̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Richard Gilbertson

Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

cjb250 — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 07:00:41 +0000

Find out about groundbreaking cancer research at Cambridge, including our planned new hospital, how we're studying the earliest stages of cancer, how AI is helping fight the disease, and the patients playing a key role in our work.

Cancer is the public's biggest health concern, survey finds

cjb250 — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 07:00:29 +0000

Two-thirds of the public say they are very or somewhat worried about being told they have cancer – higher than for any other medical condition – according to polling released today.

̽��ֱ��hospital that will change the story of cancer forever

cjb250 — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 07:00:21 +0000

Work will begin soon on a new hospital that will transform how we diagnose and treat cancer. Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will treat patients across the East of England, but the research that takes place there promises to change the lives of cancer patients across the UK and beyond.

Breakthrough in understanding of how cancer spreads could lead to better treatments

cjb250 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 15:00:15 +0000

̽��ֱ��team based at the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, found that blocking the activity of the NALCN protein in cells in mice with cancer triggers metastasis.

̽��ֱ��research, which was published in Nature Genetics today, also discovered that this process is not just restricted to cancer. To their surprise, when they removed NALCN from mice without cancer, this caused their healthy cells to leave their original tissue and travel around the body where they joined other organs.

They found, for example, that healthy cells from the pancreas migrated to the kidney where they became healthy kidney cells. This suggests that metastasis isn’t an abnormal process limited to cancer as previously thought, but is a normal process used by healthy cells that has been exploited by cancers to migrate to other parts of the body to generate metastases.

Group Leader for the study and Director of the CRUK Cambridge Centre, Professor Richard Gilbertson, said: “These findings are among the most important to have come out of my lab for three decades. Not only have we identified one of the elusive drivers of metastasis, but we have also turned a commonly held understanding of this on its head, showing how cancer hijacks processes in healthy cells for its own gains. If validated through further research, this could have far-reaching implications for how we prevent cancer from spreading and allow us to manipulate this process to repair damaged organs.”

Despite being one of the main causes of death in cancer patients, metastasis has remained incredibly difficult to prevent, largely because researchers have found it hard to identify key drivers of this process that could be targeted by drugs. Now that they have identified NALCN’s role in metastasis, the team are looking into various ways to restore its function, including using existing drugs on the market.

Lead researcher on the study Dr Eric Rahrmann, said: “We are incredibly excited to have identified a single protein that regulates not only how cancer spreads through the body, independent of tumour growth, but also normal tissue cell shedding and repair. We are developing a clearer picture on the processes that govern how cancer cells spread. We can now consider whether there are likely existing drugs which could be repurposed to prevent this mechanism from triggering cancer spreading in patients.”

NALCN stands for sodium (Na+) leak channel, non-selective. Sodium leak channels are expressed predominately in the central nervous system but are also found throughout the rest of the body. These channels sit across the membranes of cells and control the amount of salt – that is, sodium – that goes in and out of the cell. Controlling this process also alters the balance of electricity across the cell membrane. It is not yet clear why these channels seem to be implicated so directly in cancer metastasis.

̽��ֱ��research was funded by CRUK, whose Director of Research, Dr Catherine Elliott, said: “Once cancer has spread from the first tumour, it is harder to treat because we are looking at multiple sites in the body and working with new tumours that may be resistant to treatment. Discovering that a cancer has spread is always devastating news for patients and their families and so we are delighted to have supported this incredible research which may one day allow us to prevent metastasis and turn cancer into a much more survivable disease.”

Reference
Rahrmann, E P et al. ̽��ֱ��NALCN channel regulates metastasis and nonmalignant cell dissemination. Nat Genetics; 29 Sept 2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01182-0

Adapted from a press release from Cancer Research UK

Cambridge scientists have discovered that cancer cells ‘hijack’ a process used by healthy cells to spread around the body, completely changing current ways of thinking around cancer metastasis.

These findings are among the most important to have come out of my lab for three decades

Richard Gilbertson

Annie Cavanagh

Cancer cell migrating through blood vessel

̽��ֱ��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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Cambridge researchers elected as members of European Molecular Biology Organisation

cjb250 — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 12:00:22 +0000

Five Cambridge researchers join the community of more than 1,900 leading life scientists in Europe and beyond today as the European Molecular Biology Organisation announces its newly-elected Members.

Nine Cambridge scientists among the new 2022 Fellows announced by the Royal Society

jg533 — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:33:12 +0000

̽��ֱ��Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Its Foreign Members are drawn from the rest of the world.

̽��ֱ��Society’s fundamental purpose is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

This year, a total of 51 Fellows, 10 Foreign Members, and one Honorary Fellow have been selected for their outstanding contributions to science.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: “It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

“Through their careers so far, these researchers have helped further our understanding of human disease, biodiversity loss and the origins of the universe. I am also pleased to see so many new Fellows working in areas likely to have a transformative impact on our society over this century, from new materials and energy technologies to synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. I look forward to seeing what great things they will achieve in the years ahead.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Fellows are:

Professor Graham Burton FMedSci FRS

Mary Marshall and Arthur Walton Professor Emeritus of the Physiology of Reproduction, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Burton is a reproductive biologist whose research has focused on the early stages of human pregnancy. In particular, he showed how the placenta is established in a protective low-oxygen environment, stimulating its own development through interactions with the uterus. He demonstrated that aberrations in the early stages of placental development can adversely affect the life-long health of mother and offspring. Burton was founding Director of the Centre for Trophoblast Research, and founding Chair of the Strategic Research Initiative Cambridge Reproduction.

He said: “I am delighted to receive this recognition for myself and the field of reproductive biology, and thank colleagues and collaborators for their contributions over the years.”

Professor Roberto Cipolla FREng FRS

Professor of Information Engineering, Department of Engineering, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Cipolla is distinguished for his research in computer vision and his contributions to the reconstruction, registration and recognition of three-dimensional objects from images. These include novel algorithms for the recovery of accurate 3D shape, visual localisation and semantic segmentation and their translation into commercial products.

He said: "This is the ultimate honour for any scientist and recognises the amazing contribution of my students, collaborators and mentors in my 30 years at Cambridge. I am also very fortunate to be working in the field of computer vision and machine learning at a time of revolutionary progress and ground-breaking applications.”

Professor Douglas Easton FMedSci FRS

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Easton’s main research interests are in cancer genetics. He analyses large population studies to identify genetic variants that predispose to cancer, and to understand how they combine together with other factors to determine cancer risk. His work has characterised many important cancer genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, and identified of hundreds of common cancer predisposition variants in the non-coding genome. He co-developed the BOADICEA risk prediction model now used worldwide to guide genetic counselling and cancer prevention.

He said: "I am truly delighted and honoured to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. This prestigious honour is a tribute the work of many wonderful colleagues in Cambridge and worldwide, over many years, who have made the research possible."

Professor Robin Franklin FMedSci FRS

Formerly Professor of Stem Cell Medicine, Wellcome - MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; now Principal Investigator, Altos Labs - Cambridge Institute

̽��ֱ��central question of Franklin’s career is 'how do tissues regenerate?' To address this question, he has studied the brain, an organ notorious for its poor regenerative capacity. Working with many excellent colleagues, he has described how stem cells in the adult brain regenerate oligodendrocytes - the cells responsible for making the insulating myelin sheath around nerve fibres - once they are lost in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS); how this process declines with age; and it can be reversed. ̽��ֱ��work has led to two regenerative medicine trials in MS.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society - it is a huge honour.”

Professor Richard Gilbertson FMedSci FRS

Li Ka Shing Chair of Oncology and Head of Department of Oncology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre and Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

Gilbertson, a paediatric physician-scientist, has identified the origins of common and aggressive childhood brain tumours and many of the genetic alterations that drive these tumours. His research has helped establish a direct link between disordered development and the multiple different brain tumour types observed in children: contributing directly to their classification by the World Health Organisation (WHO); changing the way conventional treatments are used, sparing children from unnecessary side effects; and underpinning clinical trials of new therapies.

Gilbertson said: “I am truly delighted and humbled to receive this recognition that I share with all the wonderful students, trainees and colleagues I have worked with over the years.”

Professor Paul Lehner FMedSci FRS

Professor of Immunology and Medicine, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Lehner studies virus-host antagonism and how our genome is defended from invasion by RNA-derived retroelements such as HIV. His discovery of the ‘HUSH’ epigenetic silencing complex explains how the genome distinguishes new genetic material from endogenous genes through recognition of intronless DNA. This work uncovered an unanticipated surveillance system that discriminates ‘self’ from ‘non-self’ genomic DNA and defends our genome against the reverse flow of genetic information (RNA to DNA), paving the way to novel applications in medicine and biotechnology.

Lehner said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society; I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly talented people and this honour recognises the commitment of the many past and present members of my group who have contributed to our work.”

Professor Roberto Maiolino FRS

Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology and Professor of Experimental Astrophysics, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Maiolino studies the formation of galaxies using observations collected at some of the largest ground-based and space telescopes. He has obtained key results on the interplay between the evolution of galaxies and the supermassive black holes at their centres. He has also investigated the enrichment of chemical elements across the cosmic epochs, as well as the origin and nature of dust particles in the early Universe.

He said: “I am truly honoured by such a prestigious appointment. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society will certainly foster my research activities and will allow me to further promote exciting, cutting-edge projects.”

Professor Angelos Michaelides FRS

1968 Professor of Chemistry, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Michaelides’ work involves the development and application of theoretical methods to better understand contemporary problems in chemistry, physics, and materials science. His group places a particular focus on developing and applying computer simulation approaches that provide the fundamental molecular-level insight needed to help address contemporary global challenges related to water, energy, and the environment.

He said: “Holy moly! I’m delighted to have been elected an FRS and very grateful to all the outstanding students, post-docs, collaborators, and mentors I’ve had over the years without whom this would never have happened.”

Professor Jason William Chin FMedSci FRS

Head, Centre for Chemical and Synthetic Biology, and Joint Head, Division of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology; Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Associate Faculty in Synthetic Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute

Chin has engineered the genetic code of living cells to synthesise modified proteins and non-canonical polymers. To accomplish this, he created new translational machinery and codons to reprogram the genetic code, going well-beyond prior work using amber suppression. He then completely synthesised a bacterial genome in which he reduced the number of sense codons in its genetic code. ̽��ֱ��codons thus unused were reassigned to encode non-canonical amino acids. Chin's fundamental advances have been widely used to drive discovery, including to define the molecular consequences of post-translational modifications, define protein interactions in cells, and provide mechanistic insight into enzymes.

̽��ֱ��nine Cambridge researchers were all selected for their exceptional contributions to science.

It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society

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Cambridge scientists get £22.5 million boost from Cancer Research UK

cjb250 — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 10:30:18 +0000

̽��ֱ��Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre will receive around £22.5 million over the next five years as part of the development of a unique chain of cutting-edge research hubs around the UK.

̽��ֱ��money will be used to accelerate work into diagnosing a wide range of cancers in children and adults at a much earlier stage, including pancreatic, ovarian and children’s cancers. ̽��ֱ��funding will support the development of the Centre’s Advanced Imaging capability, enabling scientists to look inside cancer cells in more detail than ever before and find the physical features that could be vulnerable to new treatments.

Professor Richard Gilbertson, Director at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, said: “We’ve had a challenging year and COVID-19 has slowed us down. But we will not stop working hard to find new treatments for cancer, and this investment will give us the tools we need to deliver high quality research that will make the biggest difference for patients.

“This investment means we will be able to further develop our work in translational research – getting cutting-edge discoveries from the laboratory to patients and learning as much as possible from patients to initiate new research.”

Cambridge has been chosen as one of just seven locations to secure funding in the latest review of the Cancer Research UK Centres network of excellence. These are world-class research centres that draw together leading research and medical expertise to drive the best possible results for cancer patients.

Every year around 37,300 people are diagnosed with cancer in the East of England.*

Dr Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “This past year proves, more than any other, the value of investing in science and medical research, and what can be achieved with collective focus and collaboration. Just like science is our route out of the pandemic, science is our route to beating cancer.

“Despite the impact of the pandemic on the charity’s income, we’re funding some of the best and most promising research in Cambridge to help more people survive.

“Survival rates have doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress. Every step our doctors, nurses and scientists take relies on every pound raised through fundraising, and they need support now more than ever.

“Our determination to beat cancer hasn’t faltered and we’re even more focussed on our ambition of seeing three in four people survive their cancer by 2034. One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetimes and all of us can support the research that will beat it.”