Researcher awarded £300k to study blood cancer treatment
Dr Luciano Nicosia, based at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute at the University of Manchester, received the funding through Blood Cancer UK's Early Career Advancement Fellowship programme.
His research will focus on developing more targeted therapies for myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), two of the most difficult blood cancers to treat.
Dr Nicosia said: "I'm thrilled to receive the Blood Cancer UK Early Career Advancement Fellowship.
"This support will enable me to investigate how an exciting drug, with promising preclinical and clinical data, could be made more effective in addressing difficult to treat blood cancers like acute myeloid leukaemia and myeloma."
Blood cancer is the UK's third biggest cancer killer, claiming more than 15,000 lives each year.
Dr Nicosia's work centres on a new drug called CCS1477, which targets proteins that drive the growth of blood cancer cells.
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While some patients have responded well to the drug in early studies, others have not, and the reasons for this are not yet understood.
The research will examine how CCS1477 works at a molecular level to identify which patients are most likely to benefit.
It will also look at whether combining the drug with existing treatments could improve outcomes for those who do not respond to CCS1477 alone.
The fellowship comes as Blood Cancer UK launches a new £70 million research strategy focused on prevention, early detection, and better treatments.
Dr Richard Francis, deputy director of research at Blood Cancer UK, said: "Blood cancer is the UK's third largest cancer killer, taking away more than 15,000 lives every year.
"Fellowships like these give early career researchers the security and support to build their own teams and drive the discoveries that will help us beat blood cancer.
"We're investing in science that changes lives and Dr Nicosia's project is an exciting step forward in finding better, more personalised treatments for people with limited options."
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