UCL awarded £4.2 million for stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy

UCL has been awarded £4.2 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to fund a Blood and Transplant Research Unit for stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy, due to launch in October 2015. All human blood cells begin as haematopoietic stem cells, and these can be used to develop treatments for genetic disorders and cancers that affect the blood. Haematopoietic stem cell transplants are often the only way to treat such diseases, but they carry significant risks. Following transplants, patients can suffer cancer relapse, infections or graft-versus-host disease, where immune cells in the donor blood attack the patient's body. The new unit will aim to minimise these risks by developing techniques to identify more appropriate blood donors, remove the immune cells that attack patients but not those that fight infection, and genetically modify immune cells to target cancer cells. The unit will also develop ways to use patient's own cells in treatments, avoiding the need for transplantation altogether and potentially offering new treatments for a wide range of human cancers. The unit will be a Centre of Excellence in human experimental medicine related to blood and transplantation with a strong focus on getting real benefits to patients.