3 July 2006

Bobby Moore award for Dundee scientist

The name of Bobby Moore will undoubtedly be on many people’s minds at a time when the World Cup is dominating the sporting news. But the England World Cup-winning captain’s legacy extends far beyond the world of football, as the fund established in his name continues to raise money for research into bowel cancer.

Dr Inke Näthke, from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, has just been awarded a prestigious Bobby Moore Fellowship for her research into the causes of bowel cancer.

The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK supports vital research into bowel cancer, the disease which claimed Bobby Moore’s life in 1993 at the age of 51.

The award, worth around £180,000 over three years, will fund a new Research Fellow in Dr Näthke’s lab and enables her to extend her important research investigating a gene that plays a key role in bowel cancer.

"This is a very valuable award as it allows to develop our research into some new areas," said Dr Näthke.

Dr Näthke’s is examining the very early stages of tumour development, focusing on the role of the APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene, which is faulty in a majority of bowel tumours.

"We want to learn more about the initial chain of events that occurs when the APC gene is faulty and how these changes lay the foundation for the development of bowel tumours." said Dr Näthke.

"One important aspect of this award is that it brings together the clinical expertise of groups at Dundee’s Ninewells Hopsital with my lab’s knowledge of the basic biology of bowel cancer. In the future this research may help us identify new ways to detect this disease and design better treatments."

Aaron Quyn will be appointed as the Bobby Moore research fellow in Dr Näthke’s lab. Aaron is currently a senior house officer in the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology at Ninewells Hospital.

NOTES TO EDITORS

THE BOBBY MOORE FUND

Stephanie Moore MBE established the Bobby Moore Fund, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, in 1993.

The Fund was set up in memory of Stephanie's late husband, footballer Bobby Moore OBE who sadly died from bowel cancer, aged just 51.

The Bobby Moore Fund raises money for research into bowel cancer and also public awareness of the disease.

The funds are spent on high-quality bowel cancer research carried out by leading scientists working across the UK. The money raised to date has funded 15 Bobby Moore Research Fellowships and a new bowel cancer laboratory at St Mark's Hospital in London.

Since 1993, the Bobby Moore Fund has gone from strength to strength and now raises over £1 million each year through a variety of fundraising events.

For media enquiries contact:

Hilary McNally
Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: h.mcnally@dundee.ac.uk