George Osborne has announced that two new
medical research centres focusing on developing treatments for cancer and other diseases
are to open in Oxford.
The University of Oxford will be part of a £32m
consortium for a new centre which will analyse
large medical data sets to improve treatments
for sufferers.
The university will also be involved in a £138m
unit for research targeted at patients who are
in the early stages of cancer. Oxford University
Hospitals NHS Trust will also be involved in the
two projects.
Part of the funding will be provided by the UK
Research Partnership Investment Fund as well
as various industry and charity organisations
which will also be contributing money for the
project. Cancer Research UK is helping to fund
the city’s £138m centre.
Dr Ian Foulkes, who is the executive director
of research funding at Cancer Research UK, was
enthusiastic about the project, telling Cherwell,
“Cancer Research UK is delighted to support
this ambitious research initiative in Oxford,
which will bring together world-class scientists
to help propel forward research into personalised cancer treatments.”
He hopes the centre will help build on recent
advances in cancer research, explaining, “our
understanding of the faults that drive many
cancers has increased exponentially in recent
years, opening the doors to powerful new treatments which target the specific faults within
individual tumours.”
“This new centre will help ensure that patients can start benefitting from these advances
as soon as possible.”
Professor Gillies McKenna of the Department
of Oncology at Oxford University, who will lead
the new centre outlined the stumbling blocks
the researchers hope to overcome, commented,
“Potential new cancer drugs have traditionally
been first tried out in patients with end-stage
disease and results are often disappointing.
“We want instead to look at how new drug
candidates might be combined with the latest
surgery or radiotherapy techniques, still the
mainstays of curative cancer treatment.
Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and
Abingdon, indicated other advantages of the
project, arguing that the centres will draw the
“best and the brightest” researchers to the area.
In March 2011, Cancer Research UK opened
up a building on Roosevelt Drive which serves
as a link between the University of Oxford, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and Cancer
Research UK. Last year the charity spent nearly
£23m on research in Oxford.
George Osborne has announced that two new medical research centres focusing on developing treatments for cancer and other diseases are to open in Oxford. The University of Oxford will be part of a £32m consortium for a new centre which will analyse large medical data sets to improve treatments for sufferers. The University will also be involved in a £138m unit for research targeted at patients who are in the early stages of cancer. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust will also be involved in the two projects.
Part of the funding will be provided by the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund as well as various industry and charity organisations which will also be contributing money for the project. Cancer Research UK is helping to fund the city’s £138m centre.
Dr Ian Foulkes, who is the executive director of research funding at Cancer Research UK, was enthusiastic about the project, telling Cherwell, “Cancer Research UK is delighted to support this ambitious research initiative in Oxford, which will bring together world-class scientists to help propel forward research into personalised cancer treatments.”
He hopes the centre will help build on recent advances in cancer research, explaining, “our understanding of the faults that drive many cancers has increased exponentially in recent years, opening the doors to powerful new treatments which target the specific faults within individual tumours. This new centre will help ensure that patients can start benefitting from these advances as soon as possible.”
Professor Gillies McKenna of the Department of Oncology at Oxford University, who will lead the new centre outlined the stumbling blocks the researchers hope to overcome, commenting, “Potential new cancer drugs have traditionally been first tried out in patients with end-stage disease and results are often disappointing. We want instead to look at how new drug candidates might be combined with the latest surgery or radiotherapy techniques, still the mainstays of curative cancer treatment.’
Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, indicated other advantages of the project, arguing that the centres will draw the “best and the brightest” researchers to the area.In March 2011, Cancer Research UK opened up a building on Roosevelt Drive which serves as a link between the University of Oxford, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and Cancer Research UK. Last year the charity spent nearly £23m on research in Oxford.
