|  |  |  | | | | Glasgow’s New £3 million pound research facility | | | | |
| |  Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre
Release Date: 20 June 2008
The new £3 million Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow was officially opened by Dr Richard Rockefeller on Thursday 22nd May 2008.
The director of the new centre, Professor Tessa Holyoake, is pioneering research into the source of chronic myeloid leukaemia, CML, the CML-stem cell. If the stem cells can be targeted and killed together with the leukaemia cells they produce, there is hope of finding a cure, not only for CML, but possibly other blood cancers.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia, CML, is caused when a genetic change occurs in the stem cells (the cells from which blood cells are made). This causes the production of abnormal blood cells with a mutation in the “Philadelphia” chromosome, which results in the fusion of two genes to create an unusual protein called Bcr-Abl.
CML patients are treated with a drug called Imatinib, which targets the Bcr-Abl protein in mature CML cells. Whilst effective in treating CML, Imatinib controls rather than cures the disease and it appears that a proportion of patients are resistant to the drug. Professor Holyoake is investigating ways of improving the effectiveness of Imatinib. Professor Holyoake believes that by targeting the stem cells as the source of the disease, rather than their progeny, she will be able to find a cure for CML.
Dr Alison Michie, another Leukaemia Research funded scientist working at the centre, is conducting research into the origins of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, CLL. CLL is the most common form of adult leukaemia, affecting over 2,750 people in the UK every year.
Unlike other blood cancers, CLL consists of many subtly different forms. This makes it is difficult for doctors to predict whether individual patients will respond positively to treatment and their likely outcome. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development, progression and origins of CLL is a high priority. Dr Michie hopes that her research will open new avenues for improving the treatment and outcome of this disease.
The Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre is a world-class facility situated in the heart of Scotland, enabling our scientists to conduct leading research into finding a cure for blood cancers.
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