New cancer institute opened in UK

The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, a unique partnership between the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK, was opened on February 2 by Her Majesty The Queen, who is patron of the charity.

The Institute, housed in the recently-completed Li Ka Shing Centre on the Addenbrooke's Hospital site in Cambridge, will be dedicated to state-of-the-art research into the causes of cancer, and developing new treatments and bringing them to the clinic to benefit cancer patients.

More than 300 scientists in up to 30 research groups will be based at the Institute. They will be led by Bruce Ponder, director, and Li Ka Shing, professor of oncology, whose research covers the genetics of breast cancer, and Fiona Watt, deputy director and holder of the Herschel Smith Professorship of Molecular Genetics, who studies the link between stem cells and cancer. Other research at the Institute will range from cell biology to imaging and experimental medicine.