Ground-breaking cancer and Parkinson’s research team given 5 year funding boost

Dundee-based researchers with a track record of devising treatments for deadly diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s – whose work has crowded in £60 million in investment to date – are receiving further backing from the government to continue their vital work for a further 5 years, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle will announce today (Thursday 5 September). 

The Medical Research Council’s Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC PPU) will receive nearly £30 million of funding allocated from UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) to bolster its cell biology research centre as it continues its vital work over the next 5 years. 

Currently, the 200-strong scientific community of staff and students based at the University of Dundee are using cutting-edge technology and biochemistry to explore how signals transmitted within the body’s cells are disrupted. Working closely with industry, Dundee’s unit has been a fundamental part of the development and clinical approval of over 40 drugs that are now widely used to treat patients, attracting almost £60 million in private investment. It is just one example cementing Scotland’s place at the forefront of the UK government’s plans to make Britain a powerhouse for life sciences that attracts international investment and drives forward the deployment of discoveries that grow the economy, create prosperity across the country and improve lives and public services.

Improving our understanding of the processes within cells could be the key to unlocking the scientific basis of innovative treatments for a range of diseases – from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to Crohn’s and coeliac disease.  Their work has already delivered a drug that is now widely used to treat skin cancer.

The new funding comes ahead of the Science and Technology Secretary addressing higher education representatives at the Universities UK conference at the University of Reading, where he will reflect on his personal experience in higher education and will give his full-throated backing to the sector as a vehicle for much-needed economic growth.  

He will also outline his vision for DSIT, and the crucial role universities can play in this, harnessing discoveries and innovations for novel therapies and technologies, like those developed in Dundee, that could transform patients’ lives and drive economic growth.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 

“I went to university later in life than most, but when I did it changed everything for me. It was the first time in my life that people saw potential in me that I never knew I had, and gave me the support and focus I needed to build something from it. The value of our universities, to the economy and to the whole of society, cannot be overstated. 

“As we embark on a decade of national renewal, the higher education sector has a profound role to play in every piece of work we’ll need to do, to build a Britain that delivers for working people: from seizing the potential of clean energy to rebuilding the NHS. I will always champion our universities. They are society’s most powerful engines for innovation, aspiration, economic growth and the creation of better lives for all – which is why investing in their work, like this £30m in funding, is so important.” 

Science Minister Lord Vallance said: 

“The work at the University of Dundee, which we are announcing support for today, is proof of how deep expertise, effective links with industry, and the power of curiosity can deliver meaningful improvements to people’s lives, while also driving economic growth across the UK.

“This funding puts the unit on track to strive for still more health breakthroughs, that could help more patients live longer and healthier lives.” 

Working with other companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, the team was central to developing a drug now widely used to treat melanoma, and a promising new drug for Parkinson’s disease is in clinical trials as a result of the team’s globally recognise work, investigating the condition to discover potential causes and treatments. 

Universities are vital to the government’s mission to boost our economy and transform healthcare services with world-class science and research. They are at the heart of our research strengths, underpinning key sectors including life sciences. Backing university-based researchers, like the team at the University of Dundee, will ensure that they can continue unlocking the technologies and therapies that could be life-changing to patients, and which drive economic growth and productivity. 

Professor Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC PPU said:  

“We are incredibly grateful for the long-term support that our Unit has received from the MRC over the last 34 years. This has enabled our researchers to tackle the most important questions and greatly contributed to our understanding of how derailment of biological pathways causes human diseases including neurodegeneration, diabetes, cancer, and immune dysfunction.  

“Our mission for the next 5 years will be to work with leading research centres, clinicians, and pharmaceutical companies to translate our discoveries into clinical progress and accelerate drug discovery. Whilst doing this research we aim to provide our staff with a unique training opportunity working in a collaborative multidisciplinary environment paying attention to improving culture and development best practices.” 

Professor Patrick Chinnery, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, said:  

“The MRC are proud to be investing for a further 5 years in the exceptional research of the MRC PPU in Dundee. They are leaders in conducting rigorous fundamental research and then working with industry to translate those breakthroughs for patient benefit. The MRC PPU have an outstanding culture of collaboration and sharing their leading research expertise, products and techniques with the wider scientific community.”