Top cancer scientist receives £500,000 Cancer Research Wales fellowship

A groundbreaking Cardiff scientist who is developing treatments that use the body’s immune system to treat cancer, known as immunotherapy, has been awarded a prestigious £500,000 fellowship.

Dr Bruce MacLachlan is based at the School of Medicine at Cardiff University and has received the five-year funding from Cancer Research Wales to further his work.

Transforming how we treat cancer

Over the course of his fellowship, Dr MacLachlan will aim to use powerful technology to see, down to the detail of individual atoms, exactly how immunotherapy recognises cancer.

“The discovery that our immune system can recognise and destroy cancer has transformed how we treat cancer. In the last decade, we have begun to harness the immune system to direct it towards the signs of a patient’s cancer. However, we still have a way to go so that these powerful therapies work in all patients, in all cancer types,” said Dr MacLachlan.

Therapies that work for all people

The interaction between our immune system and cancer is complex, and everyone’s immune system detects cancer differently due to our inherited genetic makeup.

This diversity complicates immunotherapy design, as we need treatments that work across all genetic backgrounds and ethnicities, as Dr MacLachlan explains:

“By ensuring genetic differences are considered from the outset, my research aims to make such therapies work for all people. Working collaboratively with other experts, the goal is to move discoveries closer to treatments that give every patient with cancer a better chance of recovery.

“My work will focus on T-cells (an important white blood cell) and will look to our immune system for solutions as to how to direct T-cells to find and eliminate cancer. If we can observe the interactions between our immune system and cancer at this exquisite detail, we can design therapies, such as cancer vaccines, that see past the genetic makeup of our immune system to work more widely across the Welsh and world population,” he concluded.

Global cancer research

Dr MacLachlan’s funding is part of Cancer Research Wales’s commitment to develop the next generation of scientists and build a thriving cancer research environment in Wales.

The announcement comes as the Welsh cancer research charity holds its 60th anniversary conference in Cardiff to mark its historic birthday and contribution to global cancer research.

Tackling cancer inequalities in Wales

“It’s my privilege to announce today that we have been able to provide this funding for Dr MacLachlan and his pioneering research, which has the potential to transform the future for the cancer patients of tomorrow and tackle cancer inequalities here in Wales,” said Dr Lee Campbell, Head of Research at Cancer Research Wales.

“For 60 years, Cancer Research Wales has been funding the best researchers, clinicians and health professionals to push the boundaries of cancer research here in Wales, and to date we have invested over £41.86 million to achieve that.

“We currently have over £8.85 million invested in 52 live projects researching quicker diagnosis and better and kinder treatments for cancer, including almost £3 million in four clinical trials based here in Wales. It is a pleasure to add Dr MacLachlan’s name to the list of cancer research pioneers we have funded since 1966,” said Dr Campbell.

The Cancer Research Wales 60th anniversary research conference is taking place at Glamorgan Cricket Club in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Friday 23 October at 9.00am.

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, will deliver the keynote address, and Adam Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Research Wales, will open the conference.

The event will be chaired by the respected TV and radio broadcaster and presenter Sian Lloyd.