Abstract

When I say that I work for Cancer Research UK people often ask me ‘How are you getting on? Do we have a cure for cancer yet?’ It’s entirely right that people should ask these questions, because cancer is a disease that touches many lives and CRUK is funded by donations, large and small, from people across Britain. The answers to the questions, however, are not so simple. I will discuss the long journey from a laboratory experiment that suggests a potential new treatment to actually delivering that treatment to patients.

Bio: Fiona Watt is Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics and Deputy Director of the CRUK Cambridge Research Institute and Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research. She studies stem cells in normal skin and the changes that they undergo during tumour formation. Her work for CRUK has given her unique insights into how cancer is being tackled in the UK - from local fund-raising efforts, through laboratory-based research and clinical trials.