Research in LCRC

LCRC is an internationally renowned research grouping, bringing together basic and clinical scientists and having excellent links with the National Health Service. Our strategic aim is to capitalise on our strong basic scientific research programmes to expand our translational and clinical research to achieve patient benefit.

Key outcomes over the last five years have been:

• enhanced grant funding, including two successful CR-UK Programme Grants awards;
• renewal of our ECMC and
• enhanced funding for mesothelioma and haematology clinical studies.

Research focuses on the following areas:

Chemoprevention

The overall aim of the Group is to develop and apply strategies for both prevention of cancer. There is an emphasis on the use of biomarkers in mechanistic studies of carcinogenesis and for monitoring the effectiveness of chemoprevention and therapy. Members of this grouping:

Professor Karen Brown
Dr Don JL Jones
Dr Alessandro Rufini
Professor Anne Thomas

Early Detection

Efforts in this area are centred on genomic profiling of circulating free DNA (cfDNA), focussing on the reliable detection of driver mutations in lung, pancreatic, colorectal and breast cancer as well as melanoma. Members of this grouping:

Dr David Guttery
Dr John Le Quesne
Dr Gerald Saldanha
Professor Jacqui Shaw

Personalised Medicine

Research on targeted therapies is primarily coupled to clinical trials of thoracic cancers and lymphoid malignancies with emphasis on overcoming treatment resistance. Members of this grouping:

Professor Martin Dyer
Professor Dean Fennell
Dr David Guttery
Professor Bruno Morgan
Professor Catrin Pritchard
Dr John Le Quesne
Professor Jacqui Shaw
Professor Anne Thomas

Radiobiology

Radiation research activity at Leicester is primarily focussed on cancer cell radiosensitivity, specifically focussing on DNA damage measures principally by Comet assay (Jones group), normal tissue radiosensitivity/toxicity focussing on finding the genetic determinants and other biomarkers of adverse reactions to RT (Talbot & Rattay groups) and studies of the long-term effects of radiation exposure,focussing on long-term gene and epigenetic expression changes and transgenerational effects in humans and mice (Dubrova group).

Professor G Don Jones
Dr Tim Rattay
Professor Paul Symonds (Emeritus)
Professor Yuri Dubrova (Department of Genetics and Genome Biology)
Dr Chris Talbot (Department of Genetics and Genome Biology)
Dr Dusan Milanovic (University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust)

The conduit for translational and early phase clinical trials is our ECMC, underpinned by a dedicated Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit, funded by a partnership between the NHS Trust, the University and the locally based cancer charity Hope Against Cancer.

We also host the Ernest and Helen Scott Haematological Research Institute and are a leading centre for lung cancer and mesothelioma research.

Our research is funded by a variety of sources including charities Cancer Research UK, Lymphoma Leukaemia Research, Hope Against Cancer as well as a number of commercial organisations.