NU Cancer

10/11/2025

After a great showing in October, November's NUCancer seminar was all about the “diabolical duo”: Neutrophils and Platelets! 🩸

Specifically, we heard about how targeting their crosstalk could make liver cancer more responsive to immunotherapy.

Prof. Derek Mann and PhD student Erik Ramon Gil showed how disrupting CXCR2-driven neutrophil biology can re-wire the tumour microenvironment and that this has now moved all the way into clinical trials in advanced HCC.

Translational science with a direct route to the clinic and a very real chance to boost checkpoint therapy efficacy. 🧬✨

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us. Another brilliant turnout 🙌

07/11/2025

We’re celebrating some fantastic news today! 🎉

Dr Frederik van Delft and Dr Alistair Poll have been awarded a £353,000 Children with Cancer UK Research Grant (2026–2029) for their project:

“Targeting the evolutionary trap in drug-resistant T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia”

This international collaboration between Newcastle, Lyon & Paris will use CRISPR and single-cell sequencing in patient-derived T-ALL models to discover smarter drug combinations for children who relapse.

The aim?
To move the most promising options into early-phase clinical trials faster, speeding up the process of developing new treatments for children. 💛

A huge congratulations! 👏

21/10/2025

🎉 We’ve gone green! 🌱

The Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre at the Herschel Building has been awarded the Silver LEAF Award! 🥈

This achievement reflects the hard work, collaboration, and dedication of our team to improving sustainability every day.
The LEAF program helps labs and offices become more environmentally friendly, and this year we’ve made meaningful strides in reducing energy use, minimizing waste, and adopting greener practices.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible! 💚

14/10/2025

🎓 Thank you to everyone who came along to the first NU Cancer seminar!
It was fantastic to see such a strong turnout for Professor Christina Halsey’s inspiring talk on improving CNS leukaemia treatment and reducing neurotoxicity in children.

🧠 Her research aims to protect young brains while advancing cancer cures by understanding risk factors and developing smarter, safer therapies.

💜 We’re already looking forward to the next seminar and hope to see even more of you there!

10/10/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Professor Sir John Burn and his team! 🎉

They’ve won the Cancer Research UK Horizons “Translational Project of the Year” Award 🏆 — recognising their groundbreaking MSI-Plus assay, a powerful tool that helps translate cutting-edge cancer research into real-world patient impact. 🧬

Pioneering innovation like this brings us one step closer to more precise and effective cancer care. 💙

30/09/2025

💙 Did you know? 1 in 8 UK men will develop prostate cancer — but the risk is *twice as high* for men of African ancestry. Yet, research in this area is still limited.

That’s why we’re so proud of Prof Craig Robson (NU Cancer), Dr Adriana Buskin (NU Cancer), Prof Heer (Imperial College London) and Prof Chimusa (Northumbria University), who have just been awarded £497,000 from Prostate Cancer UK to study gene mutations linked to prostate cancer in men of African ancestry and create new, representative disease models.

👏 Huge congratulations to the team for driving forward research that could make a real difference in tackling inequalities in men’s health!

04/09/2025

🌟 NU Cancer is now on more platforms than ever!

Follow us to stay connected with the latest research, breakthroughs, and inspiring stories from our community.

You’ll find all our handles below—come join us and show your support!

03/09/2025

🚨 Research Spotlight 🚨

Published work from the Paediatric Brain Tumour Group at was recently highlighted by Cancer Research UK this week. The study focussed on the molecular heterogeneity of Medulloblastoma (MB), one of the most common malignant brain tumours in children.

Specifically, it focussed on MYC/MYCN-amplified tumours, which are treated as a single "high-risk" group.

👉 This study of 159 tumours shows that not all MYC/N-amplified tumours are the same.

The authors discovered major differences in how these cancers behave:
🔹 Some patients face near-incurable disease and urgently need new therapies.
🔹 Others, even with “high-risk” tumours, can survive long-term with current treatments.

This breakthrough will help refine diagnosis, guide treatment, and bring hope to families worldwide. 💙

👏 Congratulations to the brilliant team behind this work!

12/08/2025

Celebrating Excellence - NU Cancer Conference 2025: Prize winner spotlight🏆

Huge congratulations to Dr. Eleanor Hackney, Clinical Research Fellow, for winning a poster award at the NU Cancer Conference 2025.

Eleanor’s research shines a light on the utility of multiple FIT testing for symptomatic colorectal cancer patients — work carried out within the Colo-Speed research network as part of the COLO-COHORT study.

This groundbreaking study aims to develop a risk stratification tool to identify those most at risk of bowel cancer and polyps, while also exploring the connection between the microbiome and neoplasia development.

Well done Eleanor! 👏

07/08/2025

🎉 Huge congratulations to Prof. Linda Sharp, Dr. Laura Woods & Dr. Christina Dobson on receiving a £40,000 grant from HDR UK North for their 9-month project: “Epidemiology of Early Onset Colorectal Cancer in England” 👏

Their important research aims to uncover possible causes behind the rise in early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) and improve early diagnosis and support services for those affected. 🧬💙

We're proud to see this vital work being recognised and funded! 🙌

01/08/2025

Prof. Mike Waring and his team have recently published in Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. They report on improvements in micelle promoted DNA-encoded library synthesis via surfactant optimisation.

You can read the full text at: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2025/OB/D5OB00864F

31/07/2025