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Exploring cancer evolution through bioinformatics

By regmwru, on 10 February 2020

Written by Krupa Thakkar – Cancer MSc student

From left to right: Dhruva Biswas, Krupa Thakkar and Prof Javier Herrero

Studying cancer has always been a key interest of mine and starting this MSc, I knew I wanted to make the most of the research available. Happily, I did have such an opportunity when I secured my research project with Dhruva Biswas (MBPhD) and Prof Javier Herrero (Head of the Bill Lyons Informatics Centre) at the UCL Cancer Institute .

After three intensive yet illuminating months of studying bioinformatics, attending lab meetings with the Swanton Group (Francis Crick Institute and UCL) and the Bill Lyons Informatics Centre (BLIC), and working tirelessly with my supervisors to study my hypothesis, I found myself holding a printed and bound copy of all of my work. Handing it in was indubitably terrifying, but even scarier was the realisation that my time of research had come to an end. UCL is a leader in world-class research, and being able to work with some of the brightest minds here was not only inspiring, but also a challenge to perform to the best of my ability to drive the field forward.

MSc Cancer Programme

The MSc cancer course was an intense 12 months, which encompassed all of the major contemporary topics in cancer research and cancer healthcare. The course was split threefold; core modules, electives and a final project. The core modules were an excellent way to acquaint ourselves with the basic fundamentals of cancer biology and therapeutics. The elective modules were characterised by a more explorative element, actively encouraging us to think ‘beyond the bench’ – such as how clinical trials are run.

There were around 40 students on the course from a diverse range of backgrounds. Some already possessed years of scientific experience, whilst others were just venturing into research. After the first few weeks, we all had a shared vision and love for what we were studying. One of my biggest takeaways from the course was that we were all playing a role in the wider field of research and its role in the future of cancer; both to understand it, and to fight it.

Mutual Exclusivity and Cancer Evolution

My four-month project was focused on leveraging mutual exclusivity between cancer genes within the wider context of cancer evolution. Studying cancer from an evolutionary stand-point and stripping such a complex disease rooted in longevity back to Darwinian principles fundamentally changed the way I approached the disease. In order to study this, I learnt how to code in R, analyse datasets and write new code and functions to answer my questions. Everyone at the BLIC was very supportive in teaching me how to be a successful bioinformatician and ultimately allow me to contribute to cancer research.

Dissertation Day! Medicine student, Connor Tugulu, shares his experience of the iBSc Oncology programme.

By regmwru, on 12 August 2019

Written by Connor Tugulu (MBBS student)

iBSc Oncology students

(Left to right) Connor Tugulu, Sonam Patel and Meenusha Shanmuganathan celebrating submitting their final projects!

Handing in a dissertation is an exciting and nerve-wracking day. You’ve spent months of time working and thinking about your project. Then you have it there, all of your hard work printed and bound in your hands ready to give in. But of course before handing it over for assessment, you have to take the opportunity to commemorate the occasion! UCL is a world-leader in research and education, so taking a photo -especially a fun one like this- feels so very special. The portico is embedded in a UCL student’s memory from open days visiting the university, so is a prime spot to take some pictures and the UCL Cancer Institute has been our ‘home’ for the last 9 months during the iBSc Oncology programme.

Life in the lab

One element of the cancer iBSc that I particularly enjoyed was being based in the Cancer Institute itself. We had lectures, seminars and for most of our cohort also had our laboratories for our projects based here as well. For me, the laboratory for my project was at Great Ormand Street Hospital’s Institute of Child Health. I’ve genuinely never seen such a happy hospital – seeing the smiling faces of the children with their GOSH jumpers on was a wonderful way to start the day.

Researching blood cancers

My laboratory focussed on childhood blood cancers. Being in a lab so close to a hospital that would see patients with this condition every single day made my work feel all the more important. My specific project focused on the use of viral vectors in a gene silencing system, comparing two different systems to see which one was better. It was an amazing experience with a really lovely group of researchers. I learnt a lot of new skills, from the simple things like how to use a pipette properly to q-PCR, which is used to assess the amount of messenger RNA produced by a cell. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in the lab and it has really stoked my interest for pursuing research in my future medical career.

iBSc Oncology programme

Another positive element of the iBSc Oncology course was the fact that handing in our dissertation was the final hurdle we had to finish the year. The modular system of exams meant we had been examined throughout the year with the submission of our dissertation being our final assessment. This not only meant over Easter we could really focus on our projects ensuring they were the best they could be, but also meant that throughout the year we learnt the content to a high degree rather than saving everything up until the end. For me this form of assessment was really beneficial and lead to a far deeper understanding of cancer as a disease but also how it has such a big influence on our society. I am so grateful for all of the people I met doing this course, both my fellow students, who could always be relied upon for their support, and the incredible staff who taught and helped us throughout the year. This year has left an indelible mark on my future career as a doctor. I was truly inspired by the work that UCL researchers are involved in and the many insights into this extraordinary world that we got to witness throughout this year.

UCL Sustainability Awards 2018 – Pathology labs awarded Silver

By regmwru, on 11 September 2018

Celebrating UCL departments and individuals who lead the way in championing sustainability, the UCL Sustainability Awards ceremony last week brought together staff and students from across the university community to share good practice and celebrate green initiatives and achievements.

The event was hosted by Richard Jackson (Director, Sustainability in UCL Estates) and Professor Geraint Rees (Chair of the UCL Sustainability Committee and Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences). Professor Rees presented awards to the teams which participated in the Green Impact scheme in 2018.

Congratulations to Dominic, Adriana, Donna, Maia, Elena and Pathology team for winning a Silver Labs Award for improving energy efficiency in Pathology labs 204, 205 and 220 – a terrific achievement especially in light of the fact that this is the first year of joining the scheme.


Pictured: Dominic Patel with the Silver Labs Award

Speaking of the award, Dominic (Research Scientist, UCL Cancer Institute) said, “This is just the beginning, next year the aim is Gold! All the little things that we can do to improve our sustainability contribute to the wider environment. I hope that a Greener lab has inspired everyone to be more Green!”

This year’s awards, inspired by Blue Planet II, are sculptures made of plastic recovered from British seas by artist Jo Atherton.

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