February Research News
Welcome to the February edition of Research News!
Please get in touch with any feedback or suggestions for future editions of Research News.
Featured Researcher: Professor Clare Verrill
This edition spotlights research led by Professor Clare Verrill at the University of Oxford.
Learn more about her research and its potential to improve prostate cancer diagnosis, providing men with the personalised treatment they deserve.
Research Impact: What We’ve Achieved
Our Research Impact webpages highlight how projects we fund progress from initial ideas to clinical trials, bringing new diagnostics and treatments closer to benefiting men.
Each month in Research News, we’ll feature an impact webpage that shares a research story and demonstrates the real-world impact of our funded research.
This Month’s Feature: The TRAP Clinical Trial
Discover how Dr Alison Tree and her team at The Royal Marsden explored whether precisely targeting small, hormone‑resistant areas of cancer with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in men with oligoprogressive, metastatic prostate cancer could delay the need for chemotherapy, while preserving quality of life.
Careers in Research Webinar - Recording Now Available!
Running alongside our Researcher Mentoring Scheme, our new Careers in Research webinars aim to provide an insight into some of the skills and knowledge that can help you thrive in a research career, delivered by experts in their fields.
You can now catch up with the first webinar in the series:
Title: Clinical Trials Units - Elevating Research for Real World Impact.
Speakers: Professor Emma Hall and Dr Stephanie Brown, The Institute of Cancer Research - Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit (ICR-CTSU).
Welcome to Our New Committee Chairs!
Following the departure of our previous funding Committee Chair, Professor Fran Balkwill, we are delighted to welcome two new Co-Chairs.
Professor Andy Davies from the University of Southampton and Professor Rachel Errington from Cardiff University have joined us, and between them will be Chairing our three funding Committees, ensuring we maintain our high standards and robust processes for funding research. We look forward to working with them!
Researcher Achievements
We're delighted to celebrate the following achievements from among our research community:
- Professor Stephen Tait, University of Glasgow & CRUK Scotland Institute has been awarded the Hooke Medal 2026 by the British Society for Cell Biology, recognising his exceptional contributions to understanding the role of mitochondria in regulating cell death and inflammation in cancer.
- Dr Veeru Kasivisvanathan, Associate Professor at University College London and former Prostate Cancer UK Career Development Fellow, has received the William Farr Medal from the Society of Apothecaries in recognition of his pioneering research using MRI to improve prostate cancer diagnosis, which is advancing prostate cancer care globally.
These are just the exciting achievements that we've heard about - if we've missed anything or you have an achievement of your own to share, please let us know by emailing [email protected].
Funding Opportunities
Open funding rounds:
Cancer Research UK - Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship
Now open for applications, this fellowship aims to support clinician scientists transition to research independence and leadership in their field of cancer research. Read more about the fellowship on the CRUK website before the 26 March deadline.
Academy of Medical Sciences - Starter Grants for Lecturers
We’re partnering with the Academy of Medical Sciences to provide up to £40K over two years to Clinical Lecturers looking to develop and strengthen their research careers. Visit the Academy of Medical Sciences website for more information ahead of the deadline of 26 February.
Coming soon:
We're opening for applications to our Career Acceleration Fellowship scheme in March. The scheme supports promising early career researchers in pursuing their own research goals and advancing toward becoming independent prostate cancer researchers.
Patient involvement:
If you’re planning to apply for a grant, whether to us or somewhere else, make sure you think about patient involvement early on. Our Patient Representative Network (PRN) have personal experience of prostate cancer and can offer lived experience input into the planning and delivery of your research. Learn more about the PRN on our website.
Stay Connected
Do you currently have open positions in your research group? If so, we’d be delighted to feature your job opportunities in our research newsletter. Please email the details of the role to [email protected].
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