Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

15/10/2026

Yesterday, the Government announced an expert review of progress in brain cancer, due to report within three months and to be followed by a national action plan, after meeting with campaigner Archie Goodburn.

Professor Richard Gilbertson and Dr Richard Mair joined Archie at the meeting with the Prime Minister, calling for faster progress and better treatments for brain cancer patients.

📺 Professor Richard Gilbertson spoke with BBC Breakfast this morning to discuss the urgent need to accelerate brain cancer research. Tune in from 2:23:00 - https://lnkd.in/ezPaeAzN

🔗 Read the announcement: https://lnkd.in/eg-4uSDi

01/10/2026

Today we are celebrating the news that Prof Maike de la Roche, Senior Group Leader at the Institute, has been promoted to Research Professor.

Congratulations Maike! 🎉

Read more:
https://www.cruk.cam.ac.uk/news/maike-de-la-roche-promoted-to-research-professor/

02/09/2026

Are you our next Director? We’re looking for an inspirational scientific leader who is ready to shape the direction of our Institute.

This is your chance to head up one of the world's leading centres for cancer discovery research, core-funded by Cancer Research UK and a department of the University of Cambridge.

In this highly autonomous and collaborative role, you will:

+ Provide inspirational scientific leadership to the Institute
+ Guide major research investments
+ Oversee the development of new scientific capabilities
+ Serve as a Senior Group Leader at the Institute
+ Work with industry and NHS partners at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and beyond

Applications should be submitted by midday on 19 October 2026 and final interviews are set to take place in January 2027.

For more details on the role and how to apply, see: https://wittkieffer.com/positions/a1wun0000022oohmau

29/07/2026

New research published this week seeks to unravel the mechanism by which inflammatory bowel disease promotes cancer growth.

The paper in Nature from Elisa Moutin and the STORMing Cancer team, funded by Cancer Grand Challenges in 2018, presents new findings that suggest therapeutic approaches modulating the clonal composition of chronically inflamed tissue by promoting no oncogenic mutations could help prevent tumour initiation.

Read the paper here:

This study uses a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease to explore how mutations and cellular context combine to drive the transition to malignancy.

28/07/2026

With a strong interest in the power of the epigenome, Su moved into cancer research at the CI where she now works in our Mair Group.

Find out about her vital work on brain cancer in the latest episode of our Behind the Lab Coat series.

27/07/2026

New findings published in Nature could explain why some people are more susceptible to cancer than others in the same environment.

The research, an international collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh and others around Europe and the US, suggests why DNA damage from smoking, UV rays and other factors may cause cancer in some people but not others.

Find out more: https://www.cruk.cam.ac.uk/news/study-reveals-how-our-inherited-genes-interact-with-dna-damage-to-drive-cancer/

20/07/2026

We are seeking a Research Data Manager to join our IT and Scientific Computing team.

This is an exciting chance to create and implement data management standards helping to ensure the integrity, security, and quality of our research data. In this role, you will also assist in the joint analysis of multiple datasets from different Core Facilities and research projects across the Institute.

Find out more and apply: https://www.cruk.cam.ac.uk/vacancies/research-data-manager/

03/07/2026

Researchers from the Halim Group have discovered that cancer can "hijack" a cellular repair partnership in the pancreas to help tumours grow.

A new paper published this week in Science looks at the connection between ILC2s and fibroblasts in the pancreas and how their typical communication is impacted by the presence of cancer cells.

Read the paper: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aea5113?af=R

09/06/2026

How do our T cells become efficient cancer killers?

New research from the de la Roche Group has uncovered a previously unknown element of the Hedgehog signalling pathway that enhances T cells' ability to destroy infected and cancerous cells.

Their study shows the pathway could be tuned to make T cells more effective, opening new possibilities for immunotherapy, including CAR T-cell treatments.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s44319-026-00810-8

05/06/2026

In his role as a Senior Research Associate, computer scientist Michail helps his colleagues in the Gilbertson Group train and utilise AI models to assist their vital research.

Find out more in the latest Behind the Lab Coat.