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New research unit using digital technology to fight cancer

profjamesA new cancer research unit set up at the University of Warwick will use digital technology to try and find new treatments for the disease.

The Unit will also bring together expertise from mathematicians, physicists and engineers to further develop cancer research.

Collaborative relationships will also be set up with researchers and clinicians at the University of Birmingham and NHS partners University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and University Hospitals Birmingham.

Director of the Cancer Research Unit, Professor Nick James said: “Warwick already has substantial existing expertise in the field of cancer research and this Unit is bringing together all those elements. We aim to develop more effective diagnostic tools and integrate digital technology to find new ways of researching and treating cancer.”

The Unit will draw on key technologies including DNA extraction and sequencing, tissue storage and processing and image analysis. The University of Warwick is already working with UHCW and GE Healthcare to develop and evaluate digital pathology for both experimental and routine clinical applications. Working again with UHCW, GE Healthcare and Coventry City Council, Warwick has developed the Warwick Health Partnership Breast Cancer Pathway to provide a more integrated approach to the management of breast cancer patients and an educational platform for both students and industry.

Professor James added: “This new Unit is really bringing a new approach to cancer research, bringing together and co-ordinating all these fields of research will create a substantial critical mass of expertise and experience."

Notes to editors

For more information please contact Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Policy, University of Warwick, p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk, 024 7652 3708, 07767 655860

21 October 2014

Further Information:

Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Policy, University of Warwick, p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk 024 7652 3708, 07767 655860

Useful Links:

Cancer Research Unit

Warwick Medical School

Professor Nick James