MRC Molecular Pathology Node: Edinburgh-St Andrews Consortium for Molecular Pathology, Informatics and Genome Sciences - £2m

MRC Molecular Pathology Node: Edinburgh-St Andrews Consortium for Molecular Pathology, Informatics and Genome Sciences - £2m: July 2015

To support molecular pathology, the MRC and EPSRC have supported six nodes led by the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham. Each node brings researchers, clinicians and industry together to develop molecular diagnostic tools, to enable stratification, in disease areas such as cancer, respiratory diseases, digestive disease, infections, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and lupus.

The six nodes are collaborating with 20 industrial partners, including leading diagnostic and instrumentation companies and innovative technology and data SMEs.

Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive at the MRC, said: “These new tools are critical for selecting the right treatment for the right patient. Being able to precisely target a treatment means maximum benefit for the patient – they receive a treatment that works for them and with fewer unpleasant side effects. But it also delivers economic benefit because money and time are not wasted on ineffective treatments.”

The Edinburgh-St Andrews Consortium will bring molecular diagnostics into mainstream medicine by use of modern genome technologies and information across a range of diseases. The consortium will integrate state-of-the-art genomic and epigenomic methods for diagnosis of acutely ill children and will develop ‘liquid biopsies’ for managing cancer through analysis of circulating tumour DNA. The node provides funding for a Masters by Research in Molecular Pathology which will provide full support for student(s) to undertake a one year Masters Course.

For full details link to Press Release from MRC Division of Pathology