Work in this Centre focuses on different aspects of the biology of transformed cells or the stromal cells found in neoplastic foci. Our unifying interest is in understanding the cellular and molecular events which drive tumour progression to the malignant phenotype. We have a particular interest in understanding the nature of the “cross-talk” between epithelial cancer cells and their stromal partners during cancer evolution.
Professor Louise Jones at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, has been elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences. She joins 60 exceptional biomedical and health scientists elected to its prestigious Fellowship.
Grants & Awards 21 May 2026
A more active approach to monitoring and treating people with a rare eye cancer (known as uveal melanoma) that has spread to the liver could help some patients to live longer, according to researchers at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London. The findings, from a retrospective study of the largest UK cohort of patients with this condition to date, offer an encouraging sign of progress in this rare and difficult-to-treat cancer.
Publications 21 January 2026
Scientists have discovered that a single letter change in a gene called PRKCA drives a rare and hard-to-treat brain cancer, chordoid glioma, through an entirely unexpected mechanism. The findings could open up new ways to design targeted treatments for this difficult-to-treat disease, and possibly for other cancers involving the same gene.
General News 7 November 2025
The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB) has become the first in England to receive ISO 20387:2018 accreditation, an international standard that recognises excellence in biobanking.
General News 19 August 2025
A new strategy to help powerful cancer-targeting immune cells, known as CAR-T cells, infiltrate pancreatic tumours has been developed by researchers at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London.
General News 22 May 2025
Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London will co-lead a ground-breaking collaboration, PharosAI, that aims to harness cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and unlock decades of NHS cancer data. The UK government is committing £18.9 million to the project.
General News 11 February 2025
New research sheds light on how certain non-cancerous cells in pancreatic cancer can affect the body’s natural immune defences and could have a significant impact on patients’ survival.
General News 12 December 2024
We spoke to Professor Richard Grose about his lab's latest study, which uses mini-tumours to understand how pancreatic cancer coerces normal cells to help it spread to other tissues. The new paper has been featured on the cover of the latest issue of the Journal of Pathology.
General News 19 December 2023
'Star-shaped' cells in the pancreas emit molecules that alter the tumour's aggressiveness
General News 16 November 2023
The findings could help us to distinguish who will benefit from treatment
General News 28 July 2023
Researchers from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London have identified a new channel of communication through which non-cancerous cells drive the invasion of cancer cells in pancreatic cancer. By blocking a particular signalling molecule within this pathway, called Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1, the team was able to reduce invasion of pancreatic cancer cells in the laboratory.
General News 10 November 2022
Professors Claude Chelala and Louise Jones from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, are part of a €21.3 million public-private research programme that will seek to use artificial intelligence to improve care for patients with prostate, breast and lung cancer.
General News 12 October 2021
Researchers from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, have identified a protein that may represent a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Using this protein as a target, the team successfully created a CAR T cell therapy - a type of immunotherapy - that killed pancreatic cancer cells in a pre-clinical model.
General News 22 January 2021