The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre

The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre was established in 2008, as a new research centre within the School of Science and Technology, as a direct result of core funding from the John and Lucille van Geest Foundation. This funding provided a £5m purpose-built Research Centre and a grant support for a team of more than 30 scientists, technicians and PhD students.

The research focuses on the discovery and application of new cancer biomarkers for detecting cancer, monitoring disease progression and developing new approaches to treat patients using immunotherapy. Progress in these areas is based on a fundamental understanding of cancer cell biology and immunobiology. As a result of this investment in research, we have expanded our investigative programmes, introduced new technologies and developed extensive international collaborations to the benefit of the research.

Using the latest technology for interrogating the cancer cell genome and proteome, we are conducting research to identify genes and proteins of value in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of the outcome of therapy. The use of mass spectrometry combined with bioinformatics for the analysis of complex data, has allowed us to identify several new biomarkers that are disease specific or associated with cancer progression. Molecular genetics, gene and tissue array technology and next generation sequencing are utilised to identify genetic and molecular changes associated with cancer. See our facilities page for more information.

By adopting a systems biology approach we have been able to study their role in cancer development and determine their influence on molecular pathways important for maintaining the malignant state of a cell.

Working together with clinical staff we have implemented a programme to collect sequential blood and tissue samples from patients with prostate cancer to establish an ethically approved bank of clinical material for research. This programme together with other collaborations with the NHS Trust, The University of Nottingham and the Medical Schools at Nottingham and Derby provide medical expertise in the areas of oncology and pathology which complements our scientific research.

Our national and international collaborators include the Radium Institute Norway, Eastern Virginia Medical School USA, The Chinese Academy of Science China and the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Surrey and York in the UK amongst others. Our challenge for the future is to define the biological significance and relevance of newly identified cancer genes and the proteins they encode and to translate these findings into the clinic.

Professor Robert C Rees
Director
John van Geest Cancer Research Centre