Accelerating Immunotherapy

13 August 2015

Cancer Research UK has awarded one of the first 2015 Network Accelerator Awards to the CRUK-UCL Centre. The award brings together a network of immunologists, cancer biologists and cancer immunotherapists across Centres and Institutes in London.

Professor Henning Walczak, Co-Director of the Cancer Research UK-UCL Centre and Professor of Cancer Biology at UCL Cancer Institute, says, "The award will allow us to implement comprehensive immune monitoring of patients who are being treated with immunotherapies. What we’re creating here is a toolbox for the whole cancer immunology and immunotherapy community to use."

"We have world experts on T cells, B cells, dendritic and endothelial cells on board… and they’re already making extraordinary discoveries. It provides a great opportunity for the next generation of clinician scientists and basic research scientists to become literate in cancer immunology, going from the lab to the clinic and back."

"It has been an incredible experience for me to work together with such fantastic people on this application – people like Adrian Hayday, Sergio Quezada, Charlie Swanton, Karl Peggs, Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, James Larkin, Julian Downward and the many others who contribute to this network."

Professor Walczak adds, "I’ve been working on tumour immunology for 20 years, so I sensed for a long time that if we were ever going to see cures in what is known as incurable cancer, it would come from the immune system. I always thought it was the future, but now it’s here and it’s just fantastic to see."

Further information
Cancer Research UK Pioneering Research 2014-15 (Annual Research Publication) Cancer Research-UCL Centre