Our latest blog comes courtesy of Dr Bryony Lloyd one of our team of researchers at the Liverpool Cancer Research Centre.
As a bioinformatician Bryony plays an essential role processing genetic data collected during trials which provide the ground work for further studies. Thanks to support from Clatterbridge Cancer Research (CCR), the team were recently able to purchase a Gene Reading ‘Super Computer'. In this post Bryony writes about the impact the arrival of the super computer has had on the team’s work.
"The super computer is allowing us to process the massive amounts of data we are dealing with at a much accelerated rate. It is an essential part of unlocking the data produced by the Gene Reader and allows the CCR team to remain at the forefront of the fight against cancer and inspire new directions on our research.
The first area of our work to fully utilise this equipment is our research into pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer does not cause any significant early symptoms and because most patients are not diagnosed until it is at an advanced stage, the cancer has often spread to other areas of the body. The only effective treatment is early surgery; and this means that more effective screening is desperately needed.
The CCR team is focused on identifying inherited ‘susceptibility genes’ by looking at families with a history of pancreatic cancer. Using the Gene Reader to sequence the entire genetic code of a group of affected patients, we are able to compare their genetic make-up with that of their unaffected children/siblings. This research is attempting to identify the gene that is present in the individuals who have pancreatic cancer, but is absent in their healthy relatives, allowing us to identify and monitor those most ‘at risk’ and diagnose the cancer before it has a chance to spread and therefore greatly increasing rates of survival.
Even at this early state, the ‘Super Computer’ has made a massive difference to our work already. In the coming months, we hope to begin using it in our research into Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia and Head and Neck Cancer."
Best wishes,
Bryony
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Previous scientists:
Shirley's Blog
Janic's Blog