Combating cancer at Cambridge
The future of cancer research...
The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute is a unique partnership between the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK. It is dedicated to state-of-the-art research into the causes of cancer, and developing new treatments and bringing them to the clinic to benefit cancer patients.
Opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute is housed in the Li Ka Shing Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. More than 250 scientists in over twenty research groups are based at the Institute. They're led by Professor Sir Bruce Ponder, FRS, Director and 'Li Ka Shing Professor of Oncology', whose research covers the genetics of breast cancer, and Professor Fiona Watt, FRS, Deputy Director and holder of the Herchel Smith Professorship of Molecular Genetics, who studies the link between stem cells and cancer. Other research goals at the Institute include understanding how gene activity is controlled and how control is lost in cancer, the influence of the normal tissue on cancer development, and the application of this knowledge to the development of new therapies which are evaluated in clinical studies backed up by novel imaging and genomic analyses of tumour response.
The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, based in the magnificent Li Ka Shing Centre, gives us an exciting opportunity to harness the scientific strengths of Cambridge to solve the practical problems of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer. We have recruited world class scientists whose fundamental research into how cancers develop is starting to result in practical benefits for patients.
Professor Sir Bruce Ponder, FRS, Director and Li Ka Shing Professor of Oncology
Construction by the University of the £50 million Li Ka Shing Centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus was funded jointly by Cambridge University, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., Cancer Research UK and The Atlantic Philanthropies, plus a range of other significant donors. Cancer Research UK purchased approximately £12 million of state-of-the-art equipment for the Institute, funded through generous donations and an appeal spearheaded by Cyril Dennis MBE. Cancer Research UK also provides around £20 million per year to core-fund research at the Institute.
Sir Ka-shing Li has long been a sponsor of cancer research at the University of Cambridge, support that was instrumental in the University securing the new Institute. A further gift from the Li Ka Shing Foundation endowed a new Professorship in Oncology at the University. Professor Ponder is the first holder of the post, leading the development of a Cambridge - wide cancer centre which will bring the scientific strengths of many University Departments and nearby biotech companies to bear on the cancer problem.
