Cancer drug pioneer Prof Steve Jackson joins Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute as senior group leader
One of the city’s leading scientists, Professor Steve Jackson, has accepted a role as a senior group leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
An expert in DNA repair, Prof Jackson has founded three companies and his work lead to the creation of the blockbuster cancer drug Olaparib - the world’s first marketed DNA repair enzyme inhibitor.
Prof Jackson is the University of Cambridge Frederick James Quick professor of biology and head of the Cancer Research UK laboratories at the Gurdon Institute.
He will retain his associations with the university’s Department of Biochemistry and the Gurdon Institute.
Congratulating him, Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, said: “Steve and his lab have been at the forefront of research into DNA repair in cancer. His research is behind some of the most important discoveries funded by Cancer Research UK in the last 20 years and beyond.”
Prof Jackson’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of how cells detect, signal the presence of DNA damage and repair it.
By characterising DNA damage repair components and pathways, he has aimed to identify new ways of treating human disease.
He has founded the biotech companies KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, Mission Therapeutics and Adrestia Therapeutics to translate the research.
But his most famous contribution to biomedical research was the discovery that DNA repair pathways could be targeted in cancer therapy, leading to the creation of Olaparib, the world’s first marketed DNA-repair enzyme inhibitor.
Now sold as Lynparza by AstraZeneca and MSD, it was the first cancer drug to target an inherited cancer predisposition, and the first to exploit synthetic lethality - meaning genetic defects in cancer cells are exploited by using a drug targeting the product of another gene.
More than 40,000 patients in 73 countries have been treated with Olaparib, which has reduced disease progression and death by up to 66 per cent.
Prof Greg Hannon, director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said “We are absolutely delighted that Professor Steve Jackson and his vibrant research group will be joining the Institute. Steve is a world leader in his field, and his work has directly impacted thousands of cancer patients.
“Steve will strengthen our commitment to the development of new cancer treatment strategies built on a deep mechanistic understanding of fundamental biological processes and will bring his entrepreneurial spirit, which has helped translate biological discovery into clinical implementation.”
Prof Jackson, who takes up the role this month, said: “I and all other members of my group are absolutely delighted to be joining the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
“We look forward to benefiting from the vibrant research atmosphere there, from forging new interactions and collaborations with Professor Greg Hannon and his stellar colleagues, and from the superb facilities and fantastic staff at the Institute.
“The new environment will be highly conducive to my group’s fundamental discovery research and will enhance the prospects for translating our findings towards patient benefits.”
