All the research we support is funded entirely by public donations. To date, 61 projects have been funded, with a total value of over £13 million. These are focused on early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the development and monitoring of new treatments.
Professor Martin Clynes’ research project will look at molecules within our cells, called microRNAs, that control the production of proteins. He aims to see if they can be manipulated to change how pancreatic cancer cells behave. He will also see whether certain miRNAs are found at sufficient levels in pancreatic cancer patients’ blood to be used to monitor the progress of treatment.
Professor Hodivala-Dilke is looking at how to use a particular gene in the cells that line the blood vessels to help chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer work better, and so prevent the growth of secondary tumours post-surgery.
Professor Itzhaki aims to see if a technology she has developed to eliminate certain proteins in cells can be used to target pancreatic cancer.
Dr Woods is analysing thousands of GP records to see whether people who later developed pancreatic cancer shared similar early warning signs detectable before diagnosis.
Dr Walsh aims to design chemotherapy drugs that will target and kill types of cancer stem cells within pancreatic tumours that are responsible for drug resistance and relapse.
Professor Hallden is researching how to use a flu-like virus to seek out and infect pancreatic cancer cells wherever they are in the body.
Dr Clarkson's research focuses on c-FLIP, a molecule found in pancreatic cancer cells that stops damaged or diseased cells from dying.
Prof Lowery will study tumour samples to find changes in genes and assess whether these changes affect how patients respond to drugs.
Professor Kocher’s project will investigate why immunotherapy - a treatment which harnesses the patient’s immune system to kill cancer cells - doesn't work with pancreatic cancer.
In a project co-funded with Worldwide Cancer Research, Dr Cameron aims to prevent normal cells in the pancreas from supporting pancreatic cancer growth and resistance to cancer treatments.