£18m funding boost for London radiation research partnership

Cancer Research UK has pledged £5.9m, adding to £12 million leveraged from partners including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Wellcome Trust, and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), as well as the Barts Charity and Guy’s Cancer Charity.

The new funding will allow the Centre to continue its ambitious research priogramme, with areas of focus including the biological understanding of radiation resistance, investigating new radiation drug combinations, and developing new clinical trials. By growing its portfolio of clinical trials, the Centre will pursue its “bench to bedside” pipeline, prioritising cancers of unmet need.

Professor Maria Hawkins, Clinical Director of the CRUK City of London Radiation Research Centre of Excellence and Radiation Oncologist at UCL, said: “We’re so proud to have established the UK’s largest group of early career biologists to apply their knowledge to studying radiation, but our ambitions do not stop there.

“Our renewed funding will see ongoing innovation in our research areas and collaboration with the NHS and industry, as well as a renewed focus on patient impact and building sustainability through supporting early career researchers.”

The Centre has a focus on building sustainable career paths in radiotherapy. It has successfully recruited outstanding scientists and clinicians and provided seed funding, PhD student appointments, mentoring, and access to cutting-edge technologies.

Dr Ivana Bjedov, CRUK Senior Cancer Research Fellow, said: “The Centre has been crucial in my career development, providing the funding that helped me pursue interesting findings in radioprotection, and connecting me with the clinicians, radiologists and experts in DNA repair who helped spark new ideas.

“I’m delighted by this new funding, and excited to see the Centre start tackling the next big challenges, such as exploring combinations with immunotherapy or furthering our understanding of Proton Beam Therapy.”

The new funding will allow the Centre to continue its world-class research, with areas of focus including the biological understanding of radiation resistance, investigating new radiation drug combinations, and developing new clinical trials. By growing its portfolio of clinical trials, the Centre will pursue its “bench to bedside” pipeline, prioritising cancers of unmet need.