About us
Where, what, why and who?
Where?
We are a leukaemia research group based in the department of Biochemistry & Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, within the Faculty of Science, Engineering & Medicine at the University of Sussex.
We are also part of Sussex Blood Cancer Research, a network of collaborative research groups with shared interests in normal and malignant haematology across the School of Life Sciences and Brighton & Sussex Medical School, based within the Sussex Cancer Research Centre.
University of Sussex Falmer campus
What?
Our research seeks to improve understanding around the critical molecular events necessary to convert a normal healthy blood stem cell into a leukaemia cell.
With a focus on frequently activated oncogenes which have been historically challenging to target, our ultimate aim is to design novel therapeutic interventions for myeloid leukaemia patients. Explore our research to find out more.
Normal bone marrow aspirate from a healthy donor (left). AML Bone marrow aspirate with myeloid leukaemia (right).
Why?
Specifically, we focus on a type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). According to Cancer Research UK (CRUK) statistics, there are around 3,200 new cases of AML per year in the UK, which affects both adults and children. Survival rates for this devastating disease have improved markedly over the past 50 years, however treatment of specific patient subsets continues to be a challenge, particularly since chemotherapies from the 1960-70’s remain the main treatment strategy. As we enter a new era of patient-tailored medicine, hope now lies with more highly targeted, better-tolerated, molecular therapies that induce long-lasting remissions.
UK incidence of AML (Cancer Research UK)
Who?
Currently, we are a team of five comprised of four Research Fellows and a Group Leader.
Meet the team for further information on individual group members. The group is led by Dr Rhys Morgan.
Dr Morgan is a Research Review Committee Member for Leukaemia and Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK), Co-Director of Sussex Blood Cancer Research and a founding member of WntUK. Dr Morgan is a strong advocate for haematopoietic stem cell donation and continues to work with Anthony Nolan and their sister organisation Marrow to promote awareness and registration onto the stem cell register. Read about Rhys’s stem cell donation, which reached the national press.
Dr Rhys Morgan donating stem cells in May 2016
