Cancer charity Big C is committed to investing in the next generation of researchers with the 2025 PhD studentship grant round open until the end of this month. Folk Features joins an exclusive Big C Lab Tour at Norwich Research Park to find out more.
For the past 45 years, Big C has been busy improving the lives of local people affected by cancer. But did you know that it also funds vital, world-class research into cancer in Norfolk? To date, Big C has funded more than £12.5 million in research and equipment grants across the Norwich Research Park – and the cancer research projects in particular have resulted in ground-breaking advances in bowel, prostate and blood cancers amongst others.
Big C remains committed to investing in the next generation, with the deadline for the 2025 grants round finishing at the end of this month.
Being based at Centrum on the Norwich Research Park (NRP) means the charity is ideally located to work alongside the research institutes that it funds, which currently includes the Quadram Institute, University of East Anglia (UEA), and Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).
Regular laboratory tours are conducted at the NRP, giving an insight into the ground-breaking and globally significant cancer related research taking place in Norfolk, some of which is directly funded by Big C and its supporters.
Last month the tour took in the Bob Champion Research & Education Building which opened on the park a decade ago. The £19m building is managed by UEA in partnership with the NNUH and provides state of the art laboratories for research teams to undertake world class research.
Leading the tour was Dr Stuart Rushworth from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, a Professor in medical research in blood cancer researching myeloma and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. He says: “We are a medical school in the NRP and we will take samples from patients. Having the hospital nearby is fantastic for research.”
The scientific group leader for molecular haematology research showed us some of the specialised labs, including the Tissue Culture Lab. ‘This is where we do the assessment of the cells when we get patient samples.” The incubators are set at 37 degrees. “Cells will grow in this environment and we can do experiments on them.”
The Rushworth Lab investigates the function of the tumour microenvironment in malignant bone marrow, and Dr Rushworth explains that, from next month, more students will be coming to study the interactions between cancer cells and other cells, making the point: “Big C is one of the research funders.”
In the main lab, Norwich Medical School Quality Assurance Manager Paul Jackson showed us a ground-breaking prostate cancer test developed by a team led by Professor Colin Cooper. “What we’ve developed here at UEA is the Prostate Urine Risk test,” says Mr Jackson.
The PUR test has taken 10 years to develop and will help address flaws of the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test, which fails to reliably distinguish dangerous from harmless prostate cancers and also misses up to 10 percent of cases – often the most aggressive ones.
Standing next to Mr Jackson was Timothy Brendler-Spaeth who is in his final year at Norwich Medical School, researching a PhD project to improve prostate cancer prognostics. After earning a bachelor’s degree in genetics followed by a master’s, his real interest is bioinformatics – computational approaches to analyse biological data, meaning he is more than happy to sit at a computer screen. “I said to myself, the project is aimed at building prognostic tests for prostate cancer. Why not be a part of something which could provide a huge benefit to patients?”
“Funding from the Big C has really helped us and enabled us to fund PhD students like Tim,” says Mr Jackson. Meanwhile, the PUR test is subject to clinical accreditation prior to full trial roll-out and could be in regular use by 2027. “It’s very exciting”, he adds, before making the point: “Big C funding PhD students has got us to this point and it’s really quite amazing.”
At the end of the tour, we met some of the new PhD students coming through such as Nilda Iker who will be investigating the metabolic link between leukaemia and heart failure. With the Big C PhD studentship grant round open until August 31, could you be part of the next generation of cancer researchers?
Big C Grants of up to £50,000 per studentship are available to support PhD-level research projects that deliver clear public benefit in the field of cancer. Applications are open to PhD researchers based at the University of East Anglia, or institutions across the Norwich Research Park and regional NHS trusts. Big C’s funding will contribute towards a proportion of tuition fees and the full stipend for a maximum of four years, with the remaining costs to be covered by the host institution, University of East Anglia. Applicants may also propose three-year projects if this is preferred. To be eligible for a grant the principal applicant must be based in Norfolk and hold a post at an institution of higher education or research institution, and their contract must cover the length of the studentship. Co-applicants or collaborators may be based at other institutions. The closing date for all applications is 31 August 2025 at 5pm. Visit Big C Cancer Charity.
Featured image of Dr Stuart Rushworth by Julian Claxton
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