Paterson Institute - Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute

Paterson Institute
Recent Press Releases
Tom Southgate
On Friday the 8th of April this year the
Manchester Evening News and the
BBC News site ran a story on the
potential of work headed by Prof
Hawkins’ Medical Oncology group
here at the Paterson. The work heralded as “spectacular” by the articles
centres on the work of Dave Gilham,
Ellie Cheadle, Ryan Guest and Waz
Mansoor in the delivery of genetically
modified and targeted autologous Tcells. The group’s work has centred
on the development of in vitro and in
vivo models in which T-cells are targeted against carcinoembryonic antigen, (CEA). CEA is normally found in
small amounts in the blood of most
healthy people, but is often elevated
in patients who have cancer or some
benign conditions. Although primarily
used as a marker in colorectal cancer,
especially when the disease has
spread (metastasized), a wide variety
of other cancers can produce elevated
levels of this tumor marker, including
melanoma, lymphoma, and cancers of
the breast, lung, pancreas, stomach,
cervix, bladder, kidney, thyroid, liver,
and ovary. Thus, this targeting of Tcells against CEA may be suitable for
the treatment in many cancers and
has led to the proposal of a clinical
trial later this year. Will this strategy
work?
At the National Cancer
Institute, USA, they have already trialed the use of adoptive T-cell therapy
after non-myeloablative chemotherapy
for the treatment of refractory
metastatic melanoma with what
appears to be promising results with
51% of patients exhibiting an objective clinical response. This bodes well
for the Medical Oncology trial and for
patients in the future.
Stressed Out in Cell Division!
The paper entitled "Polo kinase links the stress pathway to cell
cycle control and tip growth in fission yeast" was recently published in Nature by Janni Petersen from the work that she did in
the Cell Division group. The paper marks the culmination of ten
years work in the group that has followed a lucky break made by
the Cell Division group into how cells regulate cell division. This
break was the realisation that a component of the spindle pole
(centrosome in human cells) plays a critical role in regulating the
timing of cell division. The analysis of this molecule over the last
decade by Iain's group has shown that the decision for cells to
divide comes from the spindle pole and involves a protein kinase
called polo. This ties in well with work in Human cells from Jon
Pine’s CRUK funded group in the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge
that shows that the same is true in human cells.
Tom Southgate
Review of the CR-UK microarray facility
CR-UK carried out a comprehensive
review of the microarray facility on the
1st June. This is the only national CRUK-wide facility to be based outside
London, and is housed within the
MBCF in the Paterson. The review
went extremely well, with the staff
involved here (Stuart Pepper, Yvonne
Hey, Gillian Newton and Crispin Miller)
being praised for the exemplary service
that they provide.
CR-UK has
increased financial support for the
facility, including supporting three
posts, some equipment and all running
expenses. Many congratulations to all
involved in this facility, it really is a flagship example of how a national
resource should run, and the credit for
this must go to the staff who have
made it what it is.
summer newsletter
As is invariably the way with advances in understanding cell cycle
control it is the genetics of the yeast system that has enabled Janni
and Iain to make a very important link between the stress response
pathway and cell cycle control. Several groups, including Nic
Jones's group while at ICRF, have shown that yeast cells that are
deficient in the MAP kinase cascade that constitutes the stress
response pathway in fission yeast (equivalent of the p38 pathway
in humans) do not enter mitosis at the correct time. There is a considerable delay in the decision to divide. This shows that the stress
pathway somehow impinges upon the control of cell division. It is
the nature of this link that Janni and Iain address in their paper.
They show that the flux through the stress pathway alters the ability of the signals on the spindle pole to control the entry into mitosis. On top of this they found that it by changing this potential for
the spindle pole to regulate entry into mitosis that cells recover
from stress response.
So why is all of this of interest to the general community and, in
particular, the cancer community? A major goal in seeking new
therapeutic approaches, or ways of better exploiting existing treatments, is to find novel means with which to differentiate between
tumour and normal tissue. A common distinction between the two
is that the disorganisation and poor blood supply in the tumour tissue means that the transformed cells are more highly stressed than
normal cells (e.g. tumour tissue is invariably hypoxic).
Understanding how such stresses would impinge upon cell cycle
controls will clearly guide us to ways of trying to exploit this link to
specifically target the tumour cells. Thus findings like Janni's will
help optimise the design of the clinical trials of polo kinase
inhibitors that are currently being instigated at a number of centres around the world.
Iain Hagan
Cell Division Group
Paterson Institute for Cancer Research
Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester M20 4BX
Tel: 0161 446 3156.
www.paterson.man.ac.uk
Director’s Update
In the last Newsletter I outlined our
plans for the development of the
Manchester Cancer Research Centre
(MCRC) together with the University of
Manchester and the Christie Hospital.
These are exciting and ambitious plans
that will see a huge increase in cancer
research activity in Manchester mainly
based at the Christie site. The MCRC
together with the Christie and other
NHS partners will constitute the
Manchester Comprehensive Cancer
Centre (MCCC).
As you are aware, as part of this development the Paterson Institute will
become an Institute of the University
although it will retain its current level of
operational autonomy. Extensive discussions have been ongoing over the
last couple of months to prepare for this
transfer. These discussions have proceeded extremely well and we feel we
are on schedule with our target date for
transfer of October 3rd, 2005. Clearly
there is still a lot to do however and
practical issues that need to be
resolved. All staff will transfer to the
employ of the University under the
TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings
(Protection of Employment)) regulations, a 3 month consultation process.
This will kick off with an open meeting
for staff on June 7th. This is an important process and is aimed at ensuring
that your rights as employees are protected and that your pay and conditions
will not be adversely affected.
Affymetrix-based microarray service
was externally peer-reviewed by Cancer
Research UK. It received glowing
reports and results in a commitment to
not only continued support, but
increased support. So my congratulations go to the service and those that
run it - Stuart, Yvonne and Gillian,
together with the Bioinformatics support
from Crispin's group. They really are
doing a fantastic job.
The date of October 3rd, 2005 is also
the target date for establishment of the
MCRC and the MCCC. The MCRC
Steering Group and the Research
Strategy Group will be working hard to
develop the strategy of the MCRC, to
clarify investment plans and needs, to
set up the various committees that will
develop and take responsibility for
actioning the objectives of the MCRC
and MCCC and to finalise the governance arrangements that will oversee
these bodies. I see these exciting plans
as a logical extension of the overall,
major goals of the Institute: to be a
world-class centre of cancer research
with outstanding scientists and
research infrastructure and to build on
this platform together with our major
research partners, a comprehensive
approach to research that encompasses basic, translational and clinical
research programmes. I am confident
that the development of the MCRC and
the strong partnerships it represents,
will see these goals being fully achieved.
As many of you may know, Elmar
Schiebel will leave us towards the end
of the year. Elmar is taking up a
Professorship with the University of
Heidelberg based at the Zentrum fur
Moleculare Biologie. Elmar and his
group will be a huge loss - his productivity during his time with us has been
truly outstanding and he is undoubtedly
at the international forefront of his field.
He has contributed greatly to the reputation and international recognition of
the Institute. I am sure we all wish
Elmar well in his new challenge and his
return to his home country.
On many occasions I have stressed the
importance of our research services to
the functioning of the Institute, something we are all aware of since we rely
on them on a day-to-day basis.
Recently (June 1st, 2005) the
Recruitment for new group leaders will
resume shortly - to fill the gap left by
Elmar's departure and in anticipation of
new laboratory space when TRF1 is
finally complete. One new group leader
who will be arriving at the Paterson
Institute next Spring is Michael
Deininger who has been appointed to a
Chair in Haematology. This is a position
jointly funded between the University,
the Christie Trust and ourselves.
Michael who is currently at Oregon
State University will provide a big boost
to the translational research programme.
More Publications
Elmar Schiebel in collaboration with Gislene Pereira (University
of Manchester) recently had a successful publication in
Molecular Cell. "Kin4 kinase delays mitotic exit in response to
spindle alignment defects". Mol. Cell. In press. Elmar
explained that, for many polarised cells it is critical that the
mitotic spindle becomes positioned relative to the polarity axis.
Using the model organism budding yeast, we have identified the
kinase Kin4 that delays cell cycle progression when the spindle
is misaligned. Thus, Kin4 is part of a system that prevents
chromosome missegregation in polarised cells.
Paterson Spotlight
What is the most important lesson that
you have learnt from life?
No problem is insurmountable!
What is your favourite book?
Revolting Rhymes - Roald Dahl
With which well known figure (past or
present) do you most identify?
No-one really.... except any member of
Manchester United.... I can't play
football either!
What is your favourite film?
Groundhog Day (I'd like to be able to get
just one day right!)
In each issue of the Newsletter, we will
be featuring a member of staff who will
take the 'Spotlight' and answer a list of
questions that we have put together. The
second lucky individual to have this
privilege is Martin Dawson
The inability to admit mistakes
Do you believe in love at first sight?
No!.... However, LUST at first sight....
If you could swap places with anybody
What three things would you save from
your burning house?
Assuming my family can get out by
themselves, then it would have to
be all my family history documents, my
computer and the cats
My son at University, I want to see where
for 24 hrs, who would it be and why?
all my money is going!!!
Which words or phrases do you most
overuse?
No problem
What is your greatest fear?
Losing my wine collection in a fire when
I stop to save the cats
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Early retirement, in my back garden,
How would you like to be remembered?
Martin who?
What is your favourite part of
Manchester?
My back garden, warm evening, bottle of
wine
What trait do you most deplore in others?
What is your greatest regret?
Not spending more time with my mother;
she died when I was 26
warm day, a CASE of wine
What keeps you awake at night?
Absolutely nothing, my head hits the pillow and I'm gone
University of Manchester Merger
Pippa McNichol
The merger is underway with a lot of
work being done in the background to
ensure that the Institute and its systems
will continue to run smoothly. Our
Finance staff are gearing up to learn a
whole new finance system with new
cost centres. The University will be letting us have purchase cards, which
should make ordering (particularly travel) much easier. Margaret Lowe and her
team will endeavour to make the
changes as painless as possible.
The University’s Payroll Manager is
meeting with the people who administer
the Christie’s payroll to ensure that the
handover is seamless and everyone
gets paid the correct amount, once we
have merged.
Anna Pearson, our HR Adviser (in consultation with Lynn Disley, Amicus rep)
is working hard to update all our poli-
cies and procedures prior to merging,
as under TUPE we will be governed by
the policies that we have in place on the
day we merge.
Steve Glover has been meeting with
John Rylands Library to ensure that
staff have access to both libraries.
I am meeting with the Estates people at
the Christie and the University to start
negotiating the lease and rent for the
building, and we (the Christie, the
University and the Paterson) are starting work on the various legal agreements that have to be put in place
before the merger can happen.
Following the staff consultation meeting
on 7 June, we have sent a response to
the University’s Pensions Manager,
Heather Mawson, who is liaising with
the NHS Pensions Agency on our
behalf. As soon as we receive their
reply, we will share it with everyone and
act accordingly to ensure that you all
have the information you need to make
an informed decision about your pensions.
Colin Gleeson, Health & Safety Manager
is meeting with his equivalent at the
University to ensure that all our H&S
policies and procedures are compatible
with theirs.
Malik Pervez, Head of IT has also been
meeting with his equivalent there to
ensure that PICR IT systems can access
the University Finance and HR system
seamlessly
If anyone has any questions at all about
the merger, please so email or pop in
and see me. I will send out regular
email updates as soon as there is anything concrete to report.
TRF Update
Group Leader Spotlight
The Translational Research Facility – what’s going on!?
Jenny Varley
Work started on the TRF at the end of
September 2004, and we have all noticed
a lot of things happening, but how far along
are we? First of all I should remind you of
the overall scheme. The current phase
involves the bulk and complexity of the
overall work. The basement and ground
floors are being gutted and refurbished,
the Holt lecture theatre and the coffee
room are being upgraded, and a 2-storey
extension is being built above the coffee
room to provide new laboratory space. In
addition front and rear riser towers have
been constructed, and new plant rooms
will be built over the new extension and the
2nd floor.
Nic Jones
Cells commonly respond to extracellular
signals by modulating the activity of
specific transcription factors and subsequently the expression of many target
genes. We are particularly interested in
the response to cyototoxic and genotoxic stress which results in the mobilisation of a battery of protective and repair
mechanisms or the induction of apoptosis. Failure to respond appropriately can
result in cellular damage and thereby
drive tumorigenesis.
Dennis admires the new ventilation system in the Holt lecture theatre
The work is proving very complex, which is
unfortunately an inherent problem with
refurbishing an old building, particularly
when still occupied. The contractors cannot simply switch everything off and crash
around demolishing things, and so the
phasing and design take additional time.
The photo of the basement “before” gives
an idea of the scale of the work.
The present sate of the basement may not
look much better, but believe me a lot has
gone on down there! All the plant has been
ripped out, walls demolished, and alas,
new problems identified, with the result
that the scheme is now several weeks
behind schedule.
Whats holding the building up
However the good news is that by the time
this goes to print, we should have a new
sparkling coffee room and lecture theatre,
plus a much needed meeting room to the
rear of the coffee room. Alas the ventilation
system cannot be connected until all the
plant has been installed, and there may be
bangs and crashes from adjacent work,
but at least we will have our facilities back!
Over the next few weeks/months, we
should really start to see a difference, with
the basement and ground floor areas talking shape and being fitted as laboratories,
all the plant being installed and commissioned, and most importantly, the chocolate machine being reinstated!
The coffee room in progress
The laboratory is rather unusual (I am
sure for a number of reasons!) in that it
approaches the investigation of stress
response using two very different, but
hopefully complimentary, model systems; mice and fission yeast. At the
moment it is quite simple – the boys
work on mice and the girls work on
yeast though this is set to change with
the arrival of a new post-doc, Wolfie
Reiter (yes another Wolfie!!), in June.
In mammalian cells the AP-1 transcription factor plays a key role in response
to extracellular signals – it is regulated
by many physiological and pathological
stimuli such as mitogens, hormones,
genotoxins agents, stress signals, viral
infections and cytokines. It is a complex
factor made up of many dimeric complexes mainly composed of members of
the Jun, Fos and ATF protein families.
Our specific interest is in the ATF components and asking what role they play
in the functions of AP-1. The approach
has been to generate a series of genetically modified mice expressing mutant
ATF proteins either in all tissues or in
specific tissues. Characterisation of
these mice is revealing important functions of ATF in mouse development, in
regulation of apoptosis in response to
certain signals and in susceptibility to
tumorigenesis. The major ATF component appears to be ATF-2 which is
phosphorylated and activated by multiple MAP kinase pathways including the
JNK and p38 pathways that are stimulated by a variety of stress signals.
Furthermore, replacing the normal ATF2 gene with a mutated version that
encodes a protein that can no longer be
phosphorylated, shows that the various
functions of ATF-2 are dependent upon
these signalling pathways. These are
frustratingly long-term experiments but
are beginning to give us real insights
into the functions of these important
factors and in the future will allow us to
better understand what influence AP-1
might have in tumour formation or
maintenance or in the response of
tumours to therapeutic agents.
We also use fission yeast as a model
system for studying the response to
stress. The factors Atf1 and Pap1 coordinate most of the changes in gene
expression following stress and we are
currently trying to understand how
these factors are regulated and what
target genes they control. Atf1 and
Pap1 are related to the mammalian ATF
and Jun proteins respectively. Atf1 is
phosphorylated by the Sty1 MAP
kinase, a homologue of the mammalian
p38 kinase. Thus fission yeast serves as
a useful model for understanding the
role and regulation of AP-1 proteins in
mediating the stress response.
In collaboration with Jurg Bahler at the
Sanger centre in Cambridge, we have
carried out comprehensive global
microarray analysis of the transcriptional responses to a variety of different
stress conditions. Currently we are
focusing on how Atf1 and Pap1 are regulated by post-translational regulation
and by interactions with other proteins
to orchestrate the appropriate response
to various stresses. We have identified a
number of proteins using a TAP-tagging
procedure which appear to bind specifically to Atf1 or Pap1 upon stress. We
are trying to understand how these
interactions affect stress-induced transcription of the target genes.
In addition to altering their programme
of gene expression, cells also respond
to stress more directly through the modulation of post-translational modifications. Some of these responses are
mediated by the Sty1 MAP kinase. We
have identified new targets of this
kinase which are currently being characterised. Previous work has shown that
Sty1 also plays a role in cell cycle progression and we are investigating how
this kinase interacts with the cell cycle
machinery.
Cell Regulation Group - L to R: Wolfgang Breitwieser, Julien Ackerman,
Nic Jones (group head, Director) Jessica Worthington, Dominic James, Caroline Wilkinson,
Amna Butt, Gemma Thornton, Steve Lyons, Keren Dawson
Student Report
Claire Johnson
Life in Manchester began for me in
September 2002, when I was in the
Paterson for all of 20 minutes before
being whisked off with the other newbies
to the delights of the annual Colloquium
in Ambleside. Although a touch daunting, I will say it was a good way to be
introduced to everyone and for getting to
know those in my lab.
I joined John Gallagher’s lab to work on
the study of heparan sulphate proteoglycans (wake up at the back those of you
snoring) in mouse embryonic stem cells
and their role in the early developmental
processes that ES cells lend themselves
to studying. Suffice to say it’s been an
extremely rewarding project and I feel
I’ve helped establish a new wing of the
HS field. But that’s enough of the science stuff, apparently I’m supposed to
tell you what life has been like for the
Paterson PhD student.
The Paterson is unique in that its student
community is separate from the
University, which means everyone knows
everyone, and we can generally be
counted on to be found around a pool
table in the Golden when life at the
bench becomes too much…
Lez Fairbairn
Manchester is also a great city to live in
right now; many of you will know that I
house-share with Kelly and Aga, and
over the years we’ve all had great fun
going to various shows, sporting events,
concerts and many many bars etc. Can’t
recommend it highly enough. (Could be
slightly less grey, but that is my only bugbear). Now, if only I could think of something wise and insightful to say with my
last thirty words! Ah well, if anyone wishes to know anything else, mine’s a G and
T…
Claire at the Copacabana
One Year In
Last September, two new students started on the Paterson Four-Year PhD Scheme. Students spend their first year ‘rotating’ around three
different labs within the institute before starting their final PhD project. We asked Claire and Martin how they have found their first year so far.
Martin Brandenburg
My first year here was much more than
just settling down in a new Institute; I
was starting a PhD, moving to another
country and starting work in a new field
of research. The rotation programme I
passed through helped me to meet lots
of people and see three different labs. I
started in Structural Cell Biology last
September and moved to Mitotic Spindle
Function at the beginning of this year. At
the moment I’m in the Clinical and
Experimental Pharmacology group. With
this selection I saw three very different
groups and had a very good experience
in all of them. But life is not only about
work; I really enjoy Manchester and its
surrounding landscape. Living in the
south of Manchester makes it easy to
escape from the town as you know. In
the end I would like to thank everyone
who helped me feel at home in the
doing in Chester, arm wrestling at 2 in
the morning was definitely not one of
them, but then I wasn’t expecting to witness pole dancing in York
either!!! I’ve really enjoyed
working in all three of my
rotation labs, and settling in
here has been really easy,
largely due to Friday night
pool and pints in the Golden!
Outside of work, I’m liking
Manchester life a lot, even
though I found I had to
change my surname to
“Rooney, no relation”! I’ve
joined a hockey team in
Didsbury (I’m hoping this
Claire and Martin enjoying a Chinese meal
will make me a force to be
reckoned with in the
Claire Rooney
rounders!!) and I’m more than able to
I started at the Paterson back in find my way around the Trafford centre
September, just in time for the colloqui- on payday so I’m happy staying out here
um. Of all the things I thought I might be for another few years!
Institute and gave me a warm welcome.
Greetings Martin
Schools Day
On Saturday the 23rd of April, 24
sixth form students from eight local
schools spent the day at the institute
getting their hands dirty (obviously
not literally, Colin) doing some practical experiments. The day was organised by Lez Fairbairn with the intention of enthusing bright youngsters
from the area, who might then consider science as a career. Lez admits
the sad fact that the idea was concocted in conjunction with his wife
(whom some of you may remember
as Andrea Campbell – an erstwhile
technician in the old Dexter lab),
whilst they were having coffee at the
Natural History Museum in New York
during their honeymoon – talk about
a busman’s holiday!
Lez Fairbairn (Centre) Pictured with Louise Earley, (Left) All Hallows RC High School,
Macclesfield - and Becky Marchmont - Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham
In all, four practicals were set up: Advanced microscopy - run by Steve Bagley, where students got to make timelapse videos of cells migrating and dividing; Yeast genetics- run by Iain Hagan and his group, with students looking
at segregation of traits during meiosis; DNA Sequencing and bioinformatics course - where Stuart Pepper and Claire
Wilson took students through the various on-line databases, and also showed off all the cool toys in the Molecular
Biology Core Facility; PCR and restriction digestion – based in the KK, with students getting to run their own reactions and gels. A number of our students and postdocs, (Danielle
Foulston, Jo Libby, Tom Southgate
and Stephen Wharton) provided
hands-on help.
The day was a great success, with
highly positive feedback both from
students and the schools. Several
schools have already been back in
contact to book their places for next
year, and the idea is to have an even
bigger and better event next Spring.
So, be warned that come September,
Lez will be looking for other groups to
provide some hands-on experience
for students.
Martin McQuade(St Bede's) Ros Whileley (Withington Girls' School )
HR Update
Meetings
Cancer Research UK North of England Regional Researcher’s Meeting - 25-26 April 2005, York.
Anna Pearson
The HR Department has now doubled in
size with Laura Humes recently joining
us as an HR Assistant. Laura is based
with me in the HR Office on the second
floor and together we aim to provide a
more proactive and efficient service. As
such, I thought it might be useful to clarify what services we provide.
Laura Humes - HR Assistant
Laura will be dealing with annual leave
and sickness queries, recruitment
administration such as arranging interviews and obtaining references, preemployment medicals and accommodation issues. She will also be providing
assistance to new starters who are relocating to the area by contacting letting
agents, schools, nurseries etc. If you
have any queries on any of these issues,
Laura can be contacted by email on
lhumes@picr.man.ac.uk or by phone on
ext. 3124.
I am responsible for advising on issues
relating to disciplinary and grievance,
respect at work, maternity and paternity,
redundancy and redeployment, terms
and conditions, employment legislation,
pay and grading, improving working
lives, agenda for change and providing a
confidential advisory service to individual
members of staff who wish to seek guidance on employment matters. I am also
responsible for undertaking employment
checks with the Criminal Records
Bureau and for obtaining work permits. I
can
be
contacted
on
apearson@picr.man.ac.uk, ext. 3231 or
you can drop by the office to see either
of us.
Employee Assistance Programme
The Employee Assistance Programme
(EAP) now includes a new interactive
website. From 1st August 2005, you
and your family household members can
log onto www.ppc-askwell.com 24/7 to
access up to date online health programmes, test your fitness levels and
find out about such things as how to
improve your sleep, diet or work-life balance. You will find tips on how to incorporate changes to your daily life that will
improve health. You can also access topical and practical articles written by
medical professionals. As with all other
EAP services the website is free, totally
confidential and backed up by a 24/7
support help line. Look out for posters
about this around the Institute or contact
the HR office for info.
Spotlight On Histology
Garry Ashton
For the people who didn’t know, there
have been several changes recently in
the unit, from upgrades of the existing
equipment to the acquisition of a new
tissue microarray platform.
The benefit of the platform is that it
allows for the generation of multiple
specimen slides that contain potentially
hundreds of individual tissues, which
allows for high throughput microscopic
studies whilst also conserving valuable
material and making standardisation of
methodology much simpler.
A cryostat used for cutting frozen sections, with improved anti-roll plate and
blade systems and a multi programmable Leica automated stainer, capable of
storing several protocols have replaced
existing equipment. Also a tissue processor, which relies on specific gravity to
asses the quality of reagents being used
in the processing schedule and which
ultimately leads to improved results has
also been introduced.
ogy office. The microscope will soon
have a camera attached and is available
to anybody requiring the use of a basic
light microscope and camera.
Linked to the new equipment, the unit
now participates in an external quality
assessment program to ensure high
standards are achieved in the key areas
of fixation, processing, microtomy and
staining.
As you are all probably aware the unit
also houses the Arcturus PixCell II laser
capture microdissection system. With
this we have successfully isolated specific cell populations based on morphology
from tissue sections, which then allows
expression analysis on the Affymetrix
platform. In conjunction with the MBCF
we are currently validating protocols and
the kits available that will allow us to use
lower numbers of isolated cells based on
their immunophenotype.
Finally a Leitz double headed teaching
microscope in now located in the histol-
In April Cancer Research UK held its annual
regional meeting, this time covering the North
of England. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for CR-UK funded
researchers across the North of England to
meet each other and potentially develop new
collaborations. PICR was well represented in
the program with talks from Iain Hagan, Arek
Welman,
Tom
Southgate,
Wolfgang
Breitwieser, Angeliki Malliri and our newest
group leader, Clemens Schmitt. In the student session both Marlon Seenath and Aga
Gambus gave excellent talks.
The meeting was held within the picturesque
Museum Gardens with lunch provided in the
13th Century Hospitium, which is thought to
be the oldest timber framed building in York
(see picture).
There were many thought provoking talks,
and Herbie Newell provided both a stimulating opening presentation and a neat summing up of the meeting. Despite the high
quality of the science, however, it is likely that
the longest lasting memories were generated
during the dancing after the formal dinner at
the Royal York Hotel.
Conference delegates enjoying lunch in the sunshine in front of the Hospitium.
1st International MGMT Meeting - 6-8th August, 2005, Keele Conference Centre
This meeting will be the first of its kind, and there will be presentations from many, indeed most, of the leaders in this field.
Geoff Margison is organising the event which will cover every aspect of MGMT, from structure, regulation and function to gene
therapy. Further details can be found on the Paterson external webpages.
Paterson Colloquium. - 21-23rd September 2005, Ambleside.
The deadline for registration has now passed, however the deadline for abstracts is 26th August! If you have any queries or
require any further information, please contact Julie Hallett on x3113.
National Cancer Research Institute Conference. -
2-5 October 2005, International Convention Centre Birmingham.
The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) has announced the first in what is planned to be a series of meetings that aim
to provide a major international forum in the UK for the dissemination of research advances in cancer across all disciplines. This
event will be the biggest conference of its kind ever to be held in the UK.
The establishment of the NCRI brought together for the first time the major cancer research funding bodies from the government, charity and industrial sectors to form a true partnership. Its purpose is to accelerate and advance improvements for the
benefit of cancer patients, by engaging with the whole UK cancer research community.
Caron Abbey & Garry Ashton
The deadline for abstract submission has now passed, however the deadline for discounted early registration is not until 29 July.
Further details of the meeting are available on the NCRI website: www.ncri.org.uk
Staff News
Retrojet
Staff News
Barrow To Keswick Walk
Bet you didn't know that we have a rock
star in our midst!!
Jon Deakin (Medical Oncology) plays
lead guitar in 'Retrojet', along with his
friends Dave and Shell Caddick on bass
and vocals respectively, Steve Crompton
on rhythm guitar and Brian on drums.
They play locally, with past venues
including The Red Lion, Old Cock Inn,
Wheatsheaf in Altrincham and Bakers
Vaults in Stockport. They will be appearing at the South Manchester Music
Festival in Altrincham in mid-July and
Bullstock Festival in Stalybridge in the
summer. The music is contemporary
rock such as the Manics, Morrisette, The
White Stripes, Kravitz and the odd Black
Sabbath oldie. All gigs are free to attend
and usually involve a half lager (and the
rest!) at some point in the proceedings!
Posters are placed on notice boards
around the Institute prior to gigs, so go
along and show your support! If you
want to hire them for your own event
they charge £150 (1% discount for
Paterson staff!!) - speak to Jon on x3819.
Very many congratulations to all those who took part in the
Keswick to Barrow walk recently (40 miles in a single day
through the Lake District). 1212 people started the walk and
1008 finished this year, with the whole event hopefully raising
over £100,000 for local and national charities, with the
Paterson team raising over £1000 for Christies against Cancer.
The team came 44th out of 171 in the overall team competition (pretty impressive!). They also came 16th out of 49 in the
"Outsiders" team competition for non-Cumbrian teams.
The final position and times were:
Welcome to new members of staff who have recently joined us:
Bilal Bham, Immunology
Stephanie Briers, Stem Cell Biology
Phil Crosbie, Carcinogenesis
Lucy Dalton, Cell Signalling
Fiona Gardiner, Structural Cell Biology
Claire Graham, Medical Oncology
Cassandra Hagarty, CEP
Laura Humes, Administration
Robert Lord, Clinical Research
Tristan McKay, Kay Kendall Laboratories
Michal Okoniewski, Bioinformatics
Daniela Rosa, Medical Oncology
minibus on the day; Starlabs, Bioline and everyone who sponsored the team! More information on the walk (history, route,
fastest
time
etc.)
is
on
the
website
(www.keswick2barrow.co.uk). Many (if not all) intend to try to
better this year's performance next time round when it will be
the 40th anniversary of the walk. So if you feel the urge to join
in, please feel free to contact Darren on x3036.
Robert Sobczak, BRU
Sophie Summers, Clinical Research
Stefano Vernarecci, Mitotic Spindle
Function
Jessica Worthington, Cell Regulation
Liqun Zhang, Mass Spectrometry
238
Gavin Wilson (09:28:54)
239
Arek Welman (09:29:15)
373
Eduardo Castaneda Saucedo (10:24:05)
965
Chris Lamanna (14:44:32)
966
Lourdes Ponce Perez (14:44:42)
967
Darren Roberts (14:44:56)
968
Helen Sanderson (14:45:04)
969
Stephen Wharton (14:45:07)
With two retirements due to injury - Chris Morrow (27 miles)
and Dan Tennant (33 miles).
Grateful thanks go to Martin Dawson who drove the support
Great Manchester Run
Anyone For Rugby
Sale FC 1st XV (not the Sharks!) won
the South Lancashire and Cheshire 3
(League) and were promoted as
Champions. They currently play at
Heywood Road, Sale (former Sale
Sharks ground) and have all the Sale
Sharks professional equipment (very
impressive Clubhouse, including new
gym, squash courts, darts team and a
brand new multi million pound rugby
training facility down the road). They
are currently looking for fresh blood (not
literally) - training is on Mondays and
Thursdays, with indoor training for
cold/wet winter nights! All standards
are catered for and there are 3 teams
playing in various leagues and at various standards (ranging from former
professionals to beginners). It is an
excellent set up with professional facili-
ties and there are regular celebrity
coaches including Sales Sharks professional coaches, current professional
players and England Academy coaches.
The season is finished for the moment
but pre-season starts in July, so if anyone is interested in joining or wants further information, please contact Martin
Chadwick (x3137).
Women's Running Network
For anyone that is interested in boosting
their fitness levels, Claire Wilson is
involved with the South Manchester
Group from the Women's Running
Network
Congratulations to all those members of staff who were
amongst the 20,000 people taking part in the Great
Manchester Run on May 22nd, running a very impressive
10K!. Many thanks to everyone who sponsored them, helping
to raise lots of money for numerous good causes, including of
course, cancer research!
Well done to:
Wolfgang Breitwieser
Kelly Chiang
Jon Chung
-
51:25
59:28
45.13
Rob Clarke
Hedley Coppock
Adam Dangor
Ben Hodgson
David Knowles
Jo Libby
Guy Makin
Steve Pearson
Emma Saunders
Claire Wilson
-
53:52
47:31
53:08
52:18
42:55
1:04:00
42:31
59:58
1:02:22
51:02
and everyone else who was brave enough to enter....
Congratulations To:
(http://www.wrn-north.co.uk/). It is
based at the Northern Lawn Tennis
Club on Palatine Road and a beginners
walk to run group has recently started
on a Monday and Thursday evening at
6:30pm. Two other sessions are run as
well, also on Monday and Thursday
evenings and if you want any more
information, please contact Claire on
x8218.
Cassandra Hagarty (CEP) who got engaged to Adam Hodgkinson (of Central Manchester
and Manchester Children's University Hospital) on 15th March, 2005. They plan to wed
early in 2006 in Cassandra's home town of Dubbo, NSW, Australia.
Anna Pearson (HR Manager) and Justin Haylock on their engagement on 20 May, 2005.
Justin whisked Anna off to Vienna for her birthday and got down on bended knee outside
the Hofburg Palace to 'pop the question'! Naturally Anna said 'yes' and they will be getting married in the next couple of years!!
Items for the newsletter
If anyone would like to submit an article to the Newsletter or has information for the 'Staff News' section, we would love to hear
from you. Equally, if you have any feedback about the new format of our Newsletter or ideas for future issues, then we would
really like to hear your views! Please contact Elaine on x3101, or via emercer@picr.man.ac.uk.
Photography by: Steve Royle, Jenny Varley & Geoff Margison
Steve Lyons (Cell Regulation) and his wife Jo (a Registrar working at the Christie Hospital)
on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Hannah on 24th April, 2005, weighing in at a
healthy 7lbs. As you can see from the photo, she seems very content with her lot!!!
Hannah Lyons