Cancer Grand Challenges

📣 We’re thrilled to announce the Cancer Grand Challenges Conference: extrachromosomal DNA, taking place on June 11-13, 2025! The first edition in our new series, this conference will convene researchers from diverse backgrounds, from bench to bedside, across and beyond the ecDNA field to stimulate discussion about this exciting field. There is already a stellar line-up of speakers confirmed, including: 🌟 Paul Mischel (team lead of eDyNAmiC, the #CancerGrandChallenges team tackling our extrachromosomal DNA challenge) 🌟 Howard Chang 🌟 Mariam Jamal-Hanjani 🌟 Charles Swanton Learn more and register 👉 https://bit.ly/4evoVod

A few weeks ago, we held think tank #3 in our series of eight to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in #CancerResearch right now. We spoke to three attendees about their experience: 💡 Elham Azizi, Herbert & Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Cancer Data Research at Columbia University 💡 Jin Chen, Principal Investigator at Altos Labs 💡 Karen Vousden, Principal Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute and member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee Read their reflections below ⤵️

Last week we held our Future Leaders' Conference, bringing together a key cohort of the #CancerGrandChallenges community: our early career researchers 🌟 It was 3️⃣ inspiring days of exceptional scientific talks and posters, keynotes, insights from patient advocates and networking. One of the keynotes was delivered by Dr Karin Straathof, a co-investigator on team NextGen. The NextGen team, which is funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, is tackling our solid tumours in children challenge. Dr Straathof gave an amazing overview of her career and work developing T-cell therapies, culminating in the clinical trials that NexTGen are preparing to begin. We also had a few award winners! Congratulations to: 🔸 Matthew Jones (best team talk, team eDyNAmiC) 🔸 Mariya Mardamshina M.D. Ph.D. (best poster, team PROMINENT) 🔸 Pooja Vikraman (best poster, team SPECIFICANCER) Learn more about our Future Leaders programme: https://lnkd.in/er3Rubtt

We're currently in the challenge consultation period of the #CancerGrandChallenges lifecycle 🔄 This means we're convening leading researchers and clinicians in a series of global think tanks, where we facilitate key discussions around the most pressing issues in #CancerResearch right now. These discussions will help shape our next set of challenges, which we'll be announcing in March 2025. We spoke with Miriam Merad, MD, PhD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, member of the Cancer Grand Challenges Scientific Committee) and Lydia Finley (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center), who recently took part in our think tank in New York, about their thoughts on the process. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eFwgH9cQ

We recently held think tank #2 in our series of eight to help identify topics for our next round of #CancerGrandChallenges, launching in March 2025 ⏰ These think tanks mark the first step in our 2-year cycle (you can find out more about that here: https://bit.ly/4et1dtH). They engage a diverse range of researchers, clinicians and patient advocates to stimulate debate and inspire thinking around the most pressing areas in cancer research right now. Our second think tank was co-hosted by The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. We spoke to four attendees about their experience: 💡 Becky Bish, Head of Discovery and Preclinical Research at The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research 💡 Lydia Finley, associate member in the cell biology programme, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 💡 Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, Dean of Translational Research and Therapeutic Innovation, Chair of the Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, Director of the Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 💡 Itai Yanai, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine See their reflections below ⤵️

📣 Huge news for the extrachromosomal DNA field! Today, #CancerGrandChallenges team eDyNAmiC (who are taking on our extrachromosomal DNA challenge) and their international collaborators published three landmark papers in Nature Magazine. The papers: 💡 Demonstrate the prevalence and importance of ecDNA in cancer 💡 Find that ecDNAs can be coordinately inherited, going against Mendelian rules of inheritance 💡 Identify an actionable target that's already being tested in the clinic Learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ecrmgcXm Congratulations to the team and collaborators! This work was led by Paul Mischel, who is the team lead of eDyNAmiC (Stanford University School of Medicine), Howard Chang (Stanford University School of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)) and Mariam Jamal-Hanjani (UCL), with collaborator Charles Swanton (UCL and The Francis Crick Institute).

Imagine if doctors had a simple test that told them exactly how to train someone's immune system to fight their specific cancer. Well, Cancer Grand Challenges team MATCHMAKERS are determined to make this happen using AI models 👇 With funding from us, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, they’re working to create a test that can show which receptor proteins our immune cells would need to ‘see’ and target specific cancers. The project could lead the way to personalised cancer vaccines, as well as bespoke treatments that give immune cells the extra receptors they need to fight cancers that don’t currently respond to immunotherapy. It’s a grand challenge for a reason, but the team has all the expertise needed to take it on. Dr David Baker, one of the co-investigators helping to understand and develop those extra receptors, just won The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on protein design. Find out more 👇 #CancerResearch #CancerGrandChallenges #Immunotherapy

Over the past decade, Cancer Grand Challenges has invested £315m to 16 research teams to tackle some of the trickiest questions in cancer research, from mapping the complexity of tumours to unravelling the mystery of cancer cachexia and investigating the rise of early-onset cancers. The challenges are carefully curated through discussions with Cancer Research UK (CRUK)'s network of partners including our co-founders National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as the global research community with input from patient advocates. The next set of challenges – launching in March 2025 – are being sourced through international think tanks and will be framed around what our Scientific Committee members think are the most pressing topics in cancer research. I’m in San Francisco this week attending one of the think tanks and look forward to hearing from a diverse range of researchers and clinicians who will help inspire and hone our thinking around the next set of challenges.   By bringing together world-class scientists and individuals with personal cancer experiences, we’re able to identify challenges that have the potential to achieve breakthroughs and transform our understanding of some of the biggest problems standing in the way of beating cancer.

October is #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth. We recently spoke with Joya Delgado Harris, a member of the #CancerGrandChallenges Advocacy Panel and breast cancer survivor. She shared about her lived experience being diagnosed with stage III-C triple positive #BreastCancer almost 17 years ago, when she was just 34. Joya said it's a profound honour to serve on the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel alongside dedicated advocates who deeply understand the responsibility of #PatientEngagement, empowerment, and involvement. She shared that being part of a global research initiative which seeks to tackle the toughest challenges in cancer research is one of the most meaningful ways she can express her gratitude for the research process. Thank you Joya, for sharing your story.

🌟 The Mutographs impact report is now available 🌟 Mutographs, funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and led by Professor Sir Mike Stratton (then Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute), was one of the first #CancerGrandChallenges teams. In 2017 they took on our unusual mutation patterns challenge, and over the course of seven years transformed our scientific understanding of carcinogenesis. In this new report, we delve further into their incredible impact. Read it here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e24JxqMF