The Oxford Centre for Early Cancer Detection (OxCODE) Funding Scheme aims to advance innovative Oxford-based research that can be applied to cancer earlier detection and/or prevention. OxCODE provides short-term awards that will enable the development of proof-of-concept projects, technologies, assays, methods 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 clinical outcomes by lowering cancer risk or incidence, or through earlier detection.
After peer review by the OxCODE Operational Group and Oxford Cancer Patient and Public Involvement group, funds were allocated to the following projects:
- Dr Adam Creamer and Dr Pengfei Li (Stevens group, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics) “Light-induced affinity-switchable antibody mimics for proteoform-resolved precision diagnosis of prostate cancer”.
- Dr Francisco Lopez-Cuevas (White group, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research) “Identification of early cancer cell states during melanoma initiation”.
- Dr Yuqi Shen (Psaila group, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and Radcliffe Department of Medicine) “Uncovering pre-leukaemic signatures in haematopoietic stem cells using iPSC models of myeloproliferative neoplasms”.
Congratulations to these teams and thank you to all applicants for their submissions.