newsletter

Cancer Institute Newsletter

ISSUE 4 Winter 2013

'Omes’ Expand the Cancer Universe

During the past 5 years, one of the most transformative changes in cancer research has been the mundane use of high-through-put technologies to decipher millions, rather than tens or hundreds, of cellular events in a specific cell or in a tumour sample. This has resulted in the need for advanced computational algorithms to make sense of all the data being generated. The word “genome” was probably first coined in 1920 by Hans Winkler, a German scientist, explaining all the material on the chromosomes in a sperm or egg. However, the term only emerged to popularity at the end of the last century when genome mapping was in full swing. Genome, metabolome, transcriptome, epigenome and proteome (there are over 300 ‘omes’ described) are now routinely coined in research manuscripts, indicating the wide-scale analyses of DNA changes in tumours, the global changes in metabolic molecules that occur in cancer cells, changes in gene expression, the full complement of epigenetic changes in a cell, and overall protein content. In this issue we highlight a number of our recent publications, as well as investments to expand our capabilities in bioinformatics (computational analysis of biological data) and personalised cancer care, exploiting fully the power of ‘omics’.

Chris Boshoff
Director, UCL Cancer Institute

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ISSUE 3 Summer 2012

Later this year our Institute will celebrate its 5th Anniversary. During this time we have seen an enormous expansion, nearly doubling our number of researchers, tripling our total grant income (to over £87 million) and most importantly, conducting research that is transforming patient care. In this issue we reflect our achievements over the past 6 months (including four publications in the New England Journal of Medicine). Our Institute exemplifies a seamless integration of basic, translational and clinical cancer research.

Chris Boshoff
Director, UCL Cancer Institute

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ISSUE 2 Autumn 2011

This issue of our Newsletter highlights the progress over the summer months to establish a truly comprehensive Cancer Institute in the heart of London, promoting fundamental research, education and clinical trials. This issue also features the research of three scientists from the newly formed Cancer Domain, a cross-faculty initiative bringing together all cancerrelated activities at UCL, ranging from nanoengineering and physics through to applied clinical research. The scientists featured are Professor Sir Salvador Moncada (Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research), Professor Clare Futter (Institute of Ophthalmology) and Professor Usha Menon (Institute of Women’s Health).

UCL is located within one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. On page 12, we show our ongoing efforts at the Institute to promote diversity in our workforce.

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ISSUE 1 Spring 2011

The UCL Cancer Institute is now fully established with 50 scientific group leads, 32 clinical scientists, 50 honorary clinical consultants and a total staff FTE of 317.

During the past 3 years our total research grant income has increased by 40% to nearly £50million.

During the next year a number of exciting developments will affect cancer research at UCL: the completion of the £100million UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre opposite our main research hub in Huntley Street; the recruitment of a radiation oncology lead to develop the proton treatment facility with UCLH and the expansion of molecular pathology research, supporting personalised cancer clinical trials and care.

I hope that this newsletter will give you a sense of the exciting new developments.

Chris Boshoff
Director, UCL Cancer Institute

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