The Oxford Centre for Early Cancer Detection (OxCODE) Funding Scheme was launched in May 2020 with a call for proposals that would advance innovative Oxford-based research that can be applied to detecting cancer earlier. OxCODE aims to pump-prime this activity by providing short-term awards that will enable the development of proof-of-concept projects, technologies, assays and platforms to a stage at which more long-term external funding can be sought. Priority was given to projects with a clear translational trajectory towards the ultimate longer-term goal of improving cancer patient care through earlier detection.
After peer review by the OxCODE Funding Scheme 2020 review group, the OxCODE Management Committee allocated funds to the following projects:
- Dr Brian Nicholson (Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences) “Enhancing non-invasive patient stratification for endoscopic detection of colorectal cancer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic”
- Dr Smita Patel (Experimental Medicine Division, Nuffield Department of Medicine) “Methylation, malignancy and primary immunodeficiency: early detection of pre-malignant changes and sub-clinical disease”
- Professor Nicola Sibson (Department of Oncology) “Biofluid metabolomics for detection of cancer in patients with non-specific signs”
Congratulations to these teams and thank you to all applicants for their submissions.