Thanks to your support, NBCRC researchers are making strides in understanding and treating breast cancer.

Medical-research-pipette

All of the kind donations to the Nottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre go towards supporting its research; helping to improve the understanding of breast cancer and develop cutting-edge therapies. Each pilot grant awarded is worth £10,000 and over the course of twelve months, generates essential information contributing to important publications and breakthroughs. The application process is extremely rigorous and takes into account the views and experiences of a panel of breast cancer patients, as well as an external panel of internationally recognised breast cancer experts.

Dr Jennifer Ashworth was awarded a pilot grant in 2021, thanks to generous donations from supporters like you.

Dr Ashworth aimed to predict which breast cancer cells are most likely to spread by adapting a technique originally used to study wound healing. By identifying the most dangerous cells early, she hoped to find new ways to stop them before they spread further. This would help to develop faster, more personalised treatment decisions and better outcomes for patients.

Dr Jennifer Ashworth

The grant has enabled the research and analysis of protein networks in breast tumours and their role in cancer cell spread. Following the research, it’s now thought that cancer cells use these networks to “talk” to each other and move together around the body. NBCRC has recruited a PhD student to study this in detail, helping them to use this new knowledge to design new treatments.

This has been instrumental in launching Dr Ashworth’s career – leading to the award of an Anne McLaren fellowship, and establishing her research group, which now has three students working on breast cancer projects. She has been awarded funding from Animal Free Research UK, funding her current work into more patient-relevant ways of studying breast cancer in the lab.

2025 Pilot Grants Awarded

Dr Jason Adhikaree, honorary consultant medical oncologist at NUH and clinical associate professor at the University of Nottingham, is one of this year's recipients. His study will analyse changes in blood samples from breast cancer patients before and after treatment to better assess effectiveness and monitor progress.

Dr Adhikaree said,

I would like to thank the NBCRC for the opportunity to initiate this exciting research and I appreciate the hard work and emotional investment the fundraisers have made to open the door for such opportunities.
Dr Jason Adhikaree

Dr Andy Green is studying a special type of cell death called ferroptosis to see if it plays a role in luminal breast cancer, the most common type. By looking at nearly 3,000 tumour samples and testing cancer cells in the lab, he hopes to find new ways to stop the cancer from growing or coming back.

Finally, Dr Sarah Storr has also been awarded one of the 2025 pilot grants. She is developing 3D-printed “bone-like” models to study how breast cancer cells travel to, survive in, and grow within bones. By examining the genes and chemical signals in individual cancer cells, her work aims to reveal new ways to stop cancer spreading to the bone and improve treatments for patients with advanced breast cancer.

Speaking about the grant, Dr Storr told us,

I want to thank all of our supporters for allowing this research to be funded – your support allows us to get exciting new research up and running.
Dr Sarah Storr

Click here to find out more about the pilot grant research conducted by NBCRC.

If you would like to make a donation to NBCRC, you can do so here.