Warwick University opens Cancer Research Unit

On Tuesday 21 October, a new Cancer Research Unit (CRU) was launched at the University of Warwick, with Professor Nick James as its director.

The CRU will use digital technology to try and find new treatments for the disease and combines expertise from mathematicians, physicists and engineers to develop further cancer research.

Working closely with the existing Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, the CRU will fuse elements of cancer clinical trials with the clinical sciences held at University Hospitals Birmingham and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).

The Coventry Telegraph reported that the £5 million project is expected to lead to a rise in locally-generated trials and is set to rival other inter-disciplinary cancer research centres across the UK for funding and expertise.

Professor James explained the role of the new unit: “Warwick already has substantial existing expertise in the field of cancer research and this unit is bringing together all those elements.

“We aim to develop more effective diagnostic tools and integrate digital technology to find new ways of researching and treating cancer.”

The CRU will utilise key technologies such as DNA extraction and sequencing, tissue storage and processing and image analysis.

Warwick University has already begun collaboration with UHCW and healthcare technology provider GE Healthcare to develop and evaluate digital pathology for both experimental and routine clinical applications.

Working again with UHCW, GE Healthcare and Coventry City Council, Warwick has developed the Warwick Health Partnership Breast Cancer Pathway to provide a more integrated approach to the management of breast cancer for patients as well as an educational platform.

Professor James added: “This new ujnit is really bringing a new approach to cancer research, bringing together and co-ordinating all these fields of research will create a substantial critical mass of expertise and experience.”

Previous cancer research at Warwick Medical School includes findings about the instability of the seams of microtubules which run along their lengths. Tiny tracks of microtubules are important targets for cancer drugs.

This discovery, reported earlier this year in February by the Boar, could lead to the advancement of a new wave of cancer treatments.