Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London (BCI) is a leading cancer research institute at Queen Mary University of London. BCI was founded in 2004 and is dedicated to understanding cancer biology and translating discoveries towards better treatments and diagnostics to improve patient outcomes. It is part of the Cancer Research UK City of London Centre.
The BCI is made up of seven centres, each covering different aspects of cancer research from cancer initiation, evolution, metastasis, the tumour microenvironment, early detection, immunotherapy, genomics, haemato-oncology and precision medicine.
A major strength of the institute is its close partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust, which provides access to one of the world’s most diverse cancer patient populations and enables rapid translation of research findings into clinical practice.
Against Breast Cancer has funded researchers at the BCI in recent years at the Tumour Microenvironment Centre which has expertise in triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype with significant unmet need.
Research Programmes
Investigating how the tumour extracellular matrix drives immune suppression in triple-negative breast cancer
Dr Ludovica Tarantola, Barts Cancer Institute
Ludovica’s PhD research has focused on understanding how the tumour environment affects immune cells and prevents them from effectively fighting breast cancer.
Characterising the Glycan Shield
Dr Oliver Pearce, Barts Cancer Institute, London
Dr. Oliver Pearce aims to identify how breast cancer tumours remodel their surroundings to protect them from attack by the bodies’ own immune system. He hopes to understand how immune cells are deactivated in order to improve the response to immunotherapy in triple negative breast cancer patients.
Exploring Versican as an Immune Barrier in Cancer
Dr Oliver Pearce and Priyanka Hirani, Barts Cancer Institute, London
Following on from the Glycan Shield project, Dr. Oliver Pearce and Priyanka Hirani are investigating how the protein Versican might be involved in deactivating immune cells in the tumour microenvironment.