CRUK Edinburgh-UCL Brain Tumour Centre Of Excellence 2024

Established in 2018, the CRUK Edinburgh-UCL Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence (CoE) is beginning to change the UK brain tumour research landscape by building a critical mass of researchers and igniting new scientific discoveries based on increased biological understanding. We have directly supported 4 neuro-oncology CTRFs and 4 cross disciplinary fellows.

The centre has enabled the recruitment of 2 academic neurosurgeons, 1 academic clinical lecturer, 1 neuro-oncologist, and 2 new PIs relocating their ERC, MRC and CRUK programmes.

CoE members are now applying for funding to support their independent programmes, either within the CoE, or seeding new brain tumour research at other institutions.

Our scientific discoveries span new tractable experimental models for GBM, identification and mechanistic understanding of injury and ageing-based inflammation as tumour promoters, determination of transcriptional circuits defining distinct cell states, and identification of neurodegenerative pathways as potential vulnerabilities.

We have also discovered novel therapeutics including new CAR-T vectors, checkpoint inhibitors and AAV-based gene therapies, and these underpin several new clinical trials.

Going forward, we will simultaneously continue to build community and use our suite of innovative model-systems and cross-disciplinary tools to develop a deeper understanding of the fundamental biology of GBM, exploring 3 main research themes: Tumour initiation, Tumour promotion and Therapy resistance.

The ‘new biology’ revealed, will underpin the fourth theme of therapeutics development.

A key goal of the CoE is to train, develop and nurture a strong community of biological, clinical and cross-disciplinary researchers combining their unique skills and knowledge to impact glioblastoma, the most devastating of cancers.

In the next 5-years we plan to build on work to date by: 1) developing the careers of those researchers we have attracted into brain cancer research, ensuring they have a sustainable trajectory towards independence; 2) identifying new early career researchers (ECRs) from other disciplines and, through the CoE infrastructure and academic environment, supporting them to develop new cross-disciplinary science and transition to independence; 3) refresh our PhD training programme to enhance the development of future leaders in brain tumour research and build a networked collaborative community.

Therefore, our funding request is to support: (i) 6 high-potential research fellows with 3-years salary each, and a generous consumable budget, empowering them to make unimpeded scientific progress and develop funding applications to support their long-term independent academic careers in neuro-oncology; and (ii) 8 new cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional PhD students (with 2 additional students provided by UoE to add to the leveraged state-of-the-art equipment supplied by UCL, to which our recruits will all have access).

The cohorts of ECRs will be carefully mentored and supported by infrastructure technicians who will provide them with our bespoke experimental models to accelerate their research.

UCL and Edinburgh provide a rich ecosystem for this Brain Tumour CoE; both are world leaders in neuroscience, and they host the Dementia Research Institute (DRI) and a DRI Centre respectively, permitting co-exploration of emerging links between brain development, inflammation, wound healing and brain cancer.

Queens Square is the largest referral centre for adult brain cancer in the UK and hosts our CoE academic neurosurgeons, with strong links to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, allowing cross-fertilisation of paediatric and adult brain tumour research.

The CoE has enabled the establishment of a virtual brain centre that hosts seminars and exchange programmes linking UCL/UCLH with discovery and clinician scientists at the university of Toronto.

Further networking will be promoted in the new award period through complementary events and resources, including: 1) An International GBM Conference led by UCL-Edinburgh and hosted in London and Edinburgh in alternate years, and 2) summer schools to link our early career researchers across the community.

The CoE will be co-led by Profs Simona Parrinello and Steve Pollard, both exceptional Brain Tumour biologists with CRUK programmatic support and now internationally recognised leaders in the field.

Profs Tariq Enver and Margaret Frame (as Institute and CRUK Major Centre Directors) will join Simona and Steve in a Centre Management Group, linking the CoE to the two Universities’ Major Cancer Institutes and Hospital Partners as well as their CRUK Major Centres.

The Centre’s leadership team will develop critical input from patients and the public to set the research agenda and monitor progress via annual PPI workshops.