Sheffield Cancer Research Centre Newsletter
Issue 5 – October 2013
Welcome to the SCRC Newsletter
The newsletter is for sharing information on activities and developments. There are sections on news;
awards, achievements; and events. We hope you find the newsletter informative and useful. If you have
any information or news you would like to share with colleagues in the Centre then please contact
Lance Burn (l.burn@sheffield.ac.uk) or Deborah Reid (deborah.reid@sheffield.ac.uk)
News
Nasreen Akhtar takes up Thomas-Berry & Simpson
Fellowship.
I have arrived from ‘sunny’ Manchester and I’m delighted to join the Department of Oncology where I’m
hoping to establish my own lab. I was recently awarded a faculty fellowship (Thomas-Berry and Simpson)
kindly sponsored by Professor Malcolm Reed.
My interests lie in the areas of how matrix-adhesions regulate epithelial polarity and morphogenesis of breast
tissue. I did my PhD at the University of Birmingham (with Michael Wakelam) where I studied growth factor
and adhesion signaling in ER+ve and ER-ve breast cancers. I soon realized that in order to tackle the
complex nature of cancer, we really need to understand how normal epithelial cells behave. So I joined Neil
Hotchin’s lab (UoB) as a post-doc where I discovered how Rho family GTPases and actin networks regulate
cellular adhesions in epithelial keratinocytes. I then took this knowledge back into the breast and joined
Charles Streuli’s lab in Manchester. Here I discovered how Rho GTPases and matrix adhesions regulate
mammary epithelial morphogenesis and tissue function in both in vivo mouse models and 3D primary
cultures of breast epithelia.
From a developmental point, I find the mammary gland fascinating; it’s one of the very few organs that
develops postnatally. The gland undergoes dramatic tissue remodeling in just one cycle of pregnancy/
lactation and involution, using all of the different cell fate responses involved in normal embryogenesis. In
other words one cycle can reveal a ‘gold-mine’ of information. Cancer can be viewed as defective
development and after spending several years deciphering developmental mechanisms in healthy breast
tissue, I think I’m ready to tackle some of the tricky questions about cancer.
Nasreen Akhtar
I look forward to getting to know everyone here in Sheffield and get used to walking on the hilly landscape….
winter will be interesting!
Film Night – ‘The Enemy Within’
Tuesday, 12 November 2013 - 6.15pm
Students' Union Auditorium, The University of Sheffield, S10 2TG
‘The Enemy Within’ is an interesting new film which looks back over the last 50 years of the battle
against cancer and explains some of the major breakthroughs in chemotherapy, radiotherapy,
surgery and other areas. Following the film there will be a panel debate with some of the Sheffield
Cancer Research Centre's leading researchers, and an opportunity for the audience to ask
questions about the issues raised in the film. A drinks reception will also be held for all attendees
after the event. This is a free event. To book a place go to https://universityofsheffield.sym-online.com/registrationforms/enemywithin_standard/
Volunteers Required
If you would like to help with one of the Charity Stands on this night or at future Public Events
please contact:
Tina Harrison (tina.harrison2@sth.nhs.uk) Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity
Nikki Brady (nikki@ycr.org.uk) Yorkshire Cancer Research
Andy Wilson (andy.wilson@cancer.org.uk) Cancer Research UK
The CR-UK/YCR Sheffield Cancer Research Centre Non-Clinical PhD Studentships
All the projects will be advertised on the Centre’s Webpages, findaphd.com , Jobs.ac.uk.
Please advertise to all suitable students
PhD Studentships
The CR-UK/YCR Sheffield Cancer Research Centre is offering non-clinical PhD studentships for
entry in October 2014 onwards. These studentships will provide:
 a stipend £19,000
 tuition fees up to the level of home/EU
 travel and research consumable funds
Further non-clinical PhD studentships are available for entry in October 2014 onwards. These
studentships will provide:
 a stipend £13,762
 tuition fees up to the level of home/EU
 research consumable fund
Eligibility:
Recent graduates or final year undergraduates with or expected to achieve a 1st/2:1 honours
degree may apply for up to three projects. Non EU applicants will be considered.
Projects / How to Apply:
For a list of projects available and instructions for how to apply please see the CR-UK/YCR
Sheffield Cancer Research Centre Website [http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sheffield-cancer-researchcentre/studentships-jobs/non-clin-oct2014entry]. For further information on each project please
contact the supervisors.
Sheffield Cancer Research Centre
Our research revolves around our existing three areas of translational excellence:
 bone oncology
 tumour microenvironment
 genetics/genomic instability
These strengths are underpinned by strong basic science and our findings are regularly translated
into the clinic via the CR-UK Experimental Cancer Medicines Centre.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a vibrant multi-cultural city that sits on the edge of the Peak District National Park. This
combination makes it a truly great place to live and study.
Closing Date: Wednesday 20th November 2013
Website: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sheffield-cancer-research-centre/home
Diary Dates
Seminar Series – for information, please see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/sheffield-cancer-researchcentre/news-and-events/seminar-series
2nd October 2013 – Extraordinary Seminar by Dr James Bradford – fellowship for Cancer Centre
bioinformatician. To be held at 1pm, Lecture Theatre 3 of the Medical School.
8th October 2013 – Extraordinary Seminar by Dr Sebastien Serres – to be held at 1pm, Lecture Theatre
3 of the Medical School.
16th October 2013 – Extraordinary Seminar by Dr Vladimir Teif from BioQuant & German Cancer
Research Cente, Neuenheimer Feld, Germany – Interplay between nucleosome repositioning, DNA
methylation and transcription factor rearrangement during stem cell development’ to be held at 1pm,
Lecture Theatre 3 of the Medical School.
11th October 2013 - SCRC - INSIGNEO Workshop – This workshop, which is run jointly between
Insigneo and CR-UK/YCR Sheffield Cancer Research Centre, is to be held at The Edge Conference
Centre, Sheffield from 9.00am to 16.20pm. Details can be found at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/sheffieldcancer-research-centre/workshops.
In silico modelling has enormous potential in several aspects of cancer research, including
understanding the development of the disease and optimising its treatment. Data/areas of interest
could include molecules through organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individuals to populations. Although
they currently have relatively few researchers working in this field in Sheffield, it is an area that is
obviously ripe for development, and the Insigneo Institute and the CR-UK/YCR Sheffield Cancer
Research Centre are particularly well placed to lead this.
The primary aim of this event is to kick-start collaborations between cancer biologists/clinicians and
those working in the computational domain using methods that could be applied to cancer. External
keynote speakers include Professor Helen Byrne from the University of Oxford and Georgios
Stamatakos from ICCS in Athens.
They are looking for:
• Clinicians and Scientists who are working with data sets that may be applicable to in silico
modelling. Presentations should focus on the data available and describing the issues of
complexity.
• Academics who are working with tools or models currently applied in other fields that COULD be
applied to cancer who would be interested in giving a brief 10 minute presentation of their work to a
mixed audience.
• Anyone who may already be applying their methods in the cancer research domain. Presentations
should focus on methodology, rather than specific results, and should be accessible to a non
specialist audience.
If you are interested there is a 10 minute TED Lecture by Professor Marco Viceconti, Director of
Insigneo, on the Virtual Physiological Human http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZyEPXYmZ-8.
As well as oral presentations, there will also be opportunities for networking, displaying posters relating
to your research, and of course, lunch will be provided!
28th February 2014 – Annual Cancer Research Forum – please save the date, details to follow.
World Leading Keynote Speakers inc: Freddie Hamdy,
Nuffield Professor of Surgery, University of Oxford.
Professor Freddie Hamdy
Funding Opportunities
BACR/CRUK Student Awards
British Association for Cancer Research, GB
These enable students to attend scientific meetings in cancer research. Up to £1,000 is available for
overseas meetings and up to £500 for meetings in the UK.
Award amount max: £1,000 Closing date: 31 Oct 13
http://www.bacr.org.uk/fellowships-and-bursaries/student-awards/
Job Opportunities
Clinician Scientist Fellowship and Research Bursaries for Clinicians
CRUK is currently accepting applications for its Clinician Scientist Fellowships. These are four-year
postdoctoral fellowships available to clinicians and other health professionals who have completed a
higher research degree and are committed to combining research with their clinical practice. These
awards will enable successful fellows to make the transition from doctoral research training to an
independent clinical academic post. The fellowship provides funding for running expenses, the salary of
the applicant, and the salary for a research technician or graduate research assistant. The deadline
date for applications is 29th November 2013, and the interviews will be held in London on 15th and
16th May 2014. For further information and details of how to apply, please see our website:
www.cancerresearchuk.org/clinicalcareers - www.cancerresearchuk.org/science/funding/find-grant/allfunding-schemes/clinician-scientist-fellowship. For any queries please contact: Dr Paul Wilcock Paul.Wilcock@cancer.org.uk - 020 3469 8082.
CRUK are also accepting applications for their Research Bursaries. These provide short-term support
for clinicians or those in professions allied to medicine to gain experience of research prior to a higher
research degree (PhD/MD). The application deadline is 11th September 2013 and the Committee
meeting will be held in November 2013. For more information and details of how to apply please go to:
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/research-bursaries-for-clinicians-and-professions-allied-to-medicine
For any queries please contact: Dr Paul Wilcock - Paul.Wilcock@cancer.org.uk - 020 3469 8082.