A Southampton doctor has won a prestigious research award from the UK’s leading blood cancer charity. The Leukaemia Research Clinical Fellowship will enable Dr Feargal McNicholl to carry out pioneering research into new treatments for diseases like lymphoma, myeloma and leukaemia.
“I am delighted that Leukaemia Research has given me the opportunity to work with some of the UK’s leading scientists in this field,” said the 32-year-old. “This award means I can continue my clinical training whilst using laboratory time to carry out research that will directly benefit my patients,” he added.
The aim of the Clinical Research Fellowship is to allow talented young doctors to combine specialist training in medicine with vital research. Leukaemia Research has today announced that it is committing £52,000 to his work.
Dr McNicholl is working with a University of Southampton team at Southampton General Hospital on developing vaccines for patients with these cancers. They want to use DNA from patients cancer cells to switch on their immune system to recognise and kill malignant cells.
Dr David Grant, Leukaemia Research Scientific Director, said: “This cutting edge research is part of our national strategy to defeat cancers of the blood. These strong links between medical teams and researchers mean Southampton will play a crucial role in that strategy in the coming years.”
Dr McNicholl grew up in Northern Ireland and moved to the UK in 1999 to work as a registrar in Royal Bournemouth Hospital, and later at Southampton. “I came to this profession because I really enjoyed contact with patients. Now I am really keen to draw on my clinical experience to help push forward my research,” he adds.
