Funding for student oral cancer project

The project is part of the Inspire scheme which is led by the Academy of Medical Sciences and is funded by the Wellcome Trust. It aims to encourage medical and dental undergraduates to pursue scientific research.

The award has been made to first-year dental student Michael Daldry. Michael will work with Vehid Salih and Sam Gould from the Peninsula School of Dentistry. Michael will use 3D artificial oral muscosa cells, developed by Sam and Vehid, to emulate oral cancer in laboratory conditions.

In 2014, 11,449 new cases of oral cancer were diagnosed in the UK, and there were 2,386 deaths caused by the condition. Survival rates for head and neck cancers range from 19-59 per cent and 91 per cent are preventable.

By mimicking tumour cell creation, development and growth in squamous cell carcinoma (the most common type of mouth cancer accounting for 90 per cent of cases), it is hoped that Michael’s project will create a replicable and reliable system to test a number of factors, including the impact of connective tissue on tumour development, how oral cancer moves and how tumour cells communicate with each other.