Funding for top students in London boosts cancer battle
SOME of London’s most promising students have been given funding for groundbreaking research into projects including how to kill cancer cells using a patient’s own immune system.
Five PhD students from University College London, Imperial and King’s College will each get up to £80,000 to continue their cutting-edge work.
The money is from The 1851 Commission, set up in the 19th century by Prince Albert with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition. It has previously funded scientists including Peter Higgs, the physicist who gave his name to the Higgs boson, or “God Particle”.
Today it announced the recipients of its industrial fellowships, which are given to the UK’s most promising science and engineering PhD students.
Elsa Noaks from University College London was awarded £61,500 to help her develop a way to purify T-cells (white blood cells) taken from the cancer patients, which will then be genetically modified to more effectively target and potentially kill cancer cells. She currently works at Autolus Limited while carrying out her PhD at UCL.
Her project could make cellular immunotherapy — which has the potential to cure some of the most devastating and untreatable types of cancer — more effective. Describing T-cell treatment, she said: “This type of transformative therapy has achieved unparalleled success in the treatment and, in some patients, cure of refractory cancer.
“However, there is still a challenge associated with making consistent products, as starting material can be highly variable between patients.” Her project aims to make the process more effective and affordable.
Laurence Devesse of King’s College London was awarded funds for her research into using DNA to recreate what a person’s face might have looked like. Her DNA analysis technique could help experts in criminal forensics make a digital e-fit and recreate a person’s physical features from trace samples, including hair colour and eye colour.
Her research aims to gather more information from less genetic material. She works at sequencing company Verogen while completing her PhD.
Each three-year fellowship is worth up to £80,000. Recipients must work to develop a patented and profitable technology alongside their studies. In total, 14 students received the awards this year, including the five from London universities.
Bernard Taylor, chairman of the 1851 Commission, said: “Ensuring Britain’s young scientists and engineers are supported is crucial to ensuring that the UK is at the forefront of innovation in the years to come.”