Sheffield Vs Cancer: Jigsaws, Factories and Food

Being able to determine the likelihood of getting a certain cancer would be quite useful, especially if the cancer was one of the three most occurring cancers worldwide. One of the causes of bowel cancer is the consumption of red meat, which contains chemicals that can change the structure of the building blocks of our DNA. If we could create replicates of these modified building blocks, then we have the tools to accurately calculate the total number of these modifications in any human DNA sample and decide if the human is at risk of developing bowel cancer.

Cancer is caused by cells mutating so they continue to reproduce when that is not needed. This growth needs nutrients, oxygen and communication with the body. We identify targets – parts of cells essential for those processes - and then use computer modelling to predict their shape. We can then design drug molecules that bind tightly to them and block their function, like a well-fitting piece of a jigsaw. In this talk, I will explain the way that targets are identified, and how my research group is working to develop drugs to block functions of a hormone involved in over half of cancers.

This talk will bring you on a tour of the cell factories that produce biologics, which are some of the most effective drugs in our fight against diseases like cancer. We'll explore why these drugs are important, why they're so difficult to produce, and the work scientists are doing to turn the cells producing them into perfect miniaturised drug factories.