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Centre for Investigative & Diagnostic Oncology

Pioneering cancer diagnosis and therapy

Welcome to the Centre for Investigative & Diagnostic Oncology. Nowadays, sadly, few people don't have relatives and loved ones who have fought cancer – and, in many cases, died of it. Established in 2008, our centre works at the most practical level to reduce the number of people dying of cancer.

We undertake groundbreaking research that can speedily be applied to patients. Our focus is on the diagnosis and potential therapy of colon, skin, prostate, breast and brain cancer – among the most common forms of the disease in the UK. If these conditions could be diagnosed much earlier as part of routine screening, the possibilities for successful treatment are immense.

World-class research

The Centre is housed in the impressive Hatchcroft building on Middlesex University's Hendon campus. Under the direction of the eminent immunologist Professor Ivan Roitt, our internationally-renowned scientists have the potential to make quantum advances – both academically and commercially. We welcome biomedical science masters and PhD students to work alongside us to gain first-hand exposure to the cutting-edge research taking place.

The Centre has been supported by generous grants from our Patrons, Jon Smith and Princess Sara bint Talal through the Lee Smith Foundation. We welcome interest from individuals and corporations for further funding to enable our vital research work. If you would like to become a benefactor, then please email Professor Roitt.

Our main research themes, listed below, demonstrate the highly creative outlook of our staff.

These are our current research projects. Simply click on the titles for more information.

Research projectGoalsResearchers
1. Cancer stem cells*Therapeutic eradication of cancer-generating cellsLund  / Wen
2. Probe for rectal and prostate cancers*Readily affordable device for screening and monitoring rectal and prostate cancersBayford
3. Colorectal cancer therapyTarget tumour with gold nanoparticles; delivery of a cytotoxic drugRoitt / Lund
4. Early lab diagnosis of cancer*Use multiplexing test to detect cancer at an early stage before it appearsButler / Shah / Roitt
5. Early GP diagnosis of cancerDevelop a biosensor to detect diagnostic biomarkers at Point of Care, e.g, GP surgeryBayford
6. Therapy for prostate cancerTargeting drug delivery with gold nanoparticles or liposomesRoitt / Lund / Wang
7. Novel cancer vaccinesNew vaccine platform to target tumour growth factorsButler / Roitt
8. Imaging and therapy of skin cancerImaging;  delivery of therapeutic drugs by nanoparticle-based skin patchesGhali / Li
9. Brain cancer diagnosis and therapy*Blood biomarker diagnosis; imaging and thermal ablation of tumour using iron nanoparticlesButler / Bayford
10. Breast imaging*To improve image quality and accuracyTizzard
11. Connective tissue factors in breast cancerRelationship to early detection and spreadHills
12. Cancer virus-induced signalling complexAnalyse components of a recently identified virally induced cancer-forming complex with intention to discover new therapeutic agentsDilworth
13. New papilloma virus-dependent tumours*
a) Breast cancer
b) Prostate cancer
Identification of tumour types not previously linked to papilloma virus infectionWen / Ghali
Ring / Naase
14. Cervical cancer therapy*Exploit novel drug targeting papilloma virus-positive cancer cellsWen / Ghali
15. Autocrine tumour growth factors*Exploitation of novel hCG genetic findings, and possible c-Met/HGF loop e.g blood test for poor prognosisButler / Wen
  * Research initiated

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