The multi-disciplinary team came together to develop a cancer prevention vaccine for Lynch Syndrome, a heritable genetic condition which increases the risk of cancer at a young age.
The team successfully applied for OCION pump prime funding last year and have since gone on to be awarded a Biology to Prevent grant from Cancer Research UK for £550,000, co-led by Associate Professor David Church and Professor Simon Leedham. This grant will fund critical pre-clinical work to test the best formulation of a potential vaccine for patients with Lynch syndrome. Ultimately the team hope that if successful, the vaccine could prevent cancer happening rather than treating an established cancer.
As well as David and Simon, the LynchVax team comprises a host of academics and clinicians, including oncologists (Prof Sarah Blagden), Immunologists (Prof Tim Elliott and Dr Eleni Adamopoulou), bioinformaticians (Andy Blake) and many others that have helped the development of this project including patient representatives and their families who are at high risk of developing cancer due to hallmark inherited genes.
Project lead, Associate Professor David Church said “Thanks to OCION pump priming we have been able to secure substantial external funding for this project, for which we are very grateful. This gives us the opportunity to validate and extend our preliminary targets and generate the data required to help design a vaccine to prevent cancer in Lynch syndrome.”
Professor Tim Elliott, Founding Director of OCION and a member of the LynchVax team said:
This is a great example of how Oxford Cancer is bringing together multidisciplinary, cross-departmental groups to focus on a specific scientific and clinical challenge. None of the groups involved in LynchVax could do this without the help of the others. It’s a very effective way of working, and great fun for the teams who learn a lot from each other along the way.
Dr. Eleni Adamopoulou, who leads on T Cell Antigen Discovery at the Centre for Immuno-Oncology, added:
LynchVax integrates leaders in the field of bowel cancer research with world class Immunologists and the UK’s first clinical trials unit dedicated to precision cancer prevention - it feels like a dream team”
Read more about the grant here, with quotes from the lead applicants, a patient representative and Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive. You can also check out an interview with David Church and his postdoc Dr Luciana Gneo back in May where we learnt more about the research plan.