The UCL Interdisciplinary Brain Cancer Centre (IBCC) brings together world-leading expertise across neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cancer biology, AI, imaging, Immuno-oncology and clinical translation to transform how brain cancer is understood, detected and treated.
For decades, brain cancer research has focused largely on advanced disease, where treatment resistance is already established and opportunities for meaningful intervention are limited. There is growing recognition that earlier intervention may offer the greatest opportunity to improve outcomes for patients across cancer types, yet this has been considered unattainable in brain cancer due to late detection, rapid progression and limited biological understanding of early disease stages.
Recent discoveries at UCL have opened a window of opportunity for transforming this bleak picture and making earlier intervention increasingly realistic. The centre will build on these discoveries to increase biological understanding of early disease mechanisms and harness this knowledge to unlock new strategies for intercepting brain cancer before it becomes intractable.
Our vision
To establish UCL as the global leader in brain cancer interception by uncovering the earliest biological events that drive disease and translating those discoveries into new opportunities for prevention, detection and treatment.
Why brain cancer?
An area of unmet need
Brain cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death in children and adults under 40, yet outcomes have changed little over the past two decades. Most tumours are diagnosed only after symptoms develop, by which stage treatment options are limited and resistance mechanisms are already established. Transforming outcomes will require a fundamental shift from treating advanced disease to understanding, detecting and targeting earlier, more tractable, stages of tumour development.
Why Now?
New biological understanding and opportunity
Until recently, early intervention in brain cancer was considered unrealistic. New preclinical models developed at UCL now allow researchers to study tumour initiation directly to unravel its biology and identify new therapeutic strategies for interception. Advances in imaging technology, greater access to MRI and increasing awareness of neurological symptoms are leading to earlier and more frequent diagnosis of brain tumours. Together, these developments create an unprecedented opportunity to investigate and intervene in the earliest possible stages of disease. Importantly, no treatment options are currently available for patients that receive an early diagnosis.
Recent discoveries from researchers at UCL and the CRUK Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence have identified unexpected links between the response of the brain to injury, neurodegeneration and brain cancer. They also provided proof-of-concept that these shared processes actively contribute to tumour development and inhibiting them locks tumours in a less advanced state, extends survival and improves neurological symptoms. This catalyses a new field at the intersection of neurodegeneration and brain cancer and opens entirely new opportunities for brain cancer interception aimed at targeting these injury-like programmes.
Why UCL?
A unique world class environment
UCL provides a uniquely powerful environment for interdisciplinary brain cancer research. The Centre brings together world class expertise in neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cancer biology, advanced imaging, AI and clinical translation placing UCL in a unique position to lead the emerging field at the interface of neurodegeneration and brain cancer for interception.
The IBCC will bring these strengths together under a new cross-faculty centre that will allow seamless collaboration, knowledge-exchange and training of the next generation of interdisciplinary brain cancer researchers.
Our focus areas
Within this interdisciplinary, cross-faculty model the IBCC researchers will work on four interconnected themes:
Understanding how brain tumours first arise is essential if we are to prevent or intercept disease before it becomes clinically apparent. Researchers will investigate how developmental programmes, genetic mutations and injury responses interact to drive the earliest stages of tumour formation, using advanced spatial omics, computational biology and novel preclinical models.
Brain tumours do not develop in isolation.
This theme explores how interactions with neurons, glial cells, immune cells and the injured brain microenvironment influence tumour progression. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding links between neurodegeneration, brain repair and cancer growth, revealing new biological vulnerabilities that may be targeted therapeutically.
A major goal of the Centre is to identify new ways to detect brain cancer before it becomes advanced.
Researchers will investigate blood-based biomarkers, immune responses, imaging signatures and changes in neuronal activity that may signal the presence of early disease.
Combining these approaches with AI and advanced imaging technologies could enable entirely new strategies for risk prediction, screening and early diagnosis.
The centre aims to harness this biological knowledge to develop novel therapeutic strategies.
Though a central focus will be on earlier detection and intervention, the Centre’s research will also reveal biological programmes that remain active at later disease stages and during recurrence.
These discoveries will be translated through UCL's strengths in gene therapy, immuno-oncology, advanced imaging and clinical trials at Queen Square and GOSH.
Impact
The Interdisciplinary Brain Cancer Centre will drive a step-change in brain cancer research, education and clinical translation by:
• Uncovering new biological mechanisms of brain cancer required to advance earlier diagnosis and intervention
• Developing new biomarkers and early detection technologies
• Creating novel therapeutic opportunities based on tumour initiation biology
• Improving preservation of neurological function and quality of life
• Reducing healthcare burden through earlier and more effective treatment
• Strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across neuroscience, neurodegeneration and cancer research
• Training the next generation of researchers in an emerging field with global significance
Get involved
We would love to hear from potential collaborators, partners and funders who share our ambition to transform outcomes for patients with brain cancer.
Find out more about opportunities to get involved below
Join us in developing the next generation of approaches for brain cancer detection, interception and treatment.
The IBCC provides opportunities for collaborative research, translational partnerships and technology development across neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cancer biology, imaging, AI and biomarker discovery.
Together, we aim to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into meaningful patient benefit.
Brain cancer remains one of the greatest unmet challenges in modern medicine.
The IBCC offers an opportunity to support a bold, interdisciplinary research programme focused on understanding and targeting the earliest stages of disease. By investing in early detection and interception, partners can help drive a fundamental shift in how brain cancer is diagnosed and treated.
The Centre is committed to working closely with patients, carers, charities and advocacy organisations to ensure that research priorities remain aligned with patient needs and maximise real-world impact.
Through partnerships with charities, philanthropic supporters and patient groups, the IBCC aims to accelerate discovery, increase public engagement and translate scientific advances into meaningful benefits for patients and families affected by brain cancer.
- An opportunity to work cross-faculty to connect discovery science with developability, regulatory and early clinical translation.
- Take part in challenge-led workshops and match-making
- Access feasibility study resources and expert support.
- Training opportunities (doctoral training, CPD, exchanges, mentoring), open to academics from any discipline seeking advice on aligning their research with end-to-end clinical pathways.
The IBCC is driven by a single goal - improving the lives of people affected by brain cancer. By bringing together scientists, clinicians and patients, we aim to accelerate the development of new approaches for earlier diagnosis, more effective treatments and better preservation of neurological function and quality of life.
We are committed to ensuring that patients and families help shape our research priorities and that discoveries are translated into meaningful benefits for those living with brain cancer. We welcome opportunities to engage with patients, carers, advocacy groups and charitable organisations as the Centre develops.
The IBCC brings together expertise spanning neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cancer biology, computational science, imaging and clinical translation.
We welcome researchers from across disciplines who are interested in developing new collaborations, sharing expertise and contributing to one of the most exciting emerging areas of biomedical research.
Building on established partnerships across the UK and internationally, the Centre aims to create a collaborative network that connects fundamental discovery science with translational and clinical research. Through interdisciplinary projects, training opportunities, scientific exchange and collaborative funding initiatives, the IBCC will provide a focal point for researchers seeking to advance the emerging field of brain cancer interception.
Contact us
Together, the Centre's leadership combines expertise in brain cancer biology and clinical neuroscience, providing a unique platform for discovery, translation and patient impact.
To help shape the future of the centre, or to discuss collaboration opportunities, please get in touch
Mr Ciaran Hill, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Honorary Associate Professor
Click to email. Ciaran.hill@ucl.ac.uk
Professor Simona Parrinello, Professor of Neuro-oncology
Click to email. s.parrinello@ucl.ac.ukLeadership and advisory
The IBCC is one of the strategic opportunity areas identified within UCL’s Health Strategy and supports UCL’s ambition to deliver meaningful improvements in health through interdisciplinary, research-led innovation.
The Centre is being developed through collaboration between academic, clinical and translational leaders from across UCL, UCLH and partner institutions. Its vision is informed by expertise spanning neuroscience, neurodegeneration, cancer biology, advanced imaging, artificial intelligence and clinical translation.