Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre

Professor of Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC

Jan Paul Medema studied Chemistry in Leiden and performed his PhD studies at the University of Utrecht analysing the role of the Ras GTPase GAP120 in differentiation of keratinocytes. During his first postdoctoral years at the German Cancer Center in Heidelberg he worked on the signal transduction cascade induced by CD95/Fas/APO-1 and used this insight in cancer immunology during his postdoc at the LUMC in Leiden. Here he became assistant and subsequently associate Professor focusing more and more on the role of cell death escape mechanisms that tumors use to avoid immune surveillance and help escape from chemotherapy. In 2005, he moved to the AMC in Amsterdam to start the laboratory of Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology (LEXOR) and became full Professor, department head and in 2016, Scientific director of the Cancer Center Amsterdam. His laboratory LEXOR now houses multiple research teams that study cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, specifically colorectal, oesophageal and pancreatic cancer. The aim is to understand the heterogeneity present within these cancers and between distinct cancer patients. For colorectal cancer we have been instrumental in the design of molecular subtypes that identify patient groups with clearly distinctive tumors from a biological point of view. Understanding the ontogeny, molecular wiring and vulnerabilities of these molecular subtypes is key to our research programme.

Next to this patient-to-patient variation, we study the intra-tumor heterogeneity from a cancer stem cell perspective. Interaction with the microenvironment, nutrients, microvasculature and immune components is part of our studies to unravel biological wiring as well as novel targets for therapy.

For our studies we depend on primary tumor material from patients and hence we have optimal connection to several clinical departments (Surgery, Pathology, Radiotherapy, Med Oncology and Gastroenterology). Moreover, organoids and xenografts derived from tumor material, as well as a wide range of mouse models, is part of our research infrastructure.

https://www.amsterdamumc.org/en/research/researchers/jan-paul-medema.htm

A crucial part of cancer drug discovery is finding the best cancer treatments for the future. 

The Oxford Early Phase Cancer Trials Unit has a long established track record of drug discovery and delivering novel therapies safely and effectively. Dr Blagden has a strong science and medical background which enables her to design clinical trials, investigate treatments (developed by academia or industry) and deliver them to cancer patients. In leading the Early Phase Trials Unit, Dr Blagden’s team investigate new treatments for patients with cancer. Potential treatments are carefully chosen on their scientific rationale, their likelihood of being effective and, most importantly, their safety profile.

https://blagdenlab.wordpress.com/research/

Chief Executive and President of The Institute of Cancer Research, London

Professor Kristian Helin’s group studies the role of chromatin-associated proteins (epigenetics) in the regulation of transcription, cell fate decisions and in cancer. The group is also using functional genetic screens to identify potential novel targets for the development of anti-cancer therapy.

https://www.icr.ac.uk/our-research/research-divisions/division-of-cancer-biology/epigenetics-and-cancer

Professor of Health Data Epidemiology, Big Data Institute and Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford

The AHRU, led by Eva Morris and Sasha Shepperd, aims to drive improvements in health care and outcomes through translational research and methodological innovation.

Our research focuses on: 

• understanding variation in incidence, prevalence, treatment pathways and health outcomes,
• evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of health services in relation to a range of diseases and health problems,
• evaluating the equitable implementation of effective interventions to improve health and avoid research waste.
• We advocate for the robust and innovative use of data to generate evidence to guide the design and delivery of effective and equitable health services to improve population health. We do this by conducting epidemiological research, and evidence synthesis to place our research within the context of existing evidence, randomised trials, surveys and qualitative research.

The group’s linked data assets, include national and regional hospitalisation records which run from 50 years ago to the present day, national mortality (civil registration) records, cancer registry data, and primary care records which provide extensive research opportunities. Methodological approaches developed for these datasets complement those required for other datasets in Oxford Population Health that also link to hospitalisation and other routine clinical data (such as the Million Women Study, UK Biobank, and large clinical trials), providing efficient means for testing specific hypotheses in more depth.    

https://www.ndph.ox.ac.uk/research/research-groups/applied-health-research-unit-ahru