New research centre launched to help fight cancer
A new centre at the University of Bradford will help in the fight against cancer with the creation of PhD scholarships.
The new £2m ‘ICT Doctoral Training Centre’ based at the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics at the University is being funded by University spin-out company Incanthera Ltd.
Professor Richard Morgan, Director of the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics (ICT) said: "This exciting 10-year program is being set up to provide a series of fully-funded PhD scholarships across a range of new research projects in order to recruit the next generation of high-calibre cancer scientists. The centre will also simultaneously enhance the support and training of existing PhD students and further strengthen the University’s vibrant postgraduate research community.”
The core theme of the Centre will be the development of anticancer pro-drugs, building on the ICT’s recent success in this area. Pro-drugs are compounds that remain inactive in the body until they reach their target site, thereby significantly reducing toxicity. A number of pro-drugs are currently under development at the ICT, the most advanced and best known example being ICT2588, the “crocus smart-bomb”, which is being progressed by Incanthera.
The scholarships are only open to home or EU students and people will be able to apply from January with a view to starting September 2019.
In the meantime, the centre will be strengthening its infrastructure and research environment to ensure that the future cancer researchers in training today get the strongest possible start to their careers.
For more information on the scholarships contact Robert Falconer [email protected]