Science
Historically, the science behind cancer treatments has not targeted metastatic cancer due to the complexity of the problem. We apply a range of models—fly, mouse, human, and computer models—to improve our understanding of metastatic cancer and to build a new generation of drugs. By directly targeting metastatic cancer, our integrated approach presents a new way forward.
Metastasis—cells leaving the original tumour for distant sites—remains the primary challenge in cancer
Chiara Braconi, Jim Norman, Laura Machesky and others at the McNab are developing and using ‘mouse-in-a-dish’ and ‘human-in-a-dish’ technologies to better understand how cancer cells interact with the whole body and how this changes the way we treat cancer patients. This method places cancer cells amongst artificially grown organs to simulate human disease.
The McNab Centre is developing new ways to ‘evolve’ cancer drugs: ‘Chemical Evolution’ meets the ‘Chemputer’
Regius Professors Lee Cronin and Ross Cagan have come together at the McNab to develop a completely new way to ‘evolve’ cancer drugs. Artificial Intelligence, robotics, chemistry, fruit flies, and human-in-a-dish technology are brought together to ‘evolve’ complex drugs previously impossible to imagine. A novel lead to therapies that is fast and cost-effective. We are excited to complete our first iteration of this technology, leading to the creation of a new lead compound tuned to act broadly on the most severe forms of colorectal cancer.
Cancer Models
Metastasis
Drug Development