Thank you to Andrea Waylen
Dr Andrea Waylen moved to a leadership role in dental education on the 1st August 2020 and now works two days per week. She has decided to step down from her role as a member of the Head and Neck 5000 Scientific Team though she will continue to work on some ongoing manuscripts. We would like to thank Andrea for all her support and hard work over the last ten years that has helped to make Head and Neck 5000 what it is today. We wish her all the best for the future. Thank you Andrea!
PhD Success
Two PhD students who used H&N5000 data in their theses have successfully passed their PhD vivas, we would like to congratulate Rhona Beynon (Biological and lifestyle predictors of survival in head and neck cancer) and Ryan Langdon (Genetic and epigenetic data as a tool to augment understanding of oropharyngeal cancer). We wish them every success in the future.
Showering Fund grant awarded
Dr Miranda Pring has been awarded a grant from the Showering Fund to create a library of digital histology images and data and to develop a specialist head and neck pathology teaching/training resource centred on the use of virtual microscopy. The Showering Fund was established in 1961 by members of the Showering family (of "Babycham" fame) in gratitude for the successful treatment of Mrs Ethel Showering at Southmead Hospital. Its aim is the promotion and development of medical research to be carried out by the Department of Pathology.
Paper on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) in nasopharyngeal cancer has now been published
Researchers from Head & Neck 5000 and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) have been analyzing cases of nasopharyngeal cancer with EBV and HPV data. The team found evidence that both EBV-positive and HPV-positive nasopharyngeal cancers are present in a low incidence country; and that EBV and HPV serum antibodies correlate with the viral status of the tumour. The paper has been published in the International Journal of Cancer. (Epub ahead of print).
Coronavirus pandemic 2020
The Coronavirus pandemic has meant that we are unable to send out any Head & Neck 5000 samples to researchers; however we are keeping up with other tasks while staff are able to work from home. The situation changes rapidly but at present it is only the sample transport that has been affected.
Voyager and HEADSpAcE meetings March 2020
The Voyager and HEADSpAcE meetings in Cartagena Colombia were cancelled due to Coronavirus and instead the meetings were held as video conference. There was much discussion on the progress that has been made so far and ideas for further research.
German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ, Heidelberg February 2020
Dr Miranda Pring visited the German Cancer Research Centre to take part in the HEADSpAcE HPV16 E6 ELISA Workshop. The workshop participants were trained in the use of an ELISA assay and the laboratory methodology. The ELISA test will be used to detect serological response to human papilloma virus (HPV) in blood samples donated by people with oropharyngeal cancer. It will be used alongside other established diagnostic techniques to determine the optimal combination of tests for detection of HPV within the HEADSpAcE study.
BD4QoL Study Meeting, Milan, January 2020
Professor Ness and Katrina Hurley attended the ‘kick off’ meeting for the BD4QoL study. The study is run by the University of Milan and aims to see if quality of life in head and neck cancer patients can be improved by using non-invasive monitoring of quality of life. The study has two parts; a prospective randomized study that will recruit new participants, and a historical study that will look at existing quality of life data. Head & Neck 5000 will send a dataset for the historical study and University Hospitals Bristol will recruit new participants to the prospective study.
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