Analysis in Cancer Research while Diana Vasile revealed the computer science behind mobile devices.

Twelve courageous Sixth Formers then took to the stage to give five minute presentations about a STEM topic which they feel passionate about, earning feedback from an expert judging panel. After taking lunch at Robinson with College Fellows and students, the participants visited the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy to experience ̽��ֱ��-level laboratory work. ̽��ֱ��most popular experiment involved measuring the temperature-dependent properties of rubber, with the participants using liquid nitrogen to cool their samples.

Robinson’s Dr Rachel Oliver, a Reader in Materials Science, said "We believe that many young women have the potential to make a real contribution in STEM subjects, but they are sometimes put off by misconceptions about science and engineering, or about the people who work in those fields. We wanted to give Sixth Formers the opportunity to meet real female scientists and engineers and be inspired by the work they do.”

Gonville & Caius College’s Women in Economics Day

Highly respected female economists including Dame Kate Barker, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, and Dr Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the Government Economic Service, gave 100 Sixth Form girls a clear message: “Economics Needs You!”

Women currently represent about 36% of applications to study economics at Cambridge and receive 37 per cent of offers. This is significantly higher than the UK average. A recent study by the ̽��ֱ�� of Southampton found that women account for just 27 per cent of economics students in the UK, despite making up 57 per cent of the overall undergraduate population. Nevertheless, the Collegiate ̽��ֱ�� would like to see more women studying Maths in Sixth Form and going on to apply to study economics.

̽��ֱ��event at Gonville & Caius was run by Dr Victoria Bateman, Director of Studies for Economics at the College. Dr Bateman told a packed auditorium "Sadly, the lack of female representation in the subject has meant that economists have built a model of the economy which tells only half of the story. ̽��ֱ��future of economics – and the economy – is in your hands.”

̽��ֱ��students received a welcome message from Carolyn Fairbairn, who gained a double first in economics at Caius and becomes the CBI’s first female director general in November 2015. Ms Fairbairn said economics was too often seen as “a science that only an elite of often male experts are qualified to comment on” and argued that women’s views were vital if economic policy were to respond to the needs of both genders.

Corpus Christi College’s STEM Summer School for Years 12 & 13

For the first time, Corpus Christi ran a three-day STEM event for 16-18 year old female students from across the country. 86 schools, the vast majority state sector, selected one hundred participants to take part in recognition of their impressive academic achievements and their passion for one or more of the STEM subjects.

̽��ֱ��event combined hands-on activities, departmental visits and lectures on a diverse range of topics, from the chemistry of water to a programming language for blind children. It also included a practical advice session on STEM interviews at Cambridge.

Unforgettable words of encouragement came from Dame Athene Donald, Professor of Experimental Physics and Master of Churchill College, Cambridge, who spoke of the importance of perseverance and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the sciences.

Event leader, Dr Sophie Zadeh, Fellow in Psychology at Corpus Christi College, said “We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to offer these young women the opportunity to experience Cambridge but we want to ensure the impact of this event reaches far beyond the attendees. We want to help close the gender gap in STEM across the country.”

More information and photos here.

Newnham College’s Joan Clarke Maths Residential

Joan Clarke achieved a double first in Mathematics at Newnham in the 1930s and went on to play a crucial role in the Second World War by helping to crack the Enigma machine at Bletchley Park.

Named in her honour, Newnham’s inaugural maths residential gave thirty Year 13s studying Further Maths at state schools an inspiring taste of STEM subjects at Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��programme included lectures, seminars, discussion groups, practical work and social activities, as well as the opportunity to meet current staff and students.

This entirely free event was made possible by alumnae donations made specifically to encourage more women from state schools to apply for science and maths based courses at Cambridge.

Dr Sam Lucy, Newnham’s Admissions Tutor, said: “This initiative gives very bright young women the information they need to make competitive applications to Cambridge and other top universities, while also helping them to explore the different types of maths taught on STEM courses."

More information here.

Murray Edwards College’s ‘She Talks Science’

Murray Edwards recently set up ‘She Talks Science’, a blog designed to give young women the opportunity to share their passion for science with each other and with Murray Edwards students, Fellows and alumnae. Previous posts have included thoughts on snowflakes, micro-seismic activity and an inspiring introduction from the College’s President, Barbara Stocking.

̽��ֱ��College’s annual Pathways to Success conference introduces high-achieving Year 12s from schools across the UK to students, graduates and staff at Murray Edwards. ̽��ֱ��event aims to encourage young women to expand their horizons and to embrace aiming high. Previous guest speakers have included high-flying alumnae who studied science at the College.

Cavendish Inspiring Women (CiW)

CiW was set up by two Cambridge PhD students, Sarah Morgan and Hannah Stern, together with Dr Elsa Couderc, a former post-doc at the ̽��ֱ��, and Dr Atefey Amin, a research associate, to encourage young women to pursue careers in science, or to use their science training to further other career paths.

CiW introduces promising teenage scientists to inspiring role models by holding regular speaker events at the Cavendish Laboratory. Previous speakers have included Dr Sarah Bohndiek, a lecturer in biomedical physics and a junior research group leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. CiW also provides advice via its website and recently published ‘What is so Exciting About Physics?’ a free booklet aimed at secondary school students featuring insights from several female scientists.

Hannah and Sarah said “We both really enjoy studying science and haven't felt disadvantaged by being women. But we have noticed how few female scientists there are in comparison to men and we know that the way society portrays scientists can sometimes be very stereotypical. So we started Cavendish Inspiring Women to promote the visibility of women in science and to show that it can be an excellent career path for women as well as men.”

Every year, 200,000 young people participate in access initiatives run by the ̽��ֱ�� and the Colleges. This programme includes a wide range of opportunities specifically designed to inspire young women and to foster greater participation in certain areas of Higher Education and work.

"We promote the visibility of women in science and show that it can be an excellent career path for women as well as men".

Sarah Morgan & Hannah Stern, Cavendish Inspiring Women

Robinson College’s Women in Science Festival

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Institute of Physics announces 2014 award winners

pbh25 — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 13:28:33 +0000

̽��ֱ��Institute of Physics (IOP) has announced this year’s award winners with three Cambridge academics among their ranks.

In its Gold award category is Professor Michael Payne from ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge receiving the Swan Medal “for the development of computational techniques that have revolutionised materials design and facilitated the industrial application of quantum mechanical simulations”.

̽��ֱ��Swan Medal is given for outstanding contributions to the organisation or application of physics in an industrial or commercial context.

Professor Benjamin Simons received the ̽��ֱ��IOP’s Franklin Medal and Prize, which is a Subject award given for distinguished research in physics applied to the life sciences including medical and biological physics.

̽��ֱ��citation read: “For the application of non-equilibrium statistical mechanic to provide fundamental new insights into the mechanisms that regulate stem cell behaviour in tissue maintenance and disease”.

Recognised with the Paterson Medal and Prize – given for distinguished early career research in applied physics - was Dr Sarah Bohndiek

̽��ֱ��citation read: “For her remarkable work in developing advanced molecular imaging techniques and applying them to address questions at the interface of physics, biology and medicine.”

̽��ֱ��full list of award winners, including early career, education and outreach awards, can be found at www.iop.org/awards.

Physics awards honour work of Cambridge academics

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