Cancer Research Centre pushes Sheffield to the forefront of new discoveries
World class research and medical expertise is pushing the Sheffield Cancer Research Centre to the forefront of new discoveries helping more people beat cancer.
An evening of celebration will take place tomorrow (Wednesday 29 February 2012) to showcase how research into the devastating disease is making a major leap forward following the formation of the Centre last October.
More than 250 specially invited guests including patients and their relatives from across the region will attend the event at Firth Hall during which Centre Director, Professor Rob Coleman, Head of Clinical Oncology at the University of Sheffield, will enlighten visitors about the history and vision for the future of cancer research.
Sheffield is already setting the pace for national and international progress in many different types of cancer, with particular interest in breast and lung cancers and a strong focus on the spread of cancers to the bones.
Professor Rob Coleman said: "The Centre is an exciting development for cancer research in the Sheffield area. It is building on Sheffield's world class research status, bringing together a variety of researchers and clinicians to work together to improve the lives of cancer patients across South Yorkshire and beyond.
"This event will give us our first opportunity for members of the public to come together and hear about the scale and importance of the work being carried out here. I am proud to be able to share with them how the newly created Centre is helping us take this to an even higher level that will lead to improved treatments for patients."
The Centre, which is run in partnership with the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Yorkshire Cancer Research and Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, is one of 17 Cancer Research Centres in the UK which strives to provide the best possible results for cancer patients nationwide.
Professor Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: "The fact that this work is and must continue to be of the highest quality is not only a question of academic rankings. It is crucial to the lives and well-being of all those who are dependent on our work – and there can be few of us who have not been affected, either directly or indirectly, by cancer.
"Such enormous challenges require expertise, innovation, outstanding talent and willing collaboration, and I believe we have these in abundance. We particularly welcome our partnerships with the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, our funders and other academic institutions. We are also thrilled to be working closely with Cancer Research UK, Yorkshire Cancer Research and the Weston Park Cancer Charity who have all enabled this Centre to be established.
"The vital work we have ahead of us cannot be done by any of us alone. Together we have the qualities and the strengths to make a profound difference, and to change people's lives for the better."
The Sheffield Cancer Research Centre's clinical base is at Weston Park Hospital. It is one of only three dedicated cancer hospitals in the country, and links with laboratory facilities both within the Medical School and across the University of Sheffield.
Notes for Editors: With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK's leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance.In addition, the University has won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom's intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University's research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations. The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
Cancer Research UK and Yorkshire Cancer Research already support research in Sheffield, but Cancer Research UK is set to increase its contribution to over £2m a year to help develop the Centre. Yorkshire Cancer Research will increase its investment in Sheffield to over £1.5million per year.
About Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK Centres aim to establish a nationwide network of excellence that will provide the best possible outcomes for patients by linking research activity with patient care and public engagement. Each Centre will focus on specific areas of research and aim to raise standards of care and forge links with local communities.
• Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
• Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.
• Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients. Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.
• Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 020 7009 8820 or visit Cancer Research UK
About Yorkshire Cancer Research
• Yorkshire Cancer Research (YCR) is the only cancer charity whose main aim is to help Yorkshire people beat cancer.
• Yorkshire Cancer Research aims to be Yorkshire's cancer charity. Every penny raised is spent in Yorkshire, helping local people beat cancer and supporting world-class research, diagnosis and treatment in our region.
• Yorkshire Cancer Research works throughout Yorkshire and benefits Yorkshire people, in addition to sharing its findings and working in partnership with others to improve the lives of people worldwide.
• Yorkshire Cancer Research develops new scientific knowledge that will save lives through earlier diagnosis, prevention and better treatment of cancer.
• Yorkshire Cancer Research is one of the most cost efficient cancer research charities in the UK.
For further information about Yorkshire Cancer Research and how you can support us please visit title or call 01423 877210
About Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity
• Weston Park Hospital is the only dedicated cancer hospital in the region and one of only four in England. It houses the only radiotherapy department in South Yorkshire and provides cancer treatment services for patients from across the region, which means that people from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Worksop, Chesterfield, and beyond benefit from donations made to the charity.
• Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity is the only dedicated charity for Weston Park Hospital and exists to raise funds to help pay for world-class cancer research, cancer treatment and cancer care at the hospital. · Over the last 14 years, Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity has contributed £12m to Cancer Research, Treatments and Care at Weston Park Hospital.
For more information visit Western Park Hospital Cancer Charity
About Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is the UK's largest NHS Foundation Trust and one of the largest and busiest teaching hospital trusts. It cares for over a million patients each year across five hospitals and a variety of community venues around the city:
• Weston Park Cancer Hospital
• The Royal Hallamshire Hospital
• The Northern General Hospital
• Charles Clifford Dental Hospital
• Jessop Wing Maternity Hospital
It offers a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Sheffield as well as specialist services to patients from further afield. The Trust is recognised internationally for its work in neurosciences, spinal injuries, cancer, transplantation, neurosciences and orthopaedics. It is one of only a handful of hospital Trusts to have been awarded the highest rating of 'excellent' for both the quality of services and financial management, three years running.
For further information please contact: Amy Pullan, Media Officer, on 0114 222 9859 or email a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk