On Wednesday the 3rd of April 2019, myself and 30 other students, from Sir William Borlase\u2019s Grammar School, attended the Oxford University Oncology Open Day at the Cancer Research Centre, Oxford.
\n \n\n \n \nHow do we attract tomorrow\u2019s brightest research students?\r\nStep 1: Make sure they know we exist. We don\u2019t teach undergraduates; you can\u2019t study oncology at A\u2019 level. We need to give them a chance to explore how physics can cure cancer. How biology leads us to a better understanding of cancer, and how chemistry helps us design imaging agents that will guide therapy choices.
\n \n\n \n \nWhen Roald Dahl\u2019s beloved children\u2019s book character Charlie Bucket buys a Wonka bar and finds the final golden ticket, he starts his now famous journey of discovery at Willy Wonka\u2019s chocolate factory. Charlie, like most children, loves chocolate and his visit to the factory not only indulges his passion but also inspires deep scientific curiosity. In the end, the boy\u2019s humility and desire for discovery convinces Wonka to name Charlie as his successor.
\n \n\n \n \nGalileo is said to have muttered \u2018E pur, si muove!\u2019 \u2013 \u2018And yet, it moves\u2019 as he left the courtroom in which he had been forced to concede that the sun moved round a fixed earth. Today, these words could be used to under-pin the value of MR-Linacs in radiotherapy.
\n \n\n \n \nThe cure for cancer, often hailed as the holy grail of medical research; something everyone is searching for and no one is finding, doesn\u2019t actually exist.
\n \n\n \n \nReaders will remember the blog from Timo Reislander, who wrote about his time spent with the FROG group; in this guest blog we hear from Jean, Co-ordinator of the FROG
\n \n\n \n \nHow would you react if I told you I could calculate your age if I took a sample of your blood? I wouldn\u2019t be lying! Every day our cells are exposed to damaging agents that can cause harmful changes which accumulate over time and lead to ageing related diseases such as cancer. Quantifying these changes has allowed scientists to develop models that calculate a person\u2019s biological age, a measure of the \u201cwell-being\u201d of their cells.
\n \n\n \n \nResearchers are always encouraged to reach out and tell the story of their work outside the University. Researchers should not have all the fun!
\n \n\n \n \nI was a Final Year medical student when David Weatherall was appointed Professor of Haematology in Liverpool University in 1973. He was an outstanding Lecturer, extremely popular with the students and helped to make Haematology an exciting and popular subject.
\n \n\n \n \nResearchers James Allison and Tasuku Honjo have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for their pioneering work on cancer immunotherapy.\r\nHailed as a revolution in the treatment of cancer, immunotherapy works by boosting the body\u2019s natural defences against cancer. The immune system has an innate ability to seek out and destroy cancer cells. However, cancer cells can develop cunning ways to avoid this surveillance system.
\n \n\n \n \nIn October 1843 Ada Lovelace published a set of notes which included a description of an algorithm to compute Bernoulli numbers on Charles Babbage\u2019s analytical engine. Ada Lovelace Day in early October celebrates the achievements of women in science. It also marked the start of Sylvana Hassanieh\u2019s journey towards her PhD at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford.
\n \n\n \n \nWe work in cancer research. When all the lab work is done, our dream is that the long hours will lead to a change in cancer treatment and a better outcome for those who have to take the cancer journey. \r\nResearch is a scientific business often driven by personal goals, a mixture of curiosity and a desire to publish and build a career. But in our world there are people living with cancer today who have a very different set of desires for our work.
\n \n\n \n \nWe are slowly trickling back into labs and offices as we are approaching the end of the summer, and what better way to welcome the start of term than by looking back on one of our summer outreach efforts?
\n \n\n \n \nIn June, Claire Brooks attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago where the AspECT trial results were presented. She writes here about both the conference and the challenging process of getting the results published in time!
\n \n\n \n \nWe must reach out to the people who fund our work; some of these are adults across the UK who donate to Cancer Research UK or pay their taxes. Dr Mario Munoz Pinto (on the left in the photo below) reached out and found that one way to a parent\u2019s heart and mind may be through their children.
\n \n\n \n \nPublic engagement is not just for scientists. As Tim Coutts reports, public engagement with research is something everyone can get involved with.
\n \n\n \n \nOn Friday, 18th May the postdocs of the Department of Oncology met for their 6th Annual Away Day. The event was organised by the Oncology Postdoc Network Committee (OPN) and for the third year running, the event was held at the Oxford Martin School in the heart of Oxford on Broad Street.
\n \n\n \n \nApplying to Oxford is a daunting prospect. For many students in their last year of school, the idea of going to Oxford seems so far out of reach that it\u2019s not worth applying. For others, Oxford seems like a place where they couldn\u2019t fit in or make a success of their time here. A number of people have set out to challenge these perceptions. Amongst them The University itself and a teacher training scheme called \u2018Teach First\u2019.
\n \n\n \n \nI really like to participate in outreach programmes. It is a unique chance to master a short explanation of a complex scientific idea and present it to the public and a useful skill for both social and professional occasions.
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