This year, our scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research help the ICR bring in the Queen’s Anniversary Prize.
The Institute of Cancer Research, where the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre is based, has been granted the highest national honour for further and higher education in the UK, for its innovative work in breast cancer.
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are granted every 2 years by The Monarch in recognition of outstanding work by UK colleges and universities. And this time, Breast Cancer Now-funded scientists and their achievements significantly contributed to this honour.
Dr Simon Vincent, our director of research, support and influencing, said:
“We’re incredibly proud that Breast Cancer Now funded researchers are at the core of the world-leading team at the ICR. Over the past 20 years, it's been fantastic to see how our funding has enabled discoveries that have transformed the way breast cancer is treated and diagnosed. This collaboration is key to making research breakthroughs that ensure women with breast cancer receive the best possible treatment and care. It’s only by working together that we’ll achieve our vision that by 2050 anyone diagnosed with breast cancer will live and be supported to live well.”
Honouring decades of research
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research have played a crucial role in important developments in breast cancer. The honour focused on how these discoveries have improved the lives of people with or at higher risk of breast cancer:
- By transforming the way that people with inherited BRCA gene changes are treated
- By leading the development of tests that enables people with ER-positive breast cancer to avoid unnecessary chemo, and showing that we can improve the effectiveness of hormone treatment
- By making scientific breakthroughs that changed the way radiotherapy is used in the disease
- By establishing the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study
Professor Andrew Tutt, Head of the Division of Breast Cancer Research and Director of the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“We’re so honoured to receive a Queen’s Anniversary Prize and proud that our hard work has been recognised. This award is a testament to the trust placed in us by our funders and the strong partnership between the ICR and The Royal Marsden, which makes practice-changing translational research possible.
“The ICR has been behind many important discoveries in breast cancer research, and we've seen huge progress in our understanding and our approaches to diagnosis and treatment. However, we still have much work to do, and we remain fully committed to extending and improving the lives of people with cancer.”