Having AstraZeneca and Cancer Research Horizons scientists work side by side, in the same laboratory and jointly deliver independent projects to both organisations has been critical in the early success of the FGC. We have accelerated our learnings and improved our methods and technologies as a direct result of the partnership.ĭoug: Collaboration and partnership really are our superpowers. Coming together as a joint team also means we can share learnings and methods across projects whether they are AstraZeneca or CRUK sponsored. Through the partnership, we quickly created the expertise and knowledge to design, optimise, screen and analyse functional genomic screens using tools like CRISPR. Although running independent projects came with initial design challenges, it is now what makes this charity-industry partnership so unique. How was the partnership between AstraZeneca and CRUK formed and how has this helped you advance your CRISPR screening platform?ĭavid: The FGC partnership between CRUK and AstraZeneca was established in 2019, with the aim to create a joint screening centre where the science and screening technology is shared, but the screening “output” is proprietary and independent for each party. We believe that by applying novel CRISPR technologies in this way, we will help accelerate the translation of basic research to patient benefit. We collaborate with research groups, provide access to functional genomics capabilities at a national level and support CRUK-funded academics across the UK. Although we are based in Cambridge, UK, the FGC is a national facility. The unbiased nature of genome‑wide screening creates new insights that accelerate research for AstraZeneca, Cancer Research Horizons and CRUK academics.ĭavid: Our vision is to be a world leading centre for functional genomics by 2025, that identifies new cancer biology, creates best in class CRISPR reagents and informatics and democratises access to the technologies to the wider community. For example, CRISPR can help identify genes involved with resistance to an existing cancer drug, the expression of an antibody-drug conjugate surface receptor, or even the complex interplay between a cancer cell and an immune cell. Our efforts contribute to our understanding of mechanisms drug resistance, help us develop new combination therapies and identify novel biomarkers for patient selection in clinical trials.ĬRISPR is a powerful technology that enables us to interrogate every gene in the genome and deliberately activate or suppress – “knock out” – specific genes, to help us pinpoint those that may cause or worsen disease, as well as those with potentially protective effects. At the FGC, we develop CRISPR technologies to better understand the biology of cancer, discover new drug targets and create pre-clinical cancer models that are more reflective of human disease. What does the FGC do and what are its goals?ĭoug: Selecting the right target is the single most important decision we make in the drug discovery process, because it determines how effective a medicine could be at altering the course of disease. I gained my PhD in cell biology from the University of Basel, Switzerland and completed my post-doctoral studies at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, where I studied the role of cell cycle regulators in genome maintenance. I have eight years of experience in functional genomics and pre-clinical oncology R&D. My current focus at the FGC is on using CRISPR to help understand the biology of cancer and discover new drug targets.ĭavid: I am a Group Leader at Cancer Research Horizons and the CRUK lead of the FGC having worked here with Doug since the centre opened its doors three years ago. I have a PhD in virology from the University of Leeds and I am passionate about bringing new medicines to patients in different disease areas.
I have been in early pharmaceutical R&D over a decade with eight of those years at AstraZeneca working on target discovery platforms.
Doug: As the Director of the Functional Genomics Centre, I work in close partnership with David to manage the centre of 22 scientists focused on using CRISPR gene editing for target discovery in cancer.
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