The importance of the immune system in cancer biology has long been understood. However, the clinical use of cancer immunotherapy - treatments that take advantage of the body's immune system to fight cancer – is still in its infancy.
OCION was established to bring together scientists from different disciplines, cutting-edge technologies and patient samples to progress our immuno-oncology understanding to the next level. By applying our leading expertise in fundamental immunology, we hope to enable more patients, with a wide range of cancer types, to benefit safely from tailored immunotherapy use.
Since launching, the OCION mailing list has grown to comprise 326 people from over 20 departments. Subscribers receive a monthly newsletter covering the latest immuno-oncology news, events and funding opportunities. We have also hosted two annual symposia with over 250 attendees, and continue to co-host a series of immuno-oncology seminars with networking drinks in collaboration with the Oxford Immunology Network.
OCION has funded 7 pump prime applications to date, totalling almost £140k. Critically, this seed funding has been instrumental in obtaining over £4.5 million of external funding. The Network has also supported several funding bids from charities, Government, industry and philanthropy exceeding £65 million.
As we reach 2 years of the network, Founding Director Tim Elliott comments:
“We established OCION to facilitate innovative multi-disciplinary research that progresses our immune-oncology understanding to the next level. It has been a pleasure seeing the network grow and evolve, encouraging novel collaborations and the application of diverse cutting-edge expertise to cancer for the first time.”
None of this would have been possible without a several key funders and individuals, so we want to extend our thanks to:
- The CRUK Oxford Centre for helping to fund events, pump prime funds and project management;
- The OCION Steering Committee for proving oversight;
- The OCION Funding Review Committee for ensuring scientific rigor in our pump prime applications;
- Members of the Patient and Public Involvement Committee who have helped co-develop funding applications, reviewed lay summaries, presented at events;
- NIHR BRC Cancer and Vaccine themes for contributing to the pump prime funding pot;
- Multiple event sponsors including 10X, ThermoFisher, Immunocore, Nanopore Technologies, Immunotherapy Advances.
We always want to hear what is working well and where we could improve. Do please email elizabeth.mann@medsci.ox.ac.uk with any feedback to help the Network flourish.