New research post funded by York Against Cancer
Personalised cancer treatments could be developed through the work of a computer scientist funded by York Against Cancer.
Doctor Andrew Mason has been appointed to the Jack Birch Unit at the University of York with a lectureship in Bioinformatics – a post we funded as part of events to mark our recent 30th anniversary.
When he takes up his position in the Autumn, he will focus on analysing the 'big data' generated by sequencing the genetic material of many different cancers, aiming to pinpoint mutations or patterns which could help develop treatments.
He will be using publicly available data and combining it with data gathered by his JBU colleagues during their research.
The fact that the JBU studies how cells work in healthy individuals will give Dr Mason a unique perspective when conducting his analytical work, allowing him to compare that data with information about cancer cells.
Professor Jenny Southgate, head of the JBU, said Dr Mason’s work could help refine the way cancer was treated in the future.
“Each of us as a human being is made with the same genes, but individually we are all so different, too,” she said. “You have to look at many different individuals to see patterns in these differences.
“When you look at bladder cancer, you can examine it under the microscope to see if it has invaded the muscle, what’s known at muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
“But if you don’t know what differences there are at the gene level you will just lump them together and treat them all the same, and that is what has been done for the last 20 years.
“However, if you look at lots of muscle-invasive bladder cancers, using good statistics you can see that within it there are lots of different types of disease.
“You can stratify these cancers, apply different treatments and create personal medicine for each sub-group of the disease – this is what is transforming the cancer field.”
Dr Mason, originally from Whitby, did his first degree at Edinburgh University and took his PhD at the University’s Roslin Institute, famous as the birthplace of Dolly the cloned sheep.
“I’m excited to be taking up this position,” said Dr Mason. “It is a fantastic opportunity that has come quite early in my career, and a great chance to start directing my own research while collaborating with the JBU.
“It’s also going to be a challenge and a steep learning curve but I’m adaptable and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Professor Steve Leveson, one of our charity's founders ,who helped appoint Dr Mason, said: “This is fantastic news for the charity. Being able to enter into cutting-edge research with the University and the JBU is a significant move forward for us.”