Early Cancer Biology (understanding the earliest steps of cancer development)

Recapitulate the initiation and progression of Barrett’s oesophagus using patient-derived organoids

Principal Investigators: Dr John Lizhe Zhuang and Dr Alvin Ng, University of Cambridge.

Funded by: CRUK Early Detection Primer Award 2021

Computational modelling of tumour growth kinetics to inform early cancer detection

Principal Investigators: Dr Nora Pashayan, University College London; Dr Johannes Reiter, Stanford University; Prof Paul Pharoah, University of Cambridge; Dr Sylvia Plevritis, Stanford University

Funded by: ACED Project Award 2020

Targeting obesity related microenvironment factors for biomarkers avenues of early female reproductive cancer detection

Principal Investigators: Dr Mona Shehata, University of Cambridge; Prof Emma Crosbie, University of Manchester and Dr Laura Heiser, Oregon Health & Science University

Funded by: ACED Pilot Award 2020

Longitudinal tracking of genetic and epigenetic signals for blood-cancer risk prediction

Principal Investigators: Dr Jamie Blundell, University of Cambridge; Dr Hisham Mohammed, Oregon Health and Science University and Dr Ruth Etzioni, Oregon Health and Science University

Funded by: CRUK-OHSU Early Detection Joint Project Award 2020

The role of extracellular vesicles in senescence surveillance

Principal Investigators: Dr Matthew Hoare, University of Cambridge and Dr Ferdinando Pucci, Oregon Health and Science University

Funded by: CRUK-OHSU Early Detection Project Award 2020

Using spatial evolutionary maps to identify high-risk features of lobular carcinoma in-situ

Principal Investigator: Lucy Yates, Wellcome Sanger Institute

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme Pump Priming Awards 2020

Role of the DNA damage checkpoint response in pre-leukaemic cells predisposed to AML

Principal Investigator: Dr Philip Zegerman, Gurdon Institute/Department of Biochemistry

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme Pump Priming Awards 2020

Finding ways to detect oesophageal cancer sooner

Principal Investigator: Dr Maria Alcolea, Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

Funded by: Worldwide Cancer Research, 2019

Dissecting the role of the senescent secretome in tumorigenesis

Principal Investigators: Dr Daniel Muñoz-Espín (Cambridge) & Dr Jim Korkola (OHSU)

Funded by: OHSU-CRUK PROJECT Award 2018

Deciphering the immune microenvironment in oesophageal adenocarcinoma and pre-cancerous lesions to a single cell resolution

Principal Investigators: Dr John Lizhe Zhuang (CRUK) & Dr Young Hwan Chang (OHSU)

Funded by: OHSU-CRUK SPARK Award 2018

Development of a microfluidic platform to study oncogene-induced single cell senescence

Principal Investigator: Dr Masashi Narita, CRUK Cambridge Institute
Co-Investigator: Professor Tuomas Knowles, Department of Physical Chemistry

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme Pump Priming Awards 2016

Understanding how mutant clones arise, expand and compete in our tissues using novel genetic lineage tracking tools and deep sequencing

Principal Investigator: Dr Jamie Blundell

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme startup funding 2017

Understanding the interface between cellular senescence, plasticity and the fundamental processes and mechanisms that lie at the origin of cancer

Principal Investigator: Dr Daniel Muñoz-Espín

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme startup funding 2016 & MRC

Recurrent epigenetic changes and molecular pathway analysis

Principal Investigator: Dr Charlie Massie

Funded by: Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Early Detection Programme startup funding 2017