Scientists at the University of Dundee have won funding totalling £428K from the leading Scottish cancer research charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR). The funding has been awarded to investigate possible cures and treatments that may hopefully lead to new anti-cancer drugs and is part of AICR's £4.2 million cancer research package allocated this month.
Four scientists from the Biomedical Research Centre and the School of Life Sciences are to benefit from the funding. Dr David Meek has won a three year funding package of £110,957 for his study into understanding the complex role of the most important tumour-suppressor gene for human cancers, 'p53'. Dr Inke Nathke will be investigating the different functions of a specific protein in colon cancers with his three year funding award of £127,729. Dr Thomas Friedberg, who was awarded a three year grant of £66,750 will be investigating how particular proteins may be involved in the cause of breast cancer and also how they may inactivate drugs used in the treatment of breast cancer. Professor John Hayes, with his colleague Dr Sam Crouch, won a three year grant of £123,303 for their study into how anti-oxidants present in the food that we eat, activate detoxifying genes which protect cells from cancer.
The recipients were awarded funding by the AICR scientific advisory committee, a team of 15 distinguished international scientists who decide which cancer research projects will be allocated funding based upon the quality of their research proposal. The research by scientists in Dundee beat off fierce competition from the scientific community across the world.