Division of Cancer

This Division undertakes research into cancer and reproductive medicine.

The cancer research programmes focus on molecular
target identification principally for the development of improved therapies for breast, ovarian, prostate and lung malignancies.

Reproductive biology encompasses studies of fertility and stem cell research, pregnancy and metabolic disorders, fetal development and brain disorders. The improvement of clinical practice through translational science is a major objective which has been facilitated by the establishment of the Academic Health Sciences Centre.

The cancer research programmes in the Division comprise 20 teams of molecular and cell biologists With the expansion of cancer research we have been designated as a Cancer Research UK Centres in the UK and we have also been awarded an Experimental Cancer Centre Grant to provide technical and research nurse support for translational studies. We have recently opened a phase 1 centre with resources from this award and will extend this to the incorporation of a central core resource in the near future.

The major focus of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology is to elucidate signalling pathways in ovarian function, embryonic stem cell renewal and differentiation, implantation, parturition and brain development that can be targeted for therapeutic intervention. The establishment of the Women’s Health Research Unit facilitates the translation of research for the benefit of patients.

The Division has more than 300 research staff, comprising doctors, scientists and technical staff, as well as nurses and trial co-ordinators. The availability of outstanding laboratory facilities supported by core services provides excellent training opportunities for PhD students and both basic and clinical research fellows.

The Divisions also runs postgraduate MSc courses in Cancer Biology and inReproductive and Developmental Biology.