̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Greg Hannon

Cancer Research UK makes unprecedented £173m investment in ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:30:05 +0000

̽��ֱ��significant funding commitment will enable world-class discovery science, unlocking new insights into how cancers develop, grow and spread, as well as examining how the immune system can be harnessed to combat the disease.

Research at the CRUK Cambridge Institute focuses on understanding every stage of the cancer life cycle – how tumours grow and spread and how this is impacted by the characteristics of each individual patient. By studying how tumours develop, adapt, and interact with their surroundings, scientists aim to uncover crucial insights into their behaviour.

Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Professor Deborah Prentice, said: “From understanding and detecting cancer at its very earliest stages, to developing kinder treatments to building Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, a transformative new cancer research hospital for the region, Cambridge is changing the story of cancer. For many years now, Cancer Research UK has played a vital role in enabling this world-leading work. Today’s announcement will ensure our researchers continue to find new ways to transform the lives of patients locally, nationally and internationally.”

Today’s £173 million announcement further boosts CRUK’s unwavering commitment towards its mission to beat cancer. ̽��ֱ��charity is investing in exciting new research programmes, forging new partnerships and is on track to invest more than £1.5bn on research over the five-year period 2021/22 to 2025/26.

Director of the CRUK Cambridge Institute, Professor Greg Hannon, said: “In a golden era for life sciences, this funding bolsters Cambridge as a major global hub for cancer research on an increasingly competitive worldwide stage and will greatly aid the recruitment of top-tier international talent.

“Research from the Institute has already made a positive impact for patients and their families, from the development of innovative technologies, diagnostic tests, and advanced imaging methods to the roll out of personalised medicine programmes for those with brain, breast, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers. We believe that only by embracing the complexity of cancer and how the disease interacts with the normal cells of patients can we move the needle on the hardest to treat cancers.”

̽��ֱ��Institute is dedicated to improving cancer patients’ lives through discovery science and clinical translational research and has over 300 scientists working on groundbreaking discoveries taking research from laboratory bench to bedside. 

Established in 2007, it was the first major new cancer research centre in the UK for over 50 years. In 2013, it became a department of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, strengthening links with researchers across the ̽��ֱ�� and at Addenbrooke's Hospital, and further enhancing its position as a world leader with research transitioning into clinical trials, and ultimately new and better cancer treatments.

Professor Hannon added: " ̽��ֱ��Institute serves as a foundation for the entire Cambridge cancer research community through access to cutting-edge equipment and technical expertise. Only through understanding all aspects of the disease can we prevent, detect and treat cancer so that everybody can lead longer, better lives, free from fear of cancer.

“With this new funding, the Institute aims to accelerate its impact for patients, with new schemes to integrate clinicians into every aspect of our research and to embrace new technologies, including the promise of machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance our discovery portfolio.”

̽��ֱ��award, which will support the Institute over the next seven years, follows a comprehensive review of the facility led by an independent panel of international cancer experts who recognised research innovation.

CRUK Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “We are delighted to confirm this incredible investment which is a reflection of the world-leading research community at the CRUK Cambridge Institute. ̽��ֱ��funding will underpin long-term cutting-edge discovery research, as well as supporting researchers to find new ways to improve cancer prevention and treatment, while creating innovative solutions to diagnose the disease earlier.

“This kind of funding would not be possible without the generosity of Cancer Research UK supporters and philanthropists."

Work undertaken at the Institute includes:

Understanding cancer: By gaining a deeper understanding of how tumours grow, adapt, and interact with their surroundings, scientists hope to uncover why some cells become cancerous and learn how each tumour's lifecycle can affect a patient’s response to treatment and prognosis.  Professor Greg Hannon's team developed a diagnostic tool using virtual reality to explore every cell and aspect of breast tumours in unprecedented detail.
Unravelling tumour interactions: Researchers are investigating a tumours’ ‘microenvironment' – which includes the surrounding cells, blood vessels, and immune cells and how they interact. This is helping scientists to predict how well immunotherapy treatments will work.
Cancer detection: Scientists are finding new ways to detect cancer earlier, predict the best course of treatments and tailor therapies to individual needs, to improve survival.  Using tumour DNA, scientists can monitor the effectiveness of treatments and catch signs of cancer returning. Cambridge scientists are also working on a simple at-home test for future patients to regularly monitor their progress.
Personalised medicine: Looking at the unique genetic mutations of a person’s tumour, including how it behaves and responds to treatment, allows treatments to be developed and matched to the specific genetic change.  For example, Professor James Brenton's team discovered a specific mutation in the most common form of ovarian cancer which is now used across the NHS as a cancer marker to measure treatment response for the disease.

Thanks to research, cancer death rates have fallen by 10% percent in the UK over the past decade. But in the East of England, around 37,400 people are still diagnosed, and around 15,700 lose their lives to the disease every year - underlining the vital need for new and better treatments.

Major studies seeking more accurate treatments for the deadliest cancers like ovarian and oesophageal cancer will also be supported at the Institute.  Research undertaken by Professor Florian Markowetz and his team includes predicting cancer weaknesses to treatment, and spotting cancers as early as possible using AI technology.

There are 17 research groups based at the Institute – based on the largest biomedical campus in Europe - studying a range of cancer and technologies to support improved cancer treatments.

Find out how Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

Adapted from a press release from Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has today announced a £173 million investment in its institute at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - the largest single grant ever awarded by the charity outside of London.

Today’s announcement will ensure our researchers continue to find new ways to transform the lives of patients locally, nationally and internationally

Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor

Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 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 – 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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Cancer researchers and astronomers join forces in fight against disease

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:21:05 +0000

̽��ֱ��technology from Cancer Grand Challenges team IMAXT uses advanced spatial biology techniques to analyse tumours, some of which are based on technology originally developed to map the Milky Way and discover new planets. Now, other scientists will be able to access these technologies to create detailed tumour maps that could one day transform how we diagnose and treat cancer.

Led by Professor Greg Hannon and Dr Dario Bressan at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Dr Nicholas Walton at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, SPACE will give other researchers the opportunity to study cancer in a way that wasn’t previously possible.

Dr Dario Bressan, Head of the SPACE Laboratory at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said: “Tumours aren’t just a uniform mass of cells; they consist of a diverse ecosystem of cancer cells, immune cells, and other essential components that support their survival. Hidden within these intricate networks lies valuable information which could guide us in making more personalised treatment decisions for each patient.

“With the SPACE platform, researchers can zoom into specific cell populations, highlight the complex connections between them, and even run virtual experiments to predict how the tumour might respond to different treatments. By unlocking these insights, we can transform the future of cancer care and uncover new opportunities for targeted therapies.”

̽��ֱ��IMAXT team was first awarded £20 million in 2017 by Cancer Research UK through Cancer Grand Challenges, a global research initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the US.

Since then, the team has united experts from fields rarely brought together including medicine, Virtual Reality (VR), programming, molecular biology, chemistry, mathematics, and even astronomy, to create a completely immersive tool for studying tumours.

As well as enabling scientists to analyse 3D tumour maps, IMAXT created pioneering VR technology which allows the user to ‘step inside’ a tumour using a VR headset.

With the headset, scientists get to view vast amounts of detailed data about individual tumour cells in a 3D space. Instead of looking at this data on a computer screen, they can see all the information in real-time, as if they were inside the tumour itself.

Professor Greg Hannon, Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said: "Cancer Grand Challenges offers a unique opportunity for international teams to address some of cancer’s biggest challenges. When we took on our particular challenge, much of what we proposed was science fiction.

“Over the past 7 years, our team has turned those early hopes and ideas into approaches that can now be made broadly available. In nature, biology unfolds in three dimensions, and we now finally have the tools to observe it that way—giving us a much deeper, more accurate view of cancer. We’re thrilled to share these breakthroughs with the broader cancer research community."

ioa-space-image_full.jpg

Director of Cancer Grand Challenges at Cancer Research UK, Dr David Scott, said: “IMAXT is changing what’s possible when it comes to cancer research.

“We can glean important insights about a tumour by analysing its genetic makeup or its proteins, but no technology alone can give us the depth of understanding needed to truly understand this complex disease.

“By combining state-of-the-art technology and vast expertise, IMAXT will change how cancers are classified, treated and managed, giving more people a better chance of surviving their disease.”

̽��ֱ��funding will support the SPACE hub laboratory, hosted at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, and the SPACE analysis and computing platform, developed and operated at the Institute of Astronomy, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. Together SPACE includes and combines most available technologies for the spatial molecular profiling of tumours. ̽��ֱ��continued collaboration between the cancer and astronomy teams from the IMAXT project will ensure the maintenance and development of all critical aspects of the platform – from technical and scientific expertise to instrumentation, computing, and data analysis – to allow SPACE to continue at the forefront research in the rapidly emerging spatial-omics field, and be a valuable centre of excellence to support new research in the Cancer Grand Challenge and cancer research communities.

SPACE is funded by Cancer Research UK through Cancer Grand Challenges. Additional support for the SPACE project has been provided by the UK Space Agency through their funding of the development of imaging and analysis techniques at the IoA, Cambridge for a range of space science missions. These have been successfully applied to spatial imaging data through IMAXT and are ready for wider use in SPACE.

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive Officer at UK Space Agency said: “Space is powering our daily lives, from satellite navigation to weather forecasts and climate monitoring. This collaboration between the cancer and astronomy teams in the IMAXT project is another real-world example of how space science and technology is bringing benefits to people here on Earth.

“Thanks to this partnership, the same science and technology that mapped the Milky Way may soon have a positive impact on people battling cancer, and could support doctors to provide better, faster treatment."

Going forward, a next-generation version of the VR technology will be further developed and commercialised by Suil Vision, a start-up company recently launched by IMAXT team members and Cancer Research UK’s innovation arm, Cancer Research Horizons. Suil Vision is the first start-up to emerge from the Cancer Grand Challenges programme. With a £500,000 investment from the Cancer Research Horizons Seed Fund, Suil Vision will create a market-ready version of their suite of VR technologies for analysing multiple types of biological data, rolling these out across research institutions and companies worldwide.

Find out how Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

Image

Top: Lung with two metastatic lesions derived from a mouse primary triple-negative breast tumour. ̽��ֱ��figure shows how the registration of the different imaging modalities to a cellular level allow to segment individual cells and identify tumour cell populations, differentiate hypoxic areas, increased fibrosis, infiltration of immune cells and blood and lymphatic vessels by staining with a panel of 35 cell markers at the same time. Bottom: Sample in 3D depicts a tumour grown in the mammary gland of a mouse showing the power of the SPACE pipeline to produce and visualise large volumes (typically ~100,000 individual images registered and stitched and up to 500TB 500 GB of data). ̽��ֱ��orange fluorescence beads are clearly visible in the medium outside the biological tissue and prove to be crucial for all stages of multimodal registration.

Adapted from a press release by Cancer Research UK

A unique collaboration of astronomers and cancer researchers at Cambridge has been awarded more than £5m to establish the Spatial Profiling and Annotation Centre of Excellence (SPACE) to open up access to their groundbreaking cancer mapping technology and establish collaborations with other scientists to enable them to investigate tumours in 3D.

When we took on our particular challenge, much of what we proposed was science fiction

Greg Hannon

SPACE Laboratory

Lung with two metastatic lesions derived from a mouse primary triple-negative breast tumour

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̽��ֱ��Royal Society announces 2018 Fellows

cjb250 — Wed, 09 May 2018 14:26:31 +0000

̽��ֱ��50 newly-elected Fellows announced today join a list of scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and Commonwealth. Past Fellows and Foreign Members have included Newton, Darwin and Einstein.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge academics announced today as Royal Society Fellows are:

Alexander Dawid, Emeritus Professor of Statistics, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics
Gregory Hannon, Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor of Molecular Cancer Biology and Director, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute
Judy Hirst, Deputy Director, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit
Lalita Ramakrishnan, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Head of Molecular Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine

Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, says: “Our Fellows are key to the Royal Society’s fundamental purpose of using science for the benefit of humanity. For their outstanding contributions to research and innovation, both now and in the future, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the world’s best scientists into the ranks of the Royal Society.”

̽��ֱ��new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Society at the Admissions Day ceremony in July, when they will sign the Charter Book and the Obligation of the Fellows of the Royal Society.

View the full list of new Fellows and Foreign Members

Four Cambridge academics are among the new Fellows announced today by the Royal Society and chosen for their outstanding contributions to science.

For their outstanding contributions to research and innovation, both now and in the future, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the world’s best scientists into the ranks of the Royal Society

Sir Venki Ramakrishnan

Royal Society

Professor Simon Tavare elected as a Foreign Member of US National Academy of Sciences

Professor Simon Tavare, former Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, has been elected as a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Tavare works at the interface of the mathematical sciences and the biological and medical sciences. He pioneered probabilistic and statistical aspects of coalescent theory, full likelihood-based methods for sequence variation data, methods for ancestral inference, evolutionary approaches to cancer, and approximate Bayesian computation for inference in complex stochastic processes.

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New Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute announced

cjb250 — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 07:27:14 +0000

̽��ֱ��Institute - one of the largest cancer research facilities in Europe - is based in the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This close collaboration between scientific research and hospital brings huge benefits for the 6,000 cancer patients that pass through the doors of the hospital every year, as well as patients around the UK and the world.

By focusing on the clinical application of high-quality basic research, the Institute forms a bridge between the laboratory and the clinic, and brings together leading scientists, doctors and nurses. ̽��ֱ��Institute’s landmark findings include the discovery that breast cancer can be divided up into 10 different diseases, paving way for new treatments, and its pioneering research into blood tests that could one day be used to understand the unique molecular profile of a person’s cancer.

Professor Greg Hannon joined the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute in 2014 as a Senior Group Leader. This was after spending more than 20 years at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and chaired the cancer genetics program as part of the Lab’s NCI-designated Cancer Center.

Professor Hannon is internationally recognised for his contributions to small RNA biology, cancer biology, and mammalian genomics. He has a long history in the discovery of cancer genes, and he has developed widely used tools and strategies for manipulation of gene expression in mammalian cells and animals, and exome capture approaches that are now being used to inform personalized medicine in the clinic.

Last year Professor Hannon was announced as one of the first ever winners of Cancer Research UK’s Grand Challenge awards. He and his team will receive up to £20 million for an innovative project to build a 3D tumour that can be studied using virtual reality and which shows every single different type of cell in the tumour. ̽��ֱ��technology will allow multiple doctors and scientists to look at a tumour at the same time, working together to help diagnose and treat patients better.

Professor Hannon said: “I’m incredibly honoured to be given this opportunity. I have Simon’s incredible legacy to build upon and the large responsibility to lead what is unquestionably a world-class institute into its next decade.

“I’m eternally grateful to Simon for bringing me to the Cancer Research UK Institute and for providing an atmosphere in which our science can thrive. It will soon be my responsibility to maximize that environment for others by drawing on the wisdom and intellect of my colleagues.”

Professor Hannon will take over from Professor Simon Tavaré on 1 February. Professor Tavaré has led the Institute since 2013 and was a Senior Group Leader since 2006.

Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “I’m delighted that Professor Hannon has been appointed as the next Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. ̽��ֱ��Institute performs world class research of profound importance across a range of cancer areas. I want to thank Simon for all his hard work over the last few years, taking the institute from strength to strength. I look forward to working with Greg and seeing his enthusiasm helping the Institute achieve even greater levels of success.”

Professor Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, says: “This is excellent news for the cancer community at Cambridge and indeed for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus as a whole. Greg has a strong track record of attracting significant funding and truly pushes the boundaries of cancer research, developing innovative new technologies to explore cancer from all angles – in the case of his new virtual reality work, quite literally.”

Press release from Cancer Research UK.

Professor Greg Hannon is today announced as the new director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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̽��ֱ��Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2017

cjb250 — Mon, 08 May 2017 09:00:39 +0000

̽��ֱ��Fellows have been elected for their contribution to biomedical and health research, the generation of new knowledge in medical sciences and its translation into benefits to society.

This year's elected Fellows have expertise that spans women’s health, immunology, public health and infectious disease among many other fields.

Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences said: “As we elect new Fellows each year, the Academy continues to grow as a unique and productive hub of the best minds in UK medical science. Our expanding and evolving Fellowship allows the Academy to play a vital role in tackling the major health challenges facing society today and in the future.

“ ̽��ֱ��election of these 46 exceptional biomedical and health researchers is a well-deserved honour. Each newly elected Fellow has made an outstanding impact in the community, contributing to the development of better healthcare - from fundamental scientific understanding to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. I am delighted to welcome them to the Academy and greatly look forward to working with them all in the future.”

̽��ֱ��newly elected Fellows include Professor Giovanna Mallucci, whose research is pioneering new treatments for dementia and who was recently announced as one of the five associate directors of the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Professor Giovanna Mallucci said: “Election to the Fellowship is a great honour and distinction, internationally recognised, and I am delighted and proud to be awarded it. This is a tremendous achievement in any medical research career: a milestone in a scientific and personal journey. It is a real privilege to join this this community of distinguished, inspirational and luminary leaders in the medical sciences.”

Four of Cambridge’s Fellows are cancer specialists, including CRUK Cambridge Centre Director Professor Richard Gilbertson.

Professor Gilbertson said: “I am deeply honoured to have received this recognition of our work and feel privileged to join such a wonderful organisation dedicated to promoting excellence in medical science, ultimately for the good of patients. This honour belongs to my many postdocs, PhD students, technicians and wonderful collaborators who over the years who have worked with me to pursue fantastic science. ̽��ֱ��cadre of scientists elected from Cambridge also reflects the vibrant cancer research community in our city and the terrific support of the clinical school.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Fellows elected in 2017 are:

Professor Sheila Bird OBE FRSE, Visiting Senior Fellow, MRC Biostatistics Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine and Institute of Public Health and Visiting Professor at Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Strathclyde ̽��ֱ��
Dr Jason Carroll, Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Richard Gilbertson, Li Ka Shing Chair of Oncology, Head of Department of Oncology, Director, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Gregory Hannon, Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor of Molecular Cancer Biology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Dr Roman Hovorka, Director of Research, WT-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Arthur Kaser, ̽��ֱ�� Chair of Gastroenterology, Honorary Consultant Physician, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Giovanna Mallucci, van Geest Professor of Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical Neurosciences, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Associate Director UK Dementia Research Institute at ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Programme Leader and Head of Neurobiology, MRC Toxicology Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Leicester
Professor Hugh Markus, Professor of Stroke Medicine, Clinical Neurosciences, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Christine J. Watson, Professor of Cell and Cancer Biology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

In addition, two Fellows were elected from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute:

Dr Anne Bertolotti, Programme Leader, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Dr Matthew Hurles, Senior Group Leader, Human Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

̽��ֱ��new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on 28 June 2017.

Nine researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge are among 46 world leading UK researchers who have been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Academy of Medical Sciences

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Virtual reality journey through a tumour: Cambridge scientists receive £40 million funding boost

cjb250 — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 09:26:07 +0000

̽��ֱ��funding will come from the first Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge awards – set up to help scientists solve some of the hardest unanswered questions in cancer research, and to revolutionise the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Teams based at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute – both part of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre – have been awarded two of the four grants.

Professor Greg Hannon will lead a team at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, part of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. Working with researchers in America, Switzerland, Canada and Ireland, they aim to build 3D versions of breast tumours, which can be studied using virtual reality, allowing scientists and doctors to study every cell and aspect of a tumour in unprecedented detail.

This new way of studying breast cancer could change how the disease is diagnosed, treated and managed. ̽��ֱ��virtual reality experience will include a ‘superman mode’ which will allow users to fly inside the tumour, point at every cell and find out exactly what kind of cell it is and what it’s doing.

Professor Hannon said: “This is an enormous challenge. I liken it to the idea of putting a man on Mars – there’s so much technology that you have to develop to do it. All sorts of things are happening in tumours that we can’t study using the technology we have. But with our project, we hope to change that.

“We want to create an interactive, faithful, 3D map of tumours that can be studied in virtual reality that scientists can ‘walk into’ and look at it in great detail. By doing this, we could learn more about tumours and begin to answer questions that have eluded cancer scientists for many years."

At the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Professor Sir Mike Stratton will lead a team aiming to build a deeper understanding of what causes cancer.

It’s already known that things in our environment, and behaviours like smoking and drinking alcohol, cause cancer by damaging the DNA in our cells. This damage occurs in distinctive patterns known as mutational fingerprints that are unique to their cause. For example, cancers caused by UV exposure have a different mutational fingerprint to cancers caused by tobacco.

There are at least 50 cancer-associated mutational fingerprints but researchers only know what causes around half of them. Professor Stratton’s team hope to fill in the missing gaps and determine the as yet unknown causes of cancer.

They’ll do this by studying 5,000 pancreatic, kidney, oesophageal and bowel cancer samples, which come from five continents. This will generate as much cancer DNA sequence data as the whole world has produced so far. This work could help prevent more cancers and reduce the global burden of the disease.

Professor Stratton said: “ ̽��ֱ��main aim of our Grand Challenge is to understand the causes of cancer. Every cancer retains an archaeological trace, a record in its DNA, of what caused it. It’s that record that we want to explore to find out what caused the cancer.

“We’re going to sequence the DNA of thousands of cancer samples that have been collected from many different countries around the world, and study them to see what archaeological trace they contain. By doing this, we hope to figure out what caused those cancers.

“ ̽��ֱ��thing that’s really exciting me is the challenge of making it all happen. And I’m looking forward to seeing the answers this work brings.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge projects were selected by an international panel of experts from a shortlist of nine exceptional, multi-disciplinary collaborations from universities, institutes and industry across the globe.

Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “Cancer Research UK set up the Grand Challenge awards to bring a renewed focus and energy to the fight against cancer. We want to shine a light on the toughest questions that stand in the way of progress. We’re incredibly excited to be able to support these exceptional teams as they help us achieve our ambition.

“Cancer is a global problem, and these projects are part of the global solution. Together, we will redefine cancer – turning it from a disease that so many people die from, to one that many people can live with. We will reduce the number of people worldwide affected by cancer and achieve our goal of beating cancer sooner.”

Adapted from a press release by Cancer Research UK

Cambridge scientists have received two of the biggest funding grants ever awarded by Cancer Research UK, with the charity set to invest £40 million over the next five years in two ground-breaking research projects in the city.

This is an enormous challenge. I liken it to the idea of putting a man on Mars – there’s so much technology that you have to develop to do it. All sorts of things are happening in tumours that we can’t study using the technology we have

Greg Hannon

A virtual reality journey through a cancer cell new

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Greg Hannon

Cancer Research UK makes unprecedented £173m investment in ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Find out how Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

Cancer researchers and astronomers join forces in fight against disease

ioa-space-image_full.jpg

Find out how Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

̽��ֱ��Royal Society announces 2018 Fellows

New Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute announced

̽��ֱ��Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2017

Virtual reality journey through a tumour: Cambridge scientists receive £40 million funding boost

A virtual reality journey through a cancer cell new

Cancer Research UK makes unprecedented £173m investment in ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge