Oncological research at Oxford, headed by Wolfson Fellow, boosted by major grant

Published on
Wednesday 5 November 2014
Category
College & Community

Professor Gillies McKenna, Wolfson Governing Body Fellow, Head of the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, and Director of the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre, recently led the announcement of the foundation of the Precision Cancer Medical Institute.

The Institute received a £35 million grant from HEFCE and over £75 million of investment in financial contributions and support in kind from partners in the project. It will ensure Oxford is able to undertake cutting edge research to further understand the genetic and molecular changes underlying a patient's tumour, as well as trials of novel cancer drugs and the latest in surgery, advanced cancer imaging, and proton beam therapy.

Professor Gillies McKenna said: “The Precision Cancer Medicine Institute aims to improve outcomes and increase cure rates for cancer patients. It will do this not only by making surgery and radiotherapy more precise and less invasive, but by designing new drug treatments that are more targeted and personalised to the characteristics of a patient's particular tumour, and by using advanced imaging techniques to detect the earliest signs of response. Through the new institute we aim to undertake research that will help doctors get the right treatment, to the right patient, at the right time.”