Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2005

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2005 has certainly been an eventful year in the Paterson I reported last year the results of our quinquennial
review in July 2004 which resoundingly endorsed
Institute. Great progress has been made in strengthening inter-
our development and progress during the previous
actions between the Institute and other research activities in five years but also highlighted the enormous
Manchester which has led to the exciting development of the potential for the Institute and more generally for
cancer research in Manchester by closely integrat-
Manchester Cancer Research Centre.
ing our research efforts with those of the
University of Manchester and the Christie NHS
Trust. During 2005 very significant progress towards such integration has been made.
Agreement has been reached for the transfer of the Institute from the Christie NHS
Trust to the University although it will retain its current level of operational autonomy.
Many practical issues needed to be resolved in order for the transfer to take place but
through the concerted efforts of many, agreement was finalised in late December and the
transfer will take effect on the 1st January, 2006. This transfer heralds the establishment
of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) which will integrate the cancer
research efforts of the University including the Paterson with those of the Christie NHS
Trust and Cancer Research UK.
Nic Jones, Director of
the Paterson Institute
Director’s Introduction
The timing of this development is most opportune. Over the last few years unprecedented
advances have been made in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of many cancers and thereby
providing real opportunities for the development of more effective and safer therapies and more meaningful
and informative diagnostics. To realise these opportunities, an interdisciplinary approach where scientists
and clinicians work closely together is vital and lies at the heart of the MCRC. The MCRC will
increase its activities and strengths in basic, translational and clinical research and focus its efforts into a
number of research themes/programmes the overlapping nature of which will facilitate integration of laboratory-based
research into the clinically important areas of cancer therapeutics, diagnostics and individualisation
of therapy. This will require significant new investment in cancer research and research facilities
over the next five years centred at the Christie site and thereby closely integrated with the Paterson. These
exciting plans and the opportunities they provide are 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 facilitates the development of extensive translational and clinical research programmes.
The development of the MCRC and the strong partnerships it represents, will maximise our ability to fully
achieve these goals.
During the year we lost two group leaders.
Elmar Schiebel moved to the University of
Heidelberg to take up a professorship at the
Zentrum fur Moleculare Biologie. Elmar contributed
greatly to the reputation and international
recognition of the Institute and will be
greatly lost. He is an outstanding scientist and
has made a number of seminal findings related
to the complex orchestration of events that
regulate cell cycle progression in mitosis and
ensures faithful chromatid segregration. We
also lost Lez Fairbairn who died suddenly
from a heart attack. It was a massive shock to
all of us particularly given his relatively young
age. Lez was a superb scientist and a fantastic
colleague. He was an early pioneer of gene therapy approaches to cancer treatment at the Paterson and
contributed much to this research area nationally and internationally which earned him considerable
Lez Fairbairn (centre) Pictured with Louise Earley (left) All Hallows RC High School,
Macclesfield - and Becky Marchmont - Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham
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