The Health Minister, Lord O’Shaughnessy, visited the NIHR Oxford BRC on Wednesday 30 May to take a look at the ground-breaking research that is taking place in the fields of cancer and genomics.
He was accompanied on the tour by Oxford BRC Director Prof Keith Channon and Head of Research Operations Dr Vasiliki Kiparoglou.
Lord O’Shaughnessy was shown round the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit at the Churchill Hospital’s Cancer Centre by Prof Mark Middleton, the BRC’s Co-theme Lead for Cancer, and CRUK Consultant Nurse Sandie Wellman.
The minister was able to talk to patients taking part in clinical trials, of which there are over 100 taking place at the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit.
He then went to the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, where he discussed the latest developments in this field with Prof Jenny Taylor, the BRC Co-theme Lead for Genomic Medicine.
Lord O’Shaughnessy met a number of researchers and inspected the latest research into targeted gene sequencing panels, which are used to analyse specific genetic mutations, and devices for real-time DNA sequencing
Prof Channon said: “It was a real privilege to welcome Lord O’Shaughnessy to our BRC so he could witness first-hand the world-leading research that is taking place here. The minister was particularly interested in cancer clinical trials and cancer genomics, and he obviously found conversations he had with our research teams extremely interesting and informative.
“I’m sure he got a very positive impression of the wider clinical research partnership between Oxford University Hospitals and the University of Oxford, the scale and scope of our combined biomedical campuses, the vibrant relationships with external partners including the life sciences industry, and the research advances that have already had an impact on patient care across the region.”