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Greater London
IMAGING LYMPHOMA
New imaging methods for detecting treatment response in lymphoma
London
Health
Assessing treatment response in cancer is the most important single prognostic factor for a patient. Therefore, it is crucial to detect response as early as possible during treatment. Additionally, similar tumour types frequently have markedly different responses to the same therapy. Hodgkin lymphoma, for example, is one of the tumour types where a small group of patients fail to respond or respond poorly to treatment. The early evaluation of a specific treatment allows targeting effective therapy to responding patients while sparing the non-responders from expensive, toxic and unnecessary protocols. While the current method to assess treatment response is to measure tumour shrinkage by imaging, there may exist earlier and potentially more sensitive markers of treatment response based on tumour function. Prof Brindle’s group has an established expertise in this field. This project aims to develop non-invasive and clinically applicable imaging methods for detecting the initial responses of tumors to therapy in a realistic preclinical, genetically engineered mouse model of lymphoma. In this model, tumors arise spontaneously, constituting a better model for the human disease than those used previously. We will treat these animals using current treatment protocols and will use the imaging methods that we develop to assess tumour response. These methods will include a targeted radio-labelled agent that detects dying tumour cells and a novel magnetic resonance method, based on nuclear spin hyperpolarization, in which treatment response is detected through specific changes in tumour metabolism. The best reagents and imaging protocols will be selected for use in possible future clinical trials. Although we are developing these techniques in lymphoma, they could also be used with many other tumour types. We anticipate that in the future these methods could have significant impact in the clinic, both in drug development and in tailoring treatment to individual patients."
http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/rcn/94931_en.html
PHARMAS
Ecological and human health risk assessments of antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs found in the environment
London
Health
A consortium of world-class scientists from both academia and industry has been assembled to assess the risks to wild animals and humans posed by environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals. Their expertise will be supplemented by an advisory group consisting of representatives of all stakeholders. This project will concentrate on two classes of human pharmaceuticals, namely antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs, because there are good reasons for thinking that these could be of particular concern. In order to conduct sound risk assessments, including providing estimates of uncertainty, it will be necessary to obtain accurate data on both exposure concentrations and effects levels. Hence, new data on both environmental concentrations and effects on aquatic organisms will be produced during the project. The comparative sensitivities of embryos and adults will be determined, and used to reduce uncertainty in the risk assessments. The stable transformation products of the selected pharmaceuticals will also be investigated. All stakeholders and beneficiaries will be represented in the project, so that results are rapidly and reliably transferred to all interested parties. A prototype web-based classification system will be developed during the project with the intention of enabling all EU citizens to make their own informed decisions about the risk posed by human pharmaceuticals to their health and to the health of the environment. The results will able EU regulators and policy makers to make better informed decisions on the issue of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/97551_en.html
CADRE
Cardiac Death and Regeneration
London
Health
Cardiac muscle death, unmatched by muscle cell creation, is the hallmark of acute myocardial infarction and chronic cardiomyopathies. The notion of heart failure as a muscle-cell deficiency disease has driven interest worldwide in ways to increase heart muscle cell number, by over-riding cell cycle constraints, suppressing cell death, or, most directly, cell grafting. Using stem cell antigen-1, we previously identified telomerase-expressing cells in adult mouse myocardium, which have salutary properties for bona fide cardiac regeneration. Here, we seek to address systematically the mechanisms for long-term self-renewal in Sca-1+ adult cardiac progenitor cells and in the smaller side population fraction, which is clonogenic and expresses telomerase at even higher levels. Specifically, we propose to study the roles of telomerase and of the telomere-capping protein, TRF2. Aim 1, Determine the properties of adult cardiac progenitor cells in mice that lack the RNA component of telomerase (TERC). Aim 2, Determine the properties of adult cardiac progenitor cells in mice that lack the catalytic component (TERT). To distinguish between effects of these two gene products themselves versus those that depend on cumulative telomere dysfunction, G2- and G5-null mice will be compared. Aim 3, Determine the properties of adult cardiac muscle and adult cardiac progenitor cells that lack the telomere-capping protein TRF2. Aim 4, Test the prediction that forced expression of TERT and TRF2 can augment cardiac muscle engraftment in vivo and enhance the clonal derivation of adult cardiac progenitor cells in vitro, without adversely affecting the cells differentiation potential. Work proposed in Aims 1-3 would provide indispensable fundamental information about the function of endogenous telomerase in adult cardiac progenitor cells. Conversely, work in Aim 4 would test potential therapeutic implications of telomerase and a telomere-capping protein with this auspicious population.
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89291_en.html
EPI-FEM-CARE
Epigenetics for female personalised cancer care
London
Health
EpiFemCare aims to uncover new methods for screening, diagnosing and personalising treatment of breast and ovarian cancers. The project will use cutting edge technologies from the field of epigenetics to develop blood tests. These tests will enable :
- Screening and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer;
- Diagnosis of ovarian cancers through discrimination of benign and cancerous growths within the pelvis; and
- Personalised care through monitoring the efficacy of treatment and determining the right drug regimen for each woman.
With these blood tests in place, the team running the EpiFemCare project has estimated that 50% fewer women will receive a diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer when that cancer is already advanced, 50% fewer women will receive unnecessary long-term treatment for residual disease, and the rate of female cancer related fatalities and treatment-related illness will be reduced by 20% per year.
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/105712_en.html
The Business Food Waste Solutions Delivery
London
Research and innovation
This project helps deliver advice and support to London’s food sector businesses, to identify and implement measures to reduce food waste which provide significant environmental, financial and social benefits. With £426,716 ERDF, support has been provided to 170 businesses, including the Breakfast Club (BC) a high volume, fast turnover operation.
Suspecting their restaurants were wasting too much food, the BC signed up to FoodSave. The FoodSave team monitored kitchen and plate waste over a total of six weeks. The results saw a reduction in kitchen food waste by 55% - preventing 2.5 tonnes of waste going to landfill and providing a £5,600 saving on food costs annually. The FoodSave programme has also developed www.foodsave.org - a resource packed website, full of good practice and lessons learnt. The project was a 2014 Local Authority Recycling Committee winner.
