Research...

Unless we can understand how a disease works at the most basic level, it is difficult to develop new treatments. Sometimes these developments take a long time and are expensive to set up. Get A-Head is at the forefront in supporting research and finding cures into head & neck cancer and other diseases. We currently fund two research fellows who we hope, with our support and funding, will one day be able to understand and fight back against the diseases we face.

Malcolm A. Buchanan BSc (Hons) MB, ChB, MRCS

I studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and qualified in 1998. I have trained in General Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedics, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgery and Neurosurgery and became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2001. I wish to pursue a career in ENT Surgery, with a special interest in tumours of the head and neck, in particular thyroid cancer. I am currently a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham/Queen Elizabeth Hospital where I am undertaking a PhD degree. For the 1st year, I was funded with the generous support of the Get A-Head Head and Neck Cancer Charity. I was then awarded a Medical Research Council/Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Clinical Research Training Fellowship to support my remaining 2 years. The more we can discover about disease processes such as cancer, and how to prevent them from occurring, the more patients can ultimately benefit. That is why funding is so important for research. My research is looking at a protein in thyroid cells, Tie2, which increases both growth and function of the blood vessels. A method to limit the growth of thyroid cells and their blood vessels may be effective in preventing thyroid tumours. To block this growth, I am using gene delivery systems to produce defective forms of the protein to block its function. The aim of my research is to understand the role of this pathway in thyroid cells and to determine whether blocking this pathway blocks growth of thyroid cancers. I have presented the results of my research so far at a number of national and international meetings. I have been awarded the Medical Research Society prize for the best poster presentation at the Royal College of Physicians, London, and the British Journal of Surgery prize for the best oral presentation at the British Association of Endocrine Surgeons, Sweden 2004. We hope that this research will help increase the knowledge of thyroid disease and possibly open new methods of treating the common problems seen in clinical practice. This will continue to research projects that the Get-A-Head Charity has already supported and contribute to the international reputation in research and treatment of thyroid disease established in Birmingham.

Dae Kim BDs, MBBS, MRCS

I became interested in head and neck surgery very early in my medical career, during my medical school years. An attachment with Professor Ian Jackson (surgeon who treated and later adopted boy David: boy born with no face) at the Craniofacial Institute, Michigan, USA further encouraged me to pursue a career in head and neck surgery. I took time out to train in dentistry after my basic surgical training because, I believed, it would be beneficial for a future career in specialist head and neck surgery. I also recognised early on the importance of research in medicine and made an early commitment to it. I completed an MSc in medical science during dental school and laid the foundations for a future academic career in surgery with a year research sabbatical at Harvard University. I met and received invaluable support from Mr Watkinson and Mr Drake-Lee during my junior ENT surgical training in Birmingham. With their continued support and advice, I am presently a specialist registrar in ENT surgery in Birmingham and completing a PhD degree in molecular biology of thyroid cancer. My higher degree would not have been possible without the most generous support from the Get-a-Head charity. During this period of essential research I have met many people who I know will be invaluable in the future for the continued and sound development of an academic surgical career. Furthermore, I have learnt important skills that are essential for any future academic. In the present climate of rapidly decreasing public funds for medical research and changes in medical training which are more hostile to the development of future academic surgeons, funding such as that supported by Get-a-Head charity become ever more critical if continued research into head and neck cancer is be undertaken. It is only with research that newer and better diagnostic and therapeutic modalities are possible. I am very grateful to Get-a-Head charity and Mr Watkinson & Drake-Lee for the support given to me and hope that I may somehow repay such generous help in the future with the development of significant breakthroughs in cancer science that will allow improved patient survival and quality of life. Together I know we can make some headway in fighting the devastating problem of head and neck cancer.

Lets 'Get A-Head', Not Bury our Heads...

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