Our work
Work we fund
There are over 35,000 new cancers registered each year in Scotland and the long-term trend is of increasing numbers annually. Some 16,500 deaths are caused by cancer which remains one of the main causes of death in Scotland. Lung and bronchus, colorectal, pancreatic and breast cancer are responsible for nearly 50% of all deaths.
Our work supports key cancer research with a focus on stimulating and funding undergraduates and early career researchers through Student Vacation Scholarships and PhD Research Studentships in South East Scotland.
The Melville Trust is currently supporting research in several areas including that of non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Prof Mohini Gray at the Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh is currently undertaking research into mechanisms of tertiary lymphoid structure in non-small cell lung cancer with Dr Ahsan Akram. Professor Gray’s research programme principally bridges clinical medicine and fundamental immunology to enhance understanding of immune processes, autoimmunity, and autoimmune disease pathogenesis.
This specific collaborative research project has the potential to open new therapeutic pathways and positively impact patient care. Only a minority of patients respond to new therapies (called immunotherapy) which stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. This research project is investigating if cells called cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a role in the success/failure of current treatments.
This research will provide important information on the role of CAFs in lung cancer and may decide newcombinations and targets of effective treatments.
Professor Neil Garragher and Dr Simon Wilkinson at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh are investigating potential targeted therapies that interfere with molecular processes that pancreatic cancer require for survival. Two exciting targets are the metabolic process called autophagy, and a process that controls how active gernes are (histone methylation).
They are employing a drug that they have recently discovered, and which blocks histone methylation. The research will determine the mechanism of action of a potential novel therapeutic in the pancreatic cancer with a view to evidencing future translational research into clinical studies.
Jessie Woon commenced her Melville Trust PhD studentship under the supervision of Dr Paul Reynolds in the School of Medicine at the University of St Andrews. She has been investigating the role of a novel factor, the type I membrane protein leucine-rich repeat containing 15 (LRRC15) in the progression of osteosarcoma, which is the most common bone malignancy that predominantly affects children and adolescents.
There is a need for such targeted or novel agents that can be used to prevent and treat metastatic disease which is present in up to 20% of patients at presentation and can develop in a further 40%.