Tuesday 8th August 2000
Professor Stanley Kaye, an internationally renowned research scientist and clinician, has been appointed to The Cancer Research UK Chair of Medical Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital as part of a new initiative at Britain's leading cancer research centre.
The appointment gives Professor Kaye responsibility for bringing together the research of scientists and clinicians working at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital - in order to turn cutting-edge scientific studies into new therapies for cancer quickly. As part of his new role, Professor Kaye will direct The Institute's Section of Medicine. He takes up the new position on 1 September 2000.
The Institute, which receives just under £11.5 million in funding from The Campaign, has a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital which together form Europe's largest comprehensive cancer centre. Their intimate relationship means that research findings move swiftly from the laboratory to the clinic.
Professor Kaye is a medical oncologist, well-known for his work on drug development and drug resistance, and is currently Head of The Cancer Research UK Department of Medical Oncology at the University of Glasgow - a post which he has held since 1985. He is also Vice Chairman of The Campaign's Scientific Committee and Chairman of the Campaign's Clinical Trials Committee.
During his time in Glasgow, Professor Kaye was instrumental in setting up an integrated cancer treatment centre, within the Beatson Oncology Centre at the Western Infirmary. In addition, his Academic Unit was successful in bringing together laboratory and clinical research and also instigated several major new drug trials. These included the first UK Phase 1 trials of docetaxel and capecitabine.
Dr Peter Rigby, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research said: "I am delighted that Professor Kaye, an outstanding clinical scientist, is to take up this new position at The Institute. The Institute is a world-leader in research in cancer genetics and in interpreting information from the Human Genome Project. Professor Kaye will be able to direct an initiative to harness, for mainstream clinical work, the new targets being identified here.
We are also very much looking forward to the contribution Professor Kaye will make in cementing The Institute's unique relationship with the Royal Marsden and, in addition, in furthering drug development."
"I am delighted to be taking up this appointment at a time of exciting developments in cancer research and am looking forward to the challenge of leading the premier academic department of medical oncology in the UK," commented Professor Kaye.
"There is a huge potential for turning the important experimental studies taking place at The Institute into practical clinical advances at the Royal Marsden in this, the best environment for integrated cancer research in the UK."
The Director General of The Cancer Research Campaign, Prof Gordon McVie, says: "We are very pleased that Prof Kaye is taking up The Cancer Research Campaign Chair in Oncology which is the top job in the UK of its kind. He has been one of The Campaign's leading experts for many years and I have no doubt that many cancer patients will benefit as a result of this appointment. His new role means that he will be able to work closely with Prof Paul Workman at The Cancer Research UK's Centre for Therapeutics to bring more new treatments and cures from the lab bench to the patient's bedside. Together, these two experts, should be an unbeatable team in the fight against cancer!"
One of Professor Kaye's main areas of expertise is in the study of drug resistance and his group in Glasgow have made important discoveries about the mechanisms which result in cancer cells becoming resistant to drugs. In his new role Professor Kaye will be working closely with The Cancer Research UK Centre for Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute to expand clinical facilities for new drug studies. He also hopes to set up a new laboratory group to further research into drug resistance, which is a major obstacle to successful treatment.
Highlights of Professor Kaye's clinical trial work include the creation of a gynaecological cancer trials group. This has made key observations about the importance of drug dose in ovarian cancer and continues to perform large scale trials in ovarian cancer. In the past he has conducted and published trials in most of the other types of adult cancer, including lymphoma. Professor Kaye will be continuing the clinical interest in gynaecological cancer which he started in Glasgow.
The Institute of Cancer Research has been responsible for many breakthroughs including isolating more cancer genes than any other research organisation in the world. Other historic successes include the discovery of three of the main drugs used in cancer treatments, the fundamental discovery that cancer is a malfunction of DNA, and the identification of the suspected link between smoking and the risk of lung cancer.
The Royal Marsden NHS Trust is a specialist teaching hospital for cancer treatment, research and education. It is based at two sites - Chelsea, London and Sutton, Surrey. More than 30,000 patients attend the Royal Marsden each year, having been referred from all over the UK and abroad.
The Cancer Research UK is Britain's foremost cancer charity and funds a third of all research into cancer in the UK which, this year, will total more than £60 million. It is also the European leader in anti-cancer drug development and is dedicated to getting new treatments and cures for cancer from the lab bench to the patient's bedside as quickly as possible.
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